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Morning Report: Big Night for Pitching Prospects: Part II

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Five days ago, I mentioned that it was a big night for pitching prospects on the mound for the Pirates. Tyler Glasnow, Clay Holmes and Mitch Keller were all making starts. Since there were no off-days for any teams, all three of those pitchers are going tonight as well. Glasnow had decent results in the game, but lamented afterwards that he wasn’t aggressive like his previous game and you could tell the difference. Holmes had a rough beginning to the game, but he was brilliant at the end, retiring the last 14 batters he faced. I broke down that start here after watching it the following day on replay. Mitch Keller had his worst outing of the season, getting knocked out in the third inning due to a high pitch count.

With Altoona starting at 6 PM tonight, I should be able to see a decent amount of the start from Holmes before switching over the the Indianapolis game at 7:05 PM to watch Glasnow. It helps that Altoona is at home, so Holmes will be throwing the top of the inning, while Indianapolis is on the road, so Glasnow won’t take the mound right away. Whatever I get to see for Holmes, I’ll post in the recap (possibly update with full results later if the replay is available quickly).

I’m switching over because it’s a big start for Glasnow, since there’s a chance that if he looks close to how he did in his seven no-hit innings game, it could be his last start in Triple-A. Like I clarified last time, it’s not really the results, it’s the stuff, and even Glasnow wasn’t happy after his last performance. That could be because he knew he didn’t do what he had to do to get promoted. Whatever he does tonight, I’ll have a full analysis in the Prospect Watch. Mitch Keller’s start will be covered live by Abigail Miskowiec.

**The July 2nd signing period conveniently starts today, technically beginning at midnight, so it’s been going on for eight hours or so, depending on when you read this. We posted a preview of the signing period here, as well as teaser videos for a player the Pirates are very likely to sign on August 22nd. I’m hoping the Pirates are busy today. Last year started off quick with two signings from the Bahamas, then we had to wait until the next day for anything else. Since I’ll be here all day searching for signings, it would be nice to find more than two of them.

We know the Pirates are likely going to sign a Dominican outfielder named Pedro Castillo today, and he will likely be a six-figure bonus. What we don’t know is how much Jean Robert Eusebio (see link above) will cost on August 22nd, so he could take a good chunk of their bonus pool to sign. The Pirates finished with the second best record last year, so that left them with the 29th lowest international bonus pool. They have a total of $2,044,800 to spend from today until June 15th next year, though they can actually spend a little more.

They can go up to 5% over their pool, which means an extra $102,240. Whatever they spend over their amount, comes with a 100% tax. Also, any player who signs for $10,000 or less doesn’t count against there pool. All that last part means is you don’t have to worry about those unknown roster fillers that show up in May when the season starts.

So enjoy your holiday weekend. Hopefully when you check back later it looks like I’ve been busy. My assumption is that we will start hearing names right about the time Glasnow takes the mound because that’s how things usually work.

PIRATES GAME GRAPH


Source: FanGraphs

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates won 7-3 over Oakland on Friday night. Chad Kuhl will get his second start for the Pirates tonight. In his first game he went five innings against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks. The A’s will go with Rich Hill, who has a 2.25 ERA in 64 innings, with 74 strikeouts and a 1.13 WHIP. In his last start, he allowed two runs over 6.1 innings against the Tigers, striking out nine batters. Prior to that, he threw eight shutout innings versus the Mariners.

In the minors,  Tyler Glasnow gets the start for Indianapolis. In his last start, he allowed two runs on four hits in six innings. It broke a no-hit streak of 13 innings and a shutout streak of 17.2 innings in his previous three starts. He is first in the International League in strikeouts, second in ERA and tenth in WHIP.

Clay Holmes makes the start for Altoona. He has allowed a total of two earned runs over 17 innings in his last three start combined. Mitch Keller tries to rebound from his worst start of the season, a 2.2 inning outing in which he gave up three runs and reached his single inning pitch count in that third frame. He is first in the South Atlantic League with an 0.86 WHIP, and he ranks sixth in strikeouts and eighth in ERA.

Domingo Robles goes for the GCL Pirates and Adam Oller will likely start for Bristol.

