A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time (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, Bristol – [insert_php]
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13. Max Kranick, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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14. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – [insert_php]
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15. Edgar Santana, RHP, Pirates – [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, Bristol – [insert_php]
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24. Barrett Barnes, LF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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25. Max Moroff, 2B, Pirates -[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. Jin-De Jhang, C, Altoona – [insert_php]
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INDIANAPOLIS — He wasn’t as good as in his previous start, but there were still several positive signs to build on moving forward.
Tyler Glasnow allowed two earned runs on four hits in 5.2 innings against Louisville on Saturday, allowing three walks and striking out 11.
“He was on the attack and established his fastball early,” Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett said. “It’s hard to compare him to his last outing because he was so electric, so in the zone so consistently.”
Glasnow never threw higher than 97 MPH in his last outing with the Pirates before being optioned back to Indianapolis. But his velocity was impressive from the beginning against Louisville, hitting 100 MPH twice and throwing eight of his 14 pitches in the first inning at least 98 MPH. He also hit 99 MPH in the sixth and final inning he pitched.
He’s been throwing out of the stretch since returning to Indianapolis in mid-June, as the shorter leg kick provides a more consistent, confident Glasnow.
“I’m obviously trying to attack,” Glasnow said, “I can still throw hard in the windup, but it’s too inconsistent for me. If I can keep it the same throughout the game it really helps.”
Indianapolis uses a TrackMan radar system that the Pirates installed and it feeds into the scoreboard, so the pitch speeds should be pretty accurate.
Those two 100 MPH pitches came against Darnell Sweeney, though they were both out of the zone, before striking him out on a curve.
And later in the game, Glasnow went to his changeup more frequently – throwing about 10-12 of those pitches in the game, Barkett said.
“It felt good with a couple of swing and misses on it, and a lot of groundballs,” Glasnow said.
Glasnow used his breaking pitches to get outs in the sixth inning. He struck out Jesse Winker, the Reds’ second-ranked prospect, looking at one; and induced a shallow flyout from Alex Blandino on another one.
And that’s where Glasnow’s night took a wrong turn.
He didn’t get a close called third strike against Dilson Herrera, who homered on the next pitch and that ended Glasnow’s outing at 107 pitches 68 for a strike.
Glasnow did walk three batters – including the opposing pitcher in the third inning, who came around to score.
“I think the only time I didn’t really have my foot on the gas was the pitcher,” Glasnow said. “I have to not do that again. I haven’t thrown to a pitcher in a while, so next time I’ll be aggressive.”
Indianapolis catcher Jacob Stallings caught one of Glasnow’s previous starts since being optioned back to Triple-A. Overall, Stallings thought Glasnow did a good job of being aggressive with his pitches.
“I don’t want to say it’s a lot better, but he’s being a lot more aggressive and not placing it as much. When he was in the big leagues he was so concerned with walking people – and you don’t want to walk people – but he lost some of his controlled aggression.”
Danny Ortiz crushed a three-run homer that left the stadium, bouncing once on the right field concourse and landing on West Street outside the park.
Eury Perez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Christopher Bostick was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Erich Weiss was 2-for-3
**Jordan Luplow just missed an XBH. Louisville’s RF made jumping catch against wall at 360 mark. He’s had two shots in two Triple-A games. He was 1-for-4 on Saturday.
**Erich Weiss appeared to jam his left wrist while sliding into third base in the fifth inning, but remained in the game after a visit from trainer Dru Scott. – Brian Peloza
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Altoona lost 11-3 on Saturday night to Erie. Alex McRae almost didn’t make it out of the first inning, giving up four runs and throwing 30 pitches. He was getting hit hard, allowing solo runs in the second and third innings as well, before finishing his day with two shutout frames. On the night, he allowed six runs on ten hits, with five of those hits going for extra bases.
It wasn’t just McRae who had trouble on this night. Jared Lakind came in to pitch the sixth and surrendered four runs in his only inning of work. Sean Keselica allowed one run in his only inning, before Brandon Cumpton retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth, throwing just six pitches. This was Cumpton’s Altoona debut, after making six appearances with Bradenton.
Altoona had plenty of base runners in this game with seven hits and six walks. Kevin Newman went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs, while picking up his third stolen base of the season. Elvis Escobar hit his fifth double and picked up two outfield assists, throwing out the same runner each time. Logan Hill went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk in his Altoona debut. Everyone in the Curve starting lineup reached base at least once.
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BRADENTON, Fla. – The last time Gage Hinsz went seven innings was on May 2nd. It was the best start of his season, and one of the best starts of his career. Unfortunately, he felt some shoulder soreness before his next start. He skipped a turn in the rotation, then returned and struggled for the rest of the month, which he said was unrelated to the shoulder issue. Over the last five outings, Hinsz has looked a lot better, showing improved control and putting up good results.
