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Prospect Watch: Gage Hinsz and Tyler Eppler Highlight Sunday’s Action

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P2 Top 30

A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors and loses his prospect eligibility, he will be removed. Everyone below him will be shifted up a spot, and a new player will be added to the bottom of the list. If a player is out for the season, he will be removed and everyone below him will move up a spot. Removing these guys doesn’t mean they have lost prospect status. It is just an attempt to get 30 active prospects on the list. Rankings are from the 2016 mid-season update, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

We’re working on a solution for the PHP stat codes not working in the app.

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Pirates -[insert_php]
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2. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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3. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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4. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
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5. Mitch Keller, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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6. Reese McGuire, C, Altoona -[insert_php]
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7. Nick Kingham, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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8.Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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9. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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10. Will Craig, 3B, Morgantown –  [insert_php]
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11. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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12. Harold Ramirez, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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13. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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14. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – [insert_php]
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15. Clay Holmes, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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16. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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17. Gage Hinsz, RHP, West Virginia  – [insert_php]
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18. Trevor Williams, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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19. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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20. Tito Polo, OF, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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 21. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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22. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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23. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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24. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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25. Adrian Valerio, SS – Bristol – [insert_php]
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26. Braeden Ogle, LHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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27. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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28. Travis MacGregor, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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29. Max Kranick, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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30. Frank Duncan, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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INDIANAPOLIS — He needed to show some resemblance of improvement after two rough outings and Wilfredo Boscan did just that.

Boscan still had some control issues at times, but put together one of his better recent starts against Charlotte on Sunday. He pitched 6.2 innings, allowing one run on two hits.

While he did walk four batters, improvements were noticeable after Boscan only lasted two innings in his previous start on Tuesday. And he only made it through 3.2 innings in the outing before that one.

Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor was ejected in the bottom of the second inning, and he watched the remainder of the game in his office.

“I was able to watch him work and I really liked what I saw,” Treanor said. “I thought he mixed well and I thought he used both sides well. I thought he came in well sometimes.”

One of the main differences this season between good Boscan and bad Boscan seems to simply be location. Boscan has a 1.80 earned run average in eight starts in Victory Field, compared to an 8.23 earned run average in six starts on the road.

“I think he’s comfortable here because of the stadium, there’s some forgiveness here and you can make some mistakes,” Treanor said. “He’s just obviously more comfortable here.”

The park can be forgiving at times, measuring 418 in the left-centerfield alley. Centerfielder Danny Ortiz made a nice running catch over his shoulder on the warning track in a deep part of the alley.

Boscan could hardly ask for a better start to his outing on Sunday. He retired the side in the order, getting ahead of each hitter 0-2.

Noscan struck out leadoff hitter Tony Campana on a 72 MPH breaking ball, after throwing an 89 MPH fastball the previous pitch that Campana fouled off. Jason Bourgeois hit a weak popout to shortstop Gift Ngoepe in shallow centerfield.

Jason Coats, who is hitting .322, hit a broken bat groundout to third baseman Pedro Florimon, where a piece of the bat went further than the ball.

In the second inning, Boscan threw a first-pitch strike to Jerry Sands, but then fell behind by throwing three consecutive balls. The count went full after Sands fouled off an 89 MPH fastball. Sands then grounded out to second baseman Max Moroff up the middle.

But Boscan’s control quickly left him, throwing a four-ball walk to Jake Peter. Vinny Rottino worked a full count against Boscan before singling to right field. After the play, the Indians threw to second base to appeal the play and the umpire called Peter out for not touching second base on his way to third.

Charlotte manager Julio Vina was ejected for arguing the ruling. Boscan induced a groundout to Slade Heathcott to end the inning after the bonus out on the baserunning error.

Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor decided Vina shouldn’t be the only one allowed to get out of the 91-degree heat. He was ejected in the bottom of the second inning, being thrown out while he was in the dugout for arguing balls and strikes.

Boscan allowed a lead-off walk to Danny Muno, the eight-spot in the lineup, in the third inning. He fell behind 2-0 and walked Muno on five pitches.

Sean O’Connell and Campana grounded out, but Boscan allowed a two-out walk to Bourgeois after falling behind 3-0. Coats flied out to deep centerfield to end the inning.

