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Morning Report: Bradenton is the Best Hitting Team in a Pitcher-Friendly League

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Just over one month ago, we took a look at the team batting for each of the four affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The results showed that Indianapolis was one of the worst hitting teams in their league. Altoona was near the bottom of the Eastern League, but not as bad as Indianapolis. Bradenton and West Virginia were both at the top, with the Power first in their league and Bradenton had a team OPS just two points behind the league leader. With another four weeks of data and about 50 games played each, we take an updated look at how each team is doing.

I explained in the first article that the stats for the top three teams are a lot more important to look at than West Virginia. Those three teams are all young compared to league average and they are filled with prospects. The Power have neither of those things going, so being among the best in their league just means that a veteran team (veteran compared to that level) is doing what they are supposed to do against younger and less experienced competition. The other teams have a lot of prospects, so you hope for at least middle of the league team stats. That’s especially true in Double-A and Triple-A, where they could be facing older teams with much more experience than them.

We start in the 14-team International League, where Indianapolis has gone from 13th in OPS to sixth. They were at .630 in late April, but they now have it up to a .733 OPS. Indianapolis is second in average, fifth in slugging and seventh in OBP. They are middle of the pack in most stats, ranking third in hits and double, and fourth in runs.

Altoona is in a 12-team league and they went from eighth in OPS to fourth, picking up 52 points since the last update. They are second in average and fifth in slugging just like Indianapolis, but they are second in OBP. Altoona is the toughest team to strike out in the league. They also rank second in doubles and hits, but they are seventh in runs.

Bradenton is also in a 12-team league and they lead in OPS by 30 points. That’s a bigger difference than the one between the second best and seventh best teams in the league. They are first in both slugging and OBP, while ranking third in average. Bradenton has a huge lead in both stolen bases and walks. They are third in homers, first in triples and third in doubles. They have also scored 24 more runs than the second best team. The interesting thing to note with Bradenton is the team OPS has only gone up four points in the last month, but what you are seeing is other teams returning to normal FSL offensive numbers, while Bradenton continues to hit as the weather gets hotter and homers become harder to hit.

West Virginia was leading in OPS last time we checked, but now they are second and trailing by 34 points to the team that just beat them three times at home this weekend. The Power lead in OBP by one point over Hagerstown, but the big difference comes from slugging, where West Virginia still ranks second. Just liked Altoona, the Power are last in the league in strikeouts. The high OPS hasn’t translated to runs, where they rank ninth out of 14 teams in the league.

These stats play out just like you want to see from these teams. That’s a big improvement on offense for both of the top two teams and now they are closer to the top of their league than the bottom. The other two clubs didn’t show any type of drop in stats.

PLAYOFF PUSH

Bradenton trails in their division by a half game with 19 games remaining in the first half.

West Virginia trails their division leader by 6.5 games, with 20 games left in the first half. They are in fifth place.

PIRATES GAME GRAPH


Source: FanGraphs

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 7-2 to the New York Mets on Sunday night. The Pirates will send Trevor Williams to the mound as they open up a three-game series at home this afternoon against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He went five innings in his last start, which was in Atlanta. Williams allowed three runs on six hits and no walks, with six strikeouts. He faced Arizona earlier in the month and allowed one run over five innings. The Diamondbacks will counter with 27-year-old right-hander Randall Delgado, who has a 3.82 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 15 relief appearances and one start this season.

In the minors, Drew Hutchison goes for Indianapolis, coming off a start in which he allowed five runs over four innings. In his three previous starts combined, he gave up four runs over 18.2 innings. Alex McRae goes for Altoona. He had a 2.12 ERA in five April starts, earning him our Pitcher of the Month recognition. In May, he has a 5.48 ERA in four starts. West Virginia starter Cam Vieaux hasn’t allowed more than one run in any start this season. Bradenton has off today.

MLB: Pittsburgh (23-28) vs Diamondbacks (31-21) 4:05 PM
Probable starter: Trevor Williams (5.93 ERA, 11:22 BB/SO, 30.1 IP)

AAA: Indianapolis (27-21) @ Rochester (21-22) 1:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Drew Hutchison (4.35 ERA, 19:39 BB/SO, 49.2 IP)

AA: Altoona (26-21) @ Erie (21-25) 1:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Alex McRae (3.53 ERA, 11:29 BB/SO, 51.0 IP)

High-A: Bradenton (29-21) @ Ft Myers (25-26) 6:35 PM 5/30 (season preview)
Probable starter:  TBD

Low-A: West Virginia (22-24) @ Charleston (25-24) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Cam Vieaux (1.38 ERA, 8:21 BB/SO, 39.0 IP)

HIGHLIGHTS

Here is Connor Joe’s third home run of the season from Saturday night. It was a no doubter.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

5/28: Jameson Taillon assigned to Altoona on rehab.

5/27: Yunior Montero assigned to Bradenton. Danny Arribas assigned to Extended Spring Training.

5/27: Antonio Bastardo and Josh Lindblom assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.

5/27: Andrew Walker assigned to West Virginia. Trae Arbet assigned to Morgantown.

5/26: Kevin Krause activated from disabled list. Mitch Keller placed on disabled list.

5/26: Eury Perez assigned to Morgantown.

5/25: Chris Harvey retired.

5/25: Gregory Polanco activated from the disabled list. Danny Ortiz optioned to Indianapolis.

5/23: Yunior Montero assigned to Extended Spring Training. Sam Street added to Bradenton roster.

5/22: James Marvel activated from West Virginia disabled list. Chris Harvey assigned to Morgantown.

5/20: Jhan Marinez added to Pirates roster. Josh Lindblom placed on disabled list.

THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY

Two former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus two trades of note and one interesting signing that we will look into. The former players born on this date are third baseman Charlie Hayes (1996) and 1929 third baseman Jim Stroner. If you know Pirates history, you’ll know that Stroner didn’t have much of a chance to play third base, as one of the team’s all-time greats was in the middle of his career. That would be Pie Traynor. If you know the minor league system now, you’ll know Charlie Hayes is the father of Ke’Bryan Hayes, who does not have anyone nearly as good as Pie Traynor blocking him at third base.

The Pirates traded infielder Billy Almon to the New York Mets on this date in 1987 for minor league outfielder Scott Little and shortstop Al Pedrique. It looked like a good trade for the Pirates, as Pedrique hit .301 as a rookie, but by the end of the next season he was hitting under .200 and got released.

On this date in 1931, the Pirates traded catcher Rollie Hemsley to the Cubs for catcher Earl Grace and cash. Grace became a solid starter for the Pirates, even though he was acquired to be a backup at the time. They regretted giving up Hemsley though, as he went on to make five All-Star teams and catch over 1,400 games in the big leagues.

On this date in 1925, the Pirates signed veteran first baseman Stuffy McInnis. He was being used as a bench player early in his time with the Pirates, but then put on one of the best hitting shows in team history. From July 29th until the end of the season, McInnis hit .468 and helped the Pirates to their third World Series appearance. He hit .286 in the series and the Pirates ended up winning their second title in seven games over the Washington Senators.

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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