That continued tonight, as Hinsz gave up three runs, two earned, in seven innings, pitching in front of almost 6,000 fans in a rare big crowd night (it was a fireworks night.) Hinsz showed good control, working efficiently through the first three innings, pounding the strike zone with his fastball to get ahead, and showing a good curveball at times to help lead to four strikeouts.
There was a stretch where Hinsz started getting hit hard around the third and fourth inning. However, he limited the damage. He had a big strikeout with one out and runners at second and third in the third inning, and followed that up with a pop out to escape the jam. The next inning saw him get a lineout to Alfredo Reyes at shortstop for a double play to limit the damage. Hinsz did a good job pitching out of a jam in the seventh inning as well, getting another key strikeout with one out and a runner at third, before getting out of the inning two batters later on a groundout.
Hinsz was dominant tonight, consistently hitting 94-95 MPH with good command, and flashing a plus curveball at times.
Mitchell Tolman helped fuel the offense, going 2-for-5 with a double. Tolman has been on a hot streak lately, going 10-for-16 in his last four games. Casey Hughston also had a nice night, picking up a key two-RBI single. He then moved to second on a balk, stole third, and stole home on the back end of a double steal.
The Marauders passed 100 stolen bases as a team tonight, getting to 101. That’s pretty amazing when you consider that last year’s team had 88 stolen bases, and only two teams last year in the system had more than 100 stolen bases. Those teams were Indianapolis (110) and West Virginia (146). Many of the players on the Marauders this year were in West Virginia last year, so the increase isn’t a huge surprise. However, they’re currently on pace to easily pass the 146 total from last year’s West Virginia team. – Tim Williams
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CHARLESTON, WV – A two-hour rain delay did little to slow down the Power against the Hickory Crawdads. For the second night in a row, West Virginia jumped out to an early lead thanks to a litany of fielding errors and walks by Hickory. Starter Oddy Nunez didn’t have his best control, but his defense bailed him out. The offense staked a five-run lead early, and unlike last night, the Power bullpen shut the door.
The Power’s recent surge can be traced to a pair of shutouts in Augusta. “The staff got on them a little bit after that, and they answered,” said manager Wyatt Toregas.
While the Power offense was not awe-inspiring, it was relentless. Each West Virginia batter reached base at least once, and the team batted around in the second inning. They worked seven walks and burned through four Hickory pitchers (including a catcher who came in to pitch the eighth).
Trae Arbet went 2-for-5 with two runs, a homer, and three RBI on his 23rd birthday. He cooled significantly in June, finishing the month in which he went to the SAL All-Star Game with a .149/.205/.209 line. He hadn’t hit a home run since May 31 and had only six games without a strikeout in June.
Garrett Brown, Albert Baur, and Brent Gibbs each had two hits apiece. Baur hit a long blast and drove in a run with a groundout. Carlos Munoz was the only Power player not to cross the plate, but he drove in two runs and was stranded in scoring position twice.
Nunez’s velocity was down in the start, and his sinker didn’t have its usual bite. The five Hickory singles streaked into the outfield on line drives. Nunez was uncharacteristically inefficient, needing 99 pitches to get through 5.2 innings. His control fell apart late in the game, though this is understandable considering his longest previous outing was 85 pitches.
Toregas said, “He was working the edges of the zone which led to the hit-by-pitch and the walks. Usually he attacks hitters more to get ground balls.”
Nunez got himself into two jams, and his defense made some stellar plays to bail him out.
In the second inning, Nunez allowed singles to the first two batters before getting a strikeout. The next single bounced in front of Clark Eagan, who fired a strike to the plate to preserve the shutout. Brent Gibbs stood strong as Hickory catcher Alex Kowalczyk barreled over him. Nunez induced a groundout on the next pitch to end the inning.
In the fourth Hickory loaded the bases. Nunez got a groundout (giving up his only run), and then got a strikeout. Kevin Mahala, who entered the game as a pinch hitter for Hunter Owen, snagged a lineout to prevent any further damage.
Owen was hit in the left shoulder by his 20th pitch in the first inning. He was in visible pain, but he stayed in the game for the top of the second, making the inning-ending playing getting the lead runner out at second base. Malala took his place in the order in the bottom of the second inning.
“For him to come out of the game…he doesn’t do that,” remarked Toregas. “He has a high pain tolerance. He’s a very tough man.”
X-rays were negative, and Owen will be reevaluated in the morning. This would be a huge blow to a team just starting to hit their stride offensively as Owen has been an offensive catalyst for the past month.
Matt Anderson, who has moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen, silenced the Crawdad bats with perfect seventh and eighth innings. His stuff got nastier as the night wore on, notching two strikeouts to end the eighth.