Boscan retired the side in the fourth inning on a groundout, flyout, and strikeout. He retired the side in the sixth inning on three groundouts. In the game, Boscan induced 13 groundouts.

Charlotte scored its lone run of the game in the sixth inning. Muno doubled down the leftfield line but mainly only because third baseman Pedro Florimon barely moved an inch on the ball that appeared had a slight chance to go foul, but stayed fair down the line. Sean O’Connell then singled to rightfield to score Muno.

Josh Bell walked in the sixth inning and Jason Rogers singled to right. That scored Bell after Charlotte rightfielder Heathcott allowed the ball to get past him. Indianapolis took a 2-1 lead one batter later on Max Moroff’s RBI single to rightfield.

Boscan allowed a lead-off walk to Peter in the seventh inning. Rottino sacrificed Peter to second with a bunt, and that ended Boscan’s outing. Kelvin Marte entered in relief and retired the next two batters to get out of that jam.

Indianapolis’ 2-1 win over Charlotte completed a four-game sweep. The Indians were swept in a 3-game series against Lehigh Valley.

No News May Be Good News: Chad Kuhl was in Indianapolis on Sunday, one day after leaving his start after one inning due to right triceps discomfort.

Kuhl will not throw for a few days, but the team is optimistic nothing is seriously wrong, Treanor said.

“I’m not going to say quick,” Treanor said. “But hopefully it’s not serious and he does respond in the next few days.” – Brian Peloza

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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ALTOONA, PA – Tyler Eppler began the game by loading the bases and going 3-0 on the fourth batter of the game before allowing a sacrifice fly. Eppler was visited by Pitching Coach Justin Meccage on the mound, and all of the sudden he figured out what he was doing wrong. He held Akron hitters at bay for the rest of that first inning, then he shut them down completely for the rest of the game. Altogether, he only allowed three hits and that one run in the first inning in his seven outings of work.

Eppler threw 12 balls in the first inning then went on to only throw 13 more balls in the second through the fifth inning. He walked one more batter in the third inning, but he induced a double play afterwards and didn’t allow another base runner until the sixth. He let up a lead-off double in the seventh (although it was as a result of Barrett Barnes taking a bad route on the ball and going off of him glove), and that was all Akron could do against him.

The biggest difference in the first inning and the rest of the game was the fact that Eppler began throwing strikes. A big thing that the Curve coaches have been preaching to the starting pitching staff is trusting their stuff and not trying to be too meticulous. Eppler was erratic early, looking to be nit-picking, and immediately loaded the bases as a result. After the mound visit, it was like night-and-day.

He struck out seven to tie his career high in strikeouts for a third time this season. He struck out four batters with his curveball, two with the fastball, and one with the change up. He mixed his pitches extremely well and remained unpredictable, as Akron batters struggled to pick up exactly what he was throwing. The fastball sat between 92-94 MPH, and he touched 95 MPH once or twice. He was able to change speeds of the curveball, dropping it to 79 MPH on multiple occasions but mostly between 80-82 MPH.

Even with such a good line, he didn’t work his fastball down in the zone very much, often times trying to blow it past the opposition a little higher in the strike zone. The ability to work between all three pitches allowed him to keep batters off-balanced.

As for those first inning troubles, Meccage told me last week that they may have to start making some adjustments to the starters’ routines. Like Eppler tonight, many of the Curve starters have had trouble out of the gate this year.

“I don’t know what it is,” Meccage said. “You kind of look at their warm-up routine. Are they loose enough? Do they ease their way into the first inning and are not in the right mentality like they would be after they give up some runs? That’s just something with young pitchers that we have to figure out what it is.”

In Eppler’s defense tonight, the game was delayed more than two hours and his routine could not have been normal; however, it has been a trend this season for the starters to struggle in the first.

Edgar Santana threw two scoreless innings, only allowing a bloop double down that landed on the left field line. He struck out four batters in his two innings of work.

