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Winter Leagues: Luis Heredia Makes His First Start Since 2015

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A recap of the weekend action for the Pittsburgh Pirates in winter ball, including the first winter start for Luis Heredia, and Elias Diaz plays his second game since September 1st.

Saturday

In Venezuela, Elvis Escobar went 0-for-4 with a run scored

Jose Osuna went 0-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.

Julio Vivas pitched an inning and allowed two runs on three hits.

In the Dominican, Kelvin Marte threw five shutout innings to give him an 0.99 ERA through five starts and 27.1 innings. He’s currently a free agent.

Miguel Rosario faced four batters, walking one batter, hitting another, and picking up two outs. He was removed from the game and one of the runners scored.

In Mexico, Carlos Munoz grounded out as a pinch-hitter, dropping him to a .129 average.

In Puerto Rico, Danny Ortiz went 2-for-4 with a walk.

Sunday

In Mexico, Luis Heredia made his first start since the end of the 2015 regular season. He switched to relief last winter in Mexico and that carried over into the 2016 season. His first ten appearances of this winter have been as a reliever, topping out at three innings back on October 25th. On Sunday, Heredia had a tough first inning, then really settled down afterwards. He gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning, then allowed just two more hits and one unearned run over the next four innings. He finished with no walks and six strikeouts, throwing 55 of his 79 pitches for strikes. Heredia now has a 6.00 ERA in 21 innings, with 20 strikeouts.

In Venezuela, Elias Diaz made his second start behind the plate and went 0-for-3 with a walk. He made his debut on Friday, then had Saturday night off. Diaz has caught all nine innings both times.

Jose Osuna went 1-for-5 with a double and a run scored. He played first base and committed two errors. He is hitting .241/.325/.346 through 36 games.

Elvis Escobar went 1-for-5 with his third triple and an RBI. He is hitting .261/.274/.405 through 36 games.

Jhondaniel Medina recorded the final out of the seventh inning, then allowed two hits and a walk in the eighth before being removed. All three runners would score after he left the game.

In the Dominican, Pablo Reyes played second base and batted lead-off, going 0-for-4 at the plate. Through 11 games, he has a .351 average and he’s played second base, third base and shortstop each multiple times.

Edwin Espinal singled as a pinch-hitter, then played the last inning on defense at first base. This was just his third plate appearance and first hit since November 2nd.

In Australia, Nick Hutchings made his season debut as a starter for Adelaide and gave two runs on two hits and three walks in two innings. He needed 56 pitches to get through his abbreviated outing.

Sam Kennelly started at third base for the fourth straight game and went 1-for-4, leaving him 3-for-15 with a walk and an RBI in the opening week.

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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