MLB: Pittsburgh (39-41) @ A’s (35-45) 10:05 PM
Probable starter: Chad Kuhl (5.40 ERA, 4:5 BB/SO, 5.0 IP)

AAA: Indianapolis (43-39) @ Toledo (35-46) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tyler Glasnow (1.70 ERA, 51:105 BB/SO, 90.0 IP)

AA: Altoona (44-35) vs Bowie (35-45) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Clay Holmes (4.67 ERA, 33:54 BB/SO, 79.0 IP)

High-A: Bradenton (41-35) vs Charlotte (37-40) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Austin Coley (3.52 ERA, 26:51 BB/SO, 76.2 IP)

Low-A: West Virginia (40-38) vs Columbia (39-40) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Mitch Keller (2.71 ERA, 9:79 BB/SO, 69.2 IP)

Short-Season A: Morgantown (8-7) vs Auburn (9-6) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Stephan Meyer (5.27 ERA, 5:10 BB/SO, 13.2 IP)

Rookie: Bristol (5-4) @ Pulaski (5-4) 7:00 PM (season preview)

GCL: Pirates (2-4) vs Blue Jays (4-3) 10:00 AM (season preview)

DSL: Pirates (8-16) vs Cubs1 (11-13) 10:30 AM (season preview)

HIGHLIGHTS

Here is Austin Meadows securing his Pirates Prospects Player of the Month award with a home run on Thursday. Try to ignore the Toledo announcers

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

7/1: Julio Vivas promoted to West Virginia.

7/1: Rinku Singh assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab

7/1: Pirates sign Andrew Walker.

6/30: Jorge Rondon sent outright to Indianapolis.

6/30: Erik Lunde assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.

6/30: Raul Hernandez assigned to Bradenton.

6/30: Jose Regalado placed on disabled list. Tanner Anderson promoted to Bradenton.

6/30: Tomas Morales assigned to Indianapolis. Ed Easley released.

6/30: Jose Osuna promoted to Indianapolis. Jhondaniel Medina assigned to Altoona.

6/29: Pirates sign Nick King and Daniel Cucjen.

6/28: Trevor Williams activated from temporary inactive list.

6/28: Carl Anderson assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.

6/28: Pirates sign Max Kranick. Assigned to GCL Pirates.

6/27: Pirates sign Buddy Borden. Assigned to Bradenton.

6/27: Jeff Roy assigned to Bristol.

6/27: Erik Lunde placed on the disabled list.

6/26: Pirates purchase the contract of Chad Kuhl. Kyle Lobstein optioned to Indianapolis.

6/26: Pirates designate Curtis Partch for assignment.

6/26: Pirates unconditionally release Cory Luebke.

6/26: Trevor Williams placed on bereavement list.

6/26: Tomas Morales sent to Bradenton.

6/25: Justin Maffei assigned to Altoona.

6/25: Luis Paula and David Whitehead assigned to Bristol on rehab.

6/24: Pirates purchase the contract of Adam Frazier. Designate Cole Figueroa for assignment.

6/24: Juan Nicasio activated from restricted list. Designate Jorge Rondon for assignment.

6/24: Jacob Stallings optioned to Indianapolis.

6/23: JT Brubaker added to Bradenton roster. Colten Brewer placed on temporary inactive list.

6/23: Tito Polo assigned to Bradenton.

6/22: Pirates recall Kyle Lobstein. Wilfredo Boscan optioned to Indianapolis.

6/22: Jhondaniel Medina assigned to Indianapolis.

6/21: Pirates recall Wilfredo Boscan. Curtis Partch optioned to Indianapolis.

6/21: Pirates sign Braeden Ogle.

6/20: Trace Tam Sing and Erik Lunde added to Bradenton roster. Pablo Reyes placed on temporary inactive list.

6/19: Steven Brault sent to Morgantown on a rehab assignment.

6/19: Pirates purchase the contract of Jacob Stallings. Jason Rogers optioned to Indianapolis.

6/19: Tomas Morales promoted to Indianapolis.

6/18: Pirates option Rob Scahill to Indianapolis. Recall Jason Rogers, Jorge Rondon and Curtis Partch.

6/18: Cory Luebke designated for assignment.

6/18: Juan Nicasio placed on restricted list.

THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY

Five former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus a transaction of note that could have went much better if the Pirates were patient. Starting with the players, we have outfielder Nyjer Morgan (2007-09), first baseman Sean Casey (2006), outfielder Tony Armas (1976) and outfielder Ed Beecher of the 1887 Alleghenys. Armas is the father of Tony Armas Jr, who pitched for the Pirates in 2007.

Also born on this date, catcher/outfielder Fred Carroll, who played for the franchise from 1885-89 and then again in 1891. For nine years, he held the franchise’s record for career homers. Carroll batted .281 in 574 games for the Alleghenys/Pirates, scoring 405 times and driving in 295 runs.

On this date in 1892, the Pirates signed outfielder Joe Kelley, who was a 20-year-old minor leaguer at the time. He had 12 games of Major League experience the previous season, but he was still a raw rookie. He played 56 games for the Pirates in 1892 before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles. The deal ended up very bad for the Pirates, who got one half year out of their returning player, George Van Haltren. Kelley became a star almost immediately, despite hitting .239 for the Pirates. He averaged 127 runs scored and drove in an average of 108 runs per year from 1893-98. By the end of his career, he had stats strong enough to get him elected into the Hall of Fame.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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