Offensively, Curve hitters put up a six-spot in the sixth inning to take control of the game. Harold Ramirez reached on a throwing error to lead off the inning, then the flood gates opened. Edwin Espinal reached on a bloop single, and Eric Wood hit a liner to left field, before Anderson Feliz ripped a shot over the center fielder’s head. Feliz hustled to third for the triple, and a throwing error allowed him to go home for the Little League home run. Barrett Barnes ripped a single up the middle next, then Stetson Allie went deep to left field for his ninth home run this year.

Barnes went 3-for-3 with a walk, and he hit the ball hard in every at-bat. Since July 5th, Barnes is hitting .466 with five doubles and a triple. His hitting has dramatically improved as we reached the summer months, and he has began to show a little of that gap-to-gap power that he showed when drafted. The home run potential has not quite showed up, but his raw hitting ability has been evident.

Unfortunately, Harold Ramirez went hitless to end his hitting streak at 15-games. Kevin Newman also went 0-for-5 after going 4-for-4 yesterday. -Sean McCool

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Bradenton won game one of a doubleheader with Daytona by a 9-7 score. This was the completion of Friday’s game, which was suspended with two outs and no score in the bottom of the first inning. Stephen Tarpley started the original game and threw a shutout inning. When they picked back up today, Austin Coley was on the mound and he got bombed for five innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits and two walks. He had eight strikeouts, which ties a career-high set/tied in back-to-back starts in May, 2015. Junior Lopez got the win and Luis Heredia got the save, as they combined for three scoreless innings to finish off the game.

Michael Suchy led the offense with a three-run homers in the sixth inning, his sixth of the season. He also had two singles and scored two runs. Bradenton had five doubles in this game, including a two-run double in the third by Cole Tucker that got their scoring started. Wyatt Mathisen had an RBI double and an RBI ground out. Jordan Luplow connected on his 17th double.

Game Two: Daytona was all over Buddy Borden early in this game, partially due to his own error, then Tanner Anderson added to the fire in the 10-3 loss for the Marauders. Borden gave up seven runs in 1.1 innings, allowing five hits and two walks. His own throwing error led to two of those runs being unearned. He threw 48 pitches in his short stint before being replaced by Tate Scioneaux, who allowed an inherited runner to score. Tanner Anderson gave up three runs in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach.

The Marauders had just four hits, but they had plenty of chances to score in this game due to nine walks. They went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Connor Joe had the only extra-base hit, driving in two runs with his 20th double. Chase Simpson reached in all four plate appearances with three walks and a single. Jordan Luplow had two walks and scored a run.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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Gage Hinsz made his tenth start of the season on a rainy Sunday afternoon and he put together a very strong performance over six shutout innings. He only allowed three hits, with two choppers that got through the infield and a bloop over the mound that fell just out of his reach. Hinsz made a great pitch on that last hit, running a fastball in on the hands and jamming the batter. He walked two batters and hit another, but his control was strong the entire game. One of the walks had a 2-2 pitch that looked like it got a lot of the strike zone. He threw 78 pitches total, with 47 going for strikes.

The outing wasn’t great though because it did include a lot of fly balls. He also left some fastballs up in the zone and got away with them. Hinsz was working almost all fastballs. He threw some curves that had real nice break, but they missed the zone and didn’t get chases. I only saw one changeup and it went for a ball high and outside. There could have been more as I missed about 8-10 pitches total due to the broadcast freezing up. He also had just two strikeouts and there weren’t many swing and misses. Hinsz has gone at least five innings in all of his starts and this is the third time he has thrown shutout ball.

West Virginia won this game 2-0 and got some help from Rome’s defense to make that happen. Alfredo Reyes went 4-for-4 with his 20th stolen base, though he didn’t factor into the scoring. In the third inning, Reyes singled to lead-off the frame. Casey Hughston tried to bunt him to second base, but it was a poor bunt and they got Reyes out on the play. Logan Ratledge singled, then both Ratledge and Hughston moved up a base on a bad pick-off throw. The next batter was Mitchell Tolman, who grounded out to first base. The first baseman decided the step on first and then go home. His throw was just late and wide of the plate, allowing both runs to score.