Andrew Potter closed out the game in the ninth. He gave off a lead-off homer to close the gap to 11-2 but settled in to retire the final three batters in order. – Abigail Miskowiec
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Morgantown lost 4-2, as a couple noteworthy draft picks made their pro debuts. Third round draft pick Dylan Busby played his first game just three days after he signed. His team was in the College World Series, so he didn’t have much of a layoff. Busby was the DH and he went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts, a sacrifice bunt and a walk. He stole second base after the walk and was safe by a wide margin off of a lefty who picked-off two runners in this game.
Chris Sharpe, who received a $256,000 bonus in the 14th round, also made his debut. He reached base three times on a single, walk and a HBP. He scored both runs for Morgantown. Out in left field, he got his first error out of the way early, dropping a fly ball in the sixth inning.
Ike Schlabach started this game and right away I noticed that he changed his delivery. The southpaw used to bring his right leg up into his chest during his windup, but now his leg goes waist high, so it was a huge difference. He threw nine innings without a walk in his first two starts, then issued two walks in the first inning this day. He also had nine strikeouts in those nine innings, but this night he failed to pickup a single strikeout in five innings. Schlabach allowed three runs on four hits and four walks.
Brett Pope had a solid game in the first time I’ve watched him. He made a great diving play to his right at shortstop, then got up quickly and made a strong throw from the outfield (fake) grass. He also had two hits in this game, including a nice line drive single up the middle off of a tough pitcher in a lefty/lefty match-up. Pope was drafted in the 22nd round.
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Bristol put up some high scoring games this week against last place Princeton, but those bats didn’t show up in a 2-1 loss to Bluefield. Bristol had just six hits in the game and their only run scored on a third inning homer by Henrry Rosario. Five other hitters had one hit apiece and the Pirates failed to draw a single walk, so no one reached base more than once in this game. Both Edison Lantigua and Yondry Contreras were out of the lineup, leaving the team short on noteworthy players this night.
On the pitching side, Hunter Stratton made his second start and the 16th round draft pick threw three no-hit innings. He’s still working on a limited pitch count, so he was done after 44 pitches. He issued one walk and had five strikeouts. Lefty Mason Ward, who was drafted in the 34th round, made his pro debut. He allowed one run over 1.2 innings. Evan Piechota took the loss, giving up one run in 3.1 innings.
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The GCL Pirates lost 7-2 on Saturday to give them a 2-4 record in their first week of action. This game started off poorly, as starter Roger Santana couldn’t make it out of the first inning. He allowed four runs on two hits and a walk, with three of those runs being unearned due to a Victor Ngoepe error. Santana threw five shutout innings in his season debut (note that his ERA is wrong because of four shutout innings by Adonis Pichardo on Thursday still being credited to Santana).
Samuel Reyes followed Santana and stranded an inherited runner in the first, then threw another three shutout innings on just one hit and no walks. That led to Yeudy Garcia making his second relief appearance in the GCL. His first one went smooth, striking out the side in his only inning. This one wasn’t quite as good, allowing an unearned run on one hit and two walks, with one strikeout in two innings. He will continue to make relief appearances in the GCL for a short time, then it’s possible he will move into a relief role when he returns to Altoona. That hasn’t been announced yet.
The Pirates had just four hits on offense and scored both of their runs in the second inning. Rodolfo Castro led off the inning with a walk, then Jesse Medrano doubled for his first pro hit. After Mikell Granberry was hit by a pitch, a wild pitch and throwing error on the same play, scored both Castro and Medrano. That would be it for the scoring. The other hits for the Pirates were a fourth inning double by Victor Ngoepe, a sixth inning single by Calvin Mitchell and a ninth inning single by Jeremias Portorreal.
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The DSL Pirates moved to 15-10 on the season with a 12-3 win over the Astros Orange team on Saturday. This game had a few big hits from the Pirates, including a two-run homer from shortstop prospect Francisco Acuna. The home run was his first as a pro and he walked in each of his other four plate appearances. In the sixth inning, back-to-back doubles from Matthew Mercedes and Ruben Gonzalez each brought in a pair of runs. In the seventh inning, Gonzalez again knocked in a pair with a double, then four batters later, Sherten Apostel drove in three runs with a bases loaded triple. The Pirates also got three hits from catching prospect Samuel Inoa, who now has a .396 average.
Emison Soto had a single, three walks and he scored two runs. Kyle Simmons had a single, two walks, a HBP and he scored two runs. As good as this game was on offense, it could have been better. The Pirates went 0-for-3 in stolen base attempts and they had a runner picked-off.
On the pitching side, starter Santiago Florez had some control issues during his four innings. He gave up three runs (one earned) on two hits, three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch. After he left, Yerry De Los Santos and Kleiner Machado combined for five shutout innings on three hits and a walk.
Top prospect Jean Eusebio left this game after being hit by a pitch in the third inning. He was 0-for-1 at the time, while picking up an early outfield assist. Eusebio was hit on the shin, which swelled up right away. He couldn’t walk immediately afterwards and had to leave for a pinch-runner.
