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Prospect Watch: Solid Start for Tarpley; Barnes Homers in Third Straight Game

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

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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Indianapolis lost 9-2 to Louisville tonight. Steven Brault started and had a tough first inning, with trouble throwing strikes early, then throwing strikes that got too much of the plate after that. He ended up allowing three earned runs. Then he came out for the second inning and dominated with two strikeouts and a weak ground out, getting a few swing-and-misses. Brault was at 34 pitches at that point and he didn’t come back out for the third inning. No reason has been given and with the way he pitched in the second, it didn’t look like anything was wrong.

The two highlights of this game were a solo homer from Jason Rogers and Danny Ortiz pitching. Rogers hit a bomb to straight away center, which went directly over the 405 sign. It was his sixth home run of the season. Ortiz pitched a scoreless ninth inning, giving up a walk, which was followed by a double play and a fly out to left field. The updated scouting report on Ortiz now includes a 78-81 MPH fastball and a low-70s some kind of pitch. He may have tried a slider and a changeup because one had a sweeping break and the other had some late downward movement.

Elias Diaz had two hits, including his third double. Jose Osuna had two singles and a run scored. Austin Meadows walked twice, but he was picked-off once and caught stealing the other time. He also committed a fielding error.

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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ALTOONA, PA – Brandon Waddell took the ball tonight in Altoona after allowing five earned runs in 6.1 IP last week in New Hampshire. He worked six innings tonight, allowing three runs in the fourth inning, but he also matched a career high in strikeouts with eight.

Waddell was efficient through his first two innings of work, throwing 14 and 13 pitches in the first and second, respectively. In those innings, the only blemish against him was a line drive single to left field in the first. After throwing only 27 pitches in the first two innings, Waddell threw 30 in the third and 21 in the fourth. In the third inning, he struck out the first two batters before walking the next two. He got a fly out to center to end the inning, but his pitch count was high to each batter he faced. In the fourth, he hit the first batter he faced before the next two singled, bringing a run home. A double scored two more against him.

Waddell did not have help in that fourth inning, as Elvis Escobar misplayed a fly ball that should have been caught. The single would have only been the first out of the inning, but the inning would have played out differently with a runner at first with one out compared to runners at first and third with no outs. An error was not given on the play, but a “mental error” is much more like it.

Waddell still thought that he could have done better during that fourth inning.

“I just have to be better than that during those two innings, to be honest,” Waddell said. “I tried to make the perfect pitch at that point, but I should’ve realized where I was in the count and just attack guys.”

Waddell went back to being extremely efficient in the fifth and sixth innings, totaling 24 pitches in those two innings while setting down six straight batters. He got three strikeouts and two groundouts in those last two innings, ending his outing on a strikeout (it would’ve been his last batter no matter what as he was at 102 pitches).

He had great fastball command, especially inside to right handed hitters, getting quite a few of his strikeouts by locating his fastball well around the strike zone.

“I’ve always been a guy that really likes to throw in,” Waddell said. “I want to be aggressive and attack guys. I think it’s something that can be very effective if I can establish it early and set up a lot of other things in the count.”

He also had two strikeouts with his curveball, something that he has not done all too much this season. Pitching Coach Justin Meccage said that Waddell’s curveball looked extremely good compared to where it has been for a stretch earlier this season.

Offensively, Elvis Escobar and Edwin Espinal picked up two hits each for the Curve, both with doubles to left field and a single. The best offense is sometimes instant offense, of course, and Barrett Barnes provided that again tonight, drilling a two-run home run over the left field wall. It was the third straight game that he started (had last night off) that he hit a home run to left field. It was his seventh home run since August 9th.

“He turned his season around, it’s that simple,” Cora said. “He’s been fun to watch. A guy like him, where at the beginning to middle of the season, he was just spinning and going basically nowhere. To watch him to this has been amazing.”

Down 3-2 in the seventh inning, Escobar doubled in Eric Wood to tie the game at three. Kevin Newman then hit a ground rule double down the right field line, a ball that barely stayed fair then got caught in the fence by the Curve bullpen. Newman’s double brought home Escobar, then Jin-De Jhang singled in Newman during the next at-bat.

John Kuchno worked two scoreless innings in relief of Waddell to get the win, and Jared Lakind entered in the ninth for the save. It was Lakind’s seventh save of the season and first since July 9th.

With the Curve win and an Akron loss, the Curve go back to having a 2.5 game lead in the Eastern League Western Division. The top two teams in the division make the playoffs, and Harrisburg is only four games back of the Curve right now, sitting in third place behind Akron.

Note: Kevin Newman was hit by a pitch on his hand in the bottom of the fifth inning, and he went to the ground in what seemed to be extreme pain for a couple of minutes. Surprisingly while watching the game, Newman was able to remain in the game.

Newman said after the game that there is a tiny amount of swelling in his hand, but he has full movement in the hand, so they are not worried about it being anything significant.

“It stung a lot at first,” Newman said. “A few weeks ago, I was squared up worse that that, and I was fine. The last one hurt a lot more. I knew right off the bat that it was going to hurt, but it would ultimately be okay. It just took a little bit to brush off.”

Curve manager Joey Cora said after the game that Newman has been dealing with some groin issues for a little over a week now, so the Curve’s coaching staff have been extremely cautious with him lately. He has been taking a day off every two games or so, but he continues to get his work in. Cora said that they have just been working with him to see how he feels everyday when he comes to the ball park.

