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Prospect Watch: Austin Meadows Continues Recent Hitting With His Second Homer

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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 for an extended time (Trevor Williams, Alen Hanson, Jose Osuna), or loses his prospect eligibility, he will be removed from this list. 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 more active prospects on the list. Rankings are from the 2017 Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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3. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
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4. Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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6. Will Craig, 3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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8. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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9. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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10. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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13. Max Kranick, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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14. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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15. Edgar Santana, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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16. Luis Escobar, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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17. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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18. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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19. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
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20. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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21. Stephen Alemais, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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22. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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23. Travis MacGregor, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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24. Barrett Barnes, LF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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25. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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26. Eric Wood, 3B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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27. J.T. Brubaker, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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28. Chris Bostick, INF/OF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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29. Connor Joe, 3B, Altoona – [insert_php]
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30. Pat Light, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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Austin Meadows continues to show that his bat is heating up, hitting a key three run homer today to put Indianapolis up 3-2 in the 8th inning during their 4-2 win over Columbus. Meadows now has two homers on the season, with this one being his first in over a month, since April 14th. But his offense continues to show positive signs, with an eight game on-base streak that includes three doubles and a homer during that stretch. Meadows had been hitting for a .310/.383/.405 line in his last ten games prior to today.

Chris Bostick also continued his impressive offense, recording his seventh straight multi-hit game by going 2-for-5. He has multiple hits in every game he has played in since returning to Triple-A. when I talked to Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett last week, he said that Bostick doesn’t look like he’s being challenged at the current level, which is a statement that has only gotten stronger in the last week.

The Indians got a good start from Drew Hutchison, who gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in six innings. Hutchison’s two runs allowed both came on solo homers. He was throwing strikes today, with 64 strikes in 97 pitches, and walked a season-low one batter for the second straight start. Those are positive signs for him, and key for him having success going forward.

Edgar Santana pitched another scoreless inning, striking out two and extending his scoreless innings streak to 19.2 innings. He now has an 0.39 ERA in 23.1 innings in Triple-A this year, with a 22:5 K/BB ratio.

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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Altoona got some good production from their offense today, but the bullpen allowed runs in four straight innings to end up losing 8-5.

Yeudy Garcia didn’t get the pitching off to a good start, giving up four runs on three walks and seven hits in 3.2 innings. Most of the damage came on a three run homer in the second inning. Garcia had another 3.2 inning blowup on April 23rd, giving up five runs in that outing and dealing with control issues. Between then and now, he has made three starts, combining for one earned run in 15.2 innings, with a 13:4 K/BB ratio.

Jordan Luplow hit his eighth homer of the year, going 2-for-4. Edwin Espinal also homered today, getting his fourth of the year while going 1-for-3. On the downside, Kevin Kramer went 0-for-5 and didn’t reach base safely for the first time all season. That ends his 32-game on-base streak, which put him just shy of the Altoona record.

Sean Keselica gave up a run in relief. Tate Scioneaux gave up two runs in two innings of work. Miguel Rosario also gave up a run, which was unearned due to a missed catch by Kevin Kramer.

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Last year when Logan Hill made the jump to Bradenton at the start of the year, he looked like a guy who could be a sleeper prospect, hitting for some power that was rare in the Pirates’ system. That didn’t work out, in part because of a hip injury, and he was eventually demoted to West Virginia. He picked up his production later in the year, getting another shot at Bradenton this year.

The 2017 version of Hill is what was expected in 2016. He’s hitting for power, while also hitting for average and getting on base. The power production continued today, as he hit his 11th homer of the year in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Marauders a 4-3 lead in their eventual 5-3 win. Hill trails only Max Moroff in the system in home runs.

Ke’Bryan Hayes went 2-for-3 today with a double, scoring an insurance run in the ninth inning off a triple from Casey Hughston.

The Marauders got a strong start from Dario Agrazal, who gave up two runs, one earned in seven innings, with no walks and five hits. Agrazal struck out a season high eight batters, following up on his last start where he struck out seven in six innings. He now has a 2.49 ERA in 50.2 innings, with a 35:4 K/BB ratio. Casey Sadler made his second appearance with Bradenton, pitching two innings for the first time. He gave up the tying run in the eighth inning on a walk and a hit. He closed out the game, and struck out five in two innings.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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Luis Escobar had some serious control problems in his last two starts, walking 12 batters in 7.1 innings, and giving up nine earned runs in the process. Today he had a much better outing, giving up one earned run in five innings, with two walks and six strikeouts. Control is an issue for him, obviously, but the last two starts were the only outings this year where he has walked more than two batters in a game. Today was a return to the results that have been getting him so much attention this season.

Escobar was followed by Dylan Prohoroff, who has overcome some control issues of his own. He walked six batters between two appearances at the end of April. He has since thrown 8.1 shutout innings since that last appearance, with just three hits allowed, no walks, and 11 strikeouts, with four of those coming today in two innings of work.

Stephen Alemais was removed from the game in the ninth inning after executing a tag out at second base. No word yet on what happened on the play, or the reason for his removal. I’ll update this when I get more information.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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