TOP OF THE SYSTEM
A look at how the current top 20 prospects did today. Note that this list doesn’t include players currently in the majors. Rankings are from the mid-season update.
1. Gerrit Cole, RHP, Altoona (1-1, 7.50) – DNP
2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Bradenton (5-6, 4.18) – DNP
3. Mark Appel, RHP (No Stats) – Unsigned
4. Starling Marte, CF, Indianapolis (.277) – 2-for-4
5. Alen Hanson, SS, West Virginia (.333) – 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
6. Josh Bell, RF, West Virginia (.274) – Low-A DL
7. Luis Heredia, RHP, State College (0-1, 1.00) – DNP
8. Rudy Owens, LHP, Indianapolis (6-3, 2.51) – DNP
9. Jeff Locke, LHP, Indianapolis (6-4, 3.05) – 6 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 6 SO 0 HR
10. Robbie Grossman, CF, Altoona (.245) – 4-for-6, 2 2B, RBI, SB
11. Gregory Polanco, CF, West Virginia (.296) – 2-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI
12. Kyle McPherson, RHP, Altoona (1-2, 5.29) – DNP
13. Nick Kingham, RHP, West Virginia (1-4, 5.23) – DNP
14. Justin Wilson, LHP, Indianapolis (6-4, 3.57) – DNP
15. Tony Sanchez, C, Indianapolis (.193) – 0-for-3
16. Bryan Morris, RHP, Indianapolis (1-2, 2.14) – DNP
17. Mel Rojas, CF, Bradenton (.266) – 1-for-4
18. Wyatt Mathisen, C, GCL Pirates (.385) – 0-for-4
19. Barrett Barnes, CF, State College (.275) – 1-for-3
20. Alex Dickerson, 1B, Bradenton (.289) – 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
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DAILY SUMMARY
Top Pitcher: Jeff Locke, LHP (6-4 3.05) – 6 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 6 SO 0 HR
Top Hitter: Robbie Grossman, CF (.245)- 4-for-6, 2 2B, RBI, SB
Home Runs: Alen Hanson (12), Alex Dickerson (6), Stefan Welch (6), Dilson Herrera (4), Luis Urena (2), Oscar Tejeda (1), Elevys Gonzalez (1)
AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Result: Indianapolis 4, Toledo 2
Starting Pitcher: Jeff Locke, LHP (6-4 3.05) – 6 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 6 SO 0 HR
Top Hitter: Starling Marte, CF (.277) – 2-for-4, Run
Other Notable Performers
Chase d’Arnaud, SS (.206) – 1-for-4, Run
Gorkys Hernandez, LF (.269) – 1-for-3, RBI, BB, SB
Game Notes: Starling Marte collected two hits for the fifth straight game and Brandon Boggs went 2-3 with the only extra base hit(2B) and a run scored as Jeff Locke threw six shutout innings for his sixth win of the season. Jordy Mercer, Matt Hague, Jeff Clement and Tony Sanchez combined for no hits in 15 AB’s. Daniel McCutchen gave up two runs in 1.2 innings and Tim Wood picked up his 11th save.
AA: ALTOONA CURVE
Result: Altoona 11, Harrisburg 3
Starting Pitcher: Phil Irwin, RHP (1-5 4.56) 7 IP 6 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 6 SO 1 HR
Top Hitter: Robbie Grossman, CF (.245)- 4-for-6, 2 2B, RBI, SB
Other Notable Performers
Jarek Cunningham, 2B (.225) – 3-for-5, 3B, 3 RBI
Oscar Tejeda, LF (.500) – 1-for-2, HR, RBI, 3 BB
Game Notes: Phil Irwin won his first game of the season, allowing just one run in seven innings. He gave up seven runs over five innings in his last start. Brock Holt and Matt Curry each collected two hits and an RBI. Recently acquired Oscar Tejeda homered in his first game in the Pirates system. It was his sixth homer of the year. Hunter Strickland pitched one scoreless inning.
A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Result: Palm Beach 5, Bradenton 6
Starting Pitcher: Casey Sadler, RHP (0-3 3.41) – 5 IP 6 H 4 R 4 ER 1 BB 3 SO 0 HR
Top Hitter: Elevys Gonzalez, DH (.227) – 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
Other Notable Performers
Mel Rojas, CF (.266) – 1-for-4, SB
Alex Dickerson, 1B (.289) – 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
Game Notes: Elevys Gonzalez hit his first home run since being demoted from Altoona and Alex Dickerson added a two-run homer in the Bradenton win. Dickerson now has 48 RBI’s on the year. Kirk Singer had two hits, raising his average to .351, he also scored three runs. Quinton Miller picked up the last four outs, two by strikeout, for the win.