Cora also said that Nick Kingham will start on Monday for the Curve. – Sean McCool

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Bradenton lost 3-2 to Jupiter on Thursday night, as Stephen Tarpley had a solid outing despite taking to loss. Tarpley gave up one run over six innings in his last start. He backed that up with another six inning performance, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk. He had six strikeouts and an impressive 10:2 GO/AO ratio. Tarpley threw 52 of his 82 pitches for strikes.

On offense, Tito Polo had three hits and drove in a run. Since being promoted, his power numbers have gone down, which is expected for anyone in the Florida State League. On the positive side though, his strikeout rate is nearly the same and his walks have increased. That’s a very good sign for someone who had questionable breaking ball recognition skills coming into the season and moved up to a pitcher’s league.

Kevin Kramer had two hits and a sacrifice bunt. Pablo Reyes went 1-for-4 with a run scored. He has reached base in 12 straight games. Christian Kelley went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored. He is hitting .409 in six games played since being promoted to Bradenton. The Marauders went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left ten runners on base.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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West Virginia is fighting to stay alive in the playoff race, but a 6-4 loss at home to the worst team in the league on Thursday night, put them in a tough spot. Dario Agrazal started and took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks. He had a 9:2 GO/AO ratio and two strikeouts, throwing just 78 pitches over his six innings. Taylor Hearn followed and had some control issues in his two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, walked three and struck out three batters. He threw 42 pitches in his brief outing, with 23 going for strikes. In 13.2 innings since joining the Pirates in the Mark Melancon deal, Hearn has eight walks and 21 strikeouts.

The Power had a lot of chances to break this game open and they couldn’t come up with the big hits. Lexington pitchers walked 13 batters. For the Power, 13 wasn’t a lucky number on this night. They left 13 runners on base and went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. West Virginia had four doubles in the game, including the 24th of the season from Carlos Munoz and the 19th of the season from Ryan Nagle. Mitchell Tolman won the most interesting batting line of the night award. He went 0-for-0 with four walks and a sacrifice fly. He now ranks second in the South Atlantic League with 63 walks.

Prospect-Watch-Morgantown

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Morgantown got a walk-off single from Chris Harvey in the tenth inning for the 4-3 victory over Williamsport. Stephan Meyer started the game and went six innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk. Dylan Prohoroff followed with two shutout innings. Matt Frawley went for the save and gave up two runs, but lasted long enough for the win. All three pitchers each picked up three strikeouts.

The Black Bears manufactured their runs with six singles and seven walks, scoring in three different inning. Will Craig had a single, two walks and an RBI. His OBP is now up to .401, which has him ranked seventh in the league, two points behind teammate Kevin Krause. Speaking of Krause, he walked twice and scored two runs, while picking up his eighth stolen base. Hunter Owen had two hits, a walk and two stolen bases. Harvey was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts before his game-winning hit.

Prospect-Watch-Bristol
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Bristol was eliminated from the playoffs earlier this week, then lost their chance at finishing with a .500 record, so they are just playing for pride at this point. They looked like they were headed for a win early with a 5-0 lead, but that turned into a 6-4 game by the seventh inning stretch. Johnson City ended up scoring three more runs for a 7-6 victory, dropping the Pirates to a 24-37 record with six games left.

Ike Schlabach started and went five innings, giving up two earned runs on six hits and two walks, with zero strikeouts. He had an impressive 12:3 GO/AO ratio on this night, improving on his 1.34 mark coming into the game. John Pomeroy was next and allowed three runs in his 1.1 innings. In 12.2 innings this season, the 13th round pick has issued 19 walks. Nick Hutchings finished off the game with 1.2 scoreless innings.

Adrian Valerio had two hits, drove in two runs and stole his seventh base. He has gone 9-for-16 in his last four games. Victor Fernandez and Henrry Rosario each had two hits. Fernandez had an RBI, while Rosario scored twice.

Prospect-Watch-GCL

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BRADENTON, Fla. – The GCL Pirates were blown out today, losing by a score of 11-1. Jacob Taylor got the start, making his first four inning rehab appearance. He gave up just two runs, one earned, on two hits, with a walk and three strikeouts. The one earned run came on a home run to the second batter in the first inning.

Taylor was sitting 89-93 MPH today, but struggled at times with his control. He was missing low, which was good, but some of his misses were way off the plate, spiking fastballs in the dirt or missing wide. There were a few pitches where he was effectively wild, which is going to work at this level, but wouldn’t work in upper levels. He needed just 52 pitches to get through the outing today, so he was efficient, but kind of struggled in the later frames.

I wrote about Taylor last week, pointing out that he has some command issues, which are partially due to mechanics, and partially due to returning from Tommy John surgery. At this point, it’s hard to say which issue is the bigger factor, and that probably won’t be answered until next season.

The offense had a slow day, and there weren’t many highlights. The biggest one was a triple by Jeremias Portorreal, who took a big cut and sent a liner to the right-center gap. The triple was impressive, as he stumbled a bit out of the box, but used his speed to still make it to third on a slide. All of this came after he laid off a few close breaking pitches. Gabriel Brito brought in the only run of the game with a double, getting his first hit since being promoted from the DSL.

Victor Ngoepe had a single at the start of the game, but was pulled after sliding head first into second on a stolen base attempt. He wasn’t hurt, but the Pirates don’t allow head first slides in the lower levels, leading to the move.

The bullpen had some problems today in the later innings. Ronny Agustin gave up six runs in 1.1 innings, with three walks and a home run. Julian Villamar came on and gave up four walks in an inning, with three runs allowed, and a home run. – Tim Williams

Prospect-Watch-DSL

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The DSL Pirates had their game rained out and with two days left in the season, they will not make the game up. Wednesday’s suspended game was also canceled.

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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