Prospect-Watch-Morgantown

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MORGANTOWN, WV – Stephan Meyer came into the game struggling badly but had a strong five innings on Sunday. He gave up two hits and two walks, and struck out three, throwing 43 of 64 pitches for strikes. Meyer pounded the lower part of the strike zone with sinkers, leading to ten ground outs and just one fly out. He got quite a few swings and misses with changeups and was able to throw his curve for strikes some of the time, although the pitch looked like it could be tighter. The only run off Meyer came on a walk, a ground out and a steal of third, with the runner scoring when the throw got away.

The Black Bears had plenty of scoring chances early, but they had four runners thrown out on the bases in the first three innings, including Sandy Santos twice. Morgantown finally got on the board in the fifth when Hunter Owen hit a book rule double with runners on first and second, which meant that nobody could get thrown out. Will Craig then lined out to left for a sacrifice fly.

Several Morgantown players had good days at the plate. Santos went 3-for-5 with a double and a walk. The “other” two at-bats were a hard grounder that the third baseman couldn’t handle, which was ruled an error, and a hard liner to the first baseman. Craig hit the ball hard his first four times up. The first two he singled hard to left, the third was the line drive sac fly, and the fourth was a scorching liner on which the third baseman made a nice grab. His last two times up Craig walked and struck out. Arden Pabst, a 12th round pick who’s more of a defense-oriented catcher, has struggled at the plate so far, but today had a single and double in five ABs. Ty Moore also went 2-for-5.

Craig’s adventures in the field didn’t match his batting stroke. In the first, he took a routine grounder and flung it far over first baseman Chris Harvey’s head. Craig’s second chance was also a routine grounder and he bounced the throw, but Harvey made a nice pickup. On the steal that led to the only run off Meyer, Craig was charged with his second error for letting the ball get by. It wasn’t an easy throw for him to come up with, but he made it tougher when he reached the base at about the same time as the runner. Later still, on a bunt hit attempt, Craig fielded the ball well on the run, and had a chance to make a play, but he couldn’t get the ball out of his glove.

Santos, by contrast, appeared to get very good jumps in center, which is probably why he’s playing there rather than Clark Eagan. Steal attempts are a different story, as he doesn’t seem to get good jumps at all. Santos tried to steal three times in the two weekend games. Twice he was caught easily. The other time he barely beat the throw. On the season he has three steals, but he’s been caught six times.

On the mound, Matt Anderson followed Meyer. A tenth round pick, Anderson started three of his first four games, but made a very brief, one-inning appearance, throwing only seven pitches. He throws straight over the top with a good deal of effort, and doesn’t appear to have outstanding velocity, but so far this year he’s fanned 20 in 11.2 IP. Today he got a punch out and two quick grounders. Neil Kozikowski was impressive in the next two innings, fanning four. He did it mostly with curves, but also did a good job of driving his fastball down in the zone.

The Black Bears took a 2-1 lead into the ninth, but Brandon Bingel gave up a one-out HR to tie the game. It went into extras, and Bingel did an outstanding job of pitching out of a no-out, second-and-third jam in the eleventh. The game finally went into the twelfth inning and Matt Frawley got roughed up for three runs, leaving Lowell with a 5-2 win. – Wilbur Miller

Prospect-Watch-Bristol
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Bristol has been using the pitching combo of Matt Eckelman and Adam Oller effectively these last couple weeks. On Sunday, Eckelman allowed one run over five innings, while Oller followed with one run over four innings in Bristol’s 6-2 win. Eckelman now has a 2.45 ERA in six appearances, though he allowed four runs in one game and a total of three in the other five outings combined. Oller struck out five batters in this game and now has 23 strikeouts in 19.1 innings. On Tuesday, the two pitchers combined for nine shutout innings.

The offense was led by Adrian Valerio and Yoel Gonzalez, both of whom drove in two runs. Valerio has been in a slump lately at the plate after a quick start to the season. He is 5-for-42 in his last 11 games, dropping his average to .243 on the season. Garrett Brown hit a triple, walked, scored a run and picked up an RBI. Jhoan Herrera scored two runs, while Julio de la Cruz had two hits, including his third double.

Prospect-Watch-GCL

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The GCL Pirates are off on Sunday.

Prospect-Watch-DSL

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The DSL Pirates are off on Sunday.

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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