A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER
Result: West Virginia 7, Delmarva 2
Starting Pitcher: Zack Von Rosenberg, RHP (1-2 5.18) 6 IP 7 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 SO 0 HR
Top Hitter: Alen Hanson, SS (.333) – 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
Other Notable Performers
Taylor Lewis, LF (.321) – 3-for-5, 2 Runs
Jose Osuna, 1B (.266) – 1-for-4
Gregory Polanco, CF (.296) – 2-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI
Willy Garcia, RF (.254) – 0-for-4
Game Notes: Zack Von Rosenberg had his third strong start of the season since joining the team from Extended Spring Training. He has allowed 14 earned runs over his five starts, with 13 of those runs coming from his second and fourth outings. Polanco now has 14 doubles and 45 RBI’s, while Hanson has 42 RBI’s from the leadoff spot. Rinku Singh pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game.
A-: STATE COLLEGE SPIKES
Result: Mahoning Valley 3, State College 2
Starting Pitcher: Joely Rodriguez, LHP (0-0 3.21) 5 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 3 SO 0 HR
Top Hitter: Chris Diaz, SS (.265) – 1-for-4, SB, Run
Other Notable Performers
Jodaneli Carvajal, 2B (.341) – 1-for-4
Game Notes: Joely Rodriguez threw five shutout innings, continuing the strong starting pitching performances throughout the system tonight. Adrian Sampson, the fifth round draft pick this year, made his pro debut. He allowed two runs on four hits in two innings with four strikeouts. Jordan Cooper took the loss without giving up a hit or walk. A batter reached second on a two-base error, followed by two sacrifices for the unearned run. State College had six hits on the night, coming from six different batters.
RK: GCL PIRATES
Result: Pirates 6, Blue Jays 4
Starting Pitcher: Axel Diaz, RHP (0-0 5.14) 3 IP 4 H 4 R 3 ER 1 BB 3 SO 0 HR
Top Hitter: Dilson Herrera, 2B (.308) – 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI
Other Notable Performers
Elvis Escobar, CF (.286) – 2-for-4, BB
Stetson Allie, DH (.240) – 0-for-2, BB, Run
Luis Urena, RF (.333) – 1-for-4, HR, 4 RBI
Cesar Lopez, RHP (9.00) 2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 SO 0 HR
Game Notes: Luis Urena hit a second inning grand slam to help the GCL Pirates to a 6-4 win. Recently signed 2012 draft pick Jimmy Rider, went 0-4 in his pro debut. Aneudy Merejo closed out the game with two scoreless innings, striking out five batters. He now has nine strikeouts in five innings of work.
DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE
For a primer on the 2012 DSL Pirates, along with information on the players to watch, check out the 2012 DSL Preview.
RK: DSL PIRATES1
Result: Mets 4, Pirates 5
Starting Pitcher: Miguel Rosario, RHP (3.60) 5 IP 3 H 4 R 2 ER 2 BB 3 SO 1 HR (pro debut)
Top Hitter: Tito Polo, CF (.258) -2-for-3, 2B 2 RBI
RK: DSL PIRATES2
Result: Pirates 10, Nationals 5
Starting Pitcher: Christopher De Leon, RHP (1-1 4.08) 3 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 4 BB 4 SO 0 HR
Top Hitter: Tomas Morales, C (.278) – 3-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI
Game Notes: The Pirates collected 14 hits. Maximo Rivera went 2-5 and is now hitting .368 with 16 stolen bases in 21 games. Reliever Luylli Miranda allowed one hit and no runs over 4.2 innings, striking out six. He now has 20 strikeouts in 18.1 innings.
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.
Stefan Welch, potential sleeper prospect? or just raking AA pitchers who haven’t figured him out yet?
sampson in the first inning looked like he was just throwing as hard as he could some landing for strikes and some for balls…lakind 1B had the twobase error in the 8th simple throw from SS he didnt catch it the indians first round pick tyler naquin got to second and the game was over…scrappers pitchers gave a ton of respect to barnes on first…so many pick off attempts/pitch outs
Our top 20, outside of our catchers (Tony at .193….ouch!) did well. ZVR musta really scattered those 7 hits. DPs?
He gave up a double in the first, three straight singles to lead off the second(nice job getting out of that mess), a double in the 3rd, single in the fifth, lead off double in the sixth.
When we re-ranked the top 20 after the draft I had Sanchez right around where he is now but after seeing him hit .193 and he still doesn’t have a homer after 198 AB’s this year, I would probably drop him a little lower just based on that, he isn’t young for AAA, he’s 24 already. This week I talked to an NL scout about him for around 10 minutes and lets just say it wasn’t a positive report in any way. After that talk, he is out of my top 20 for now