Nick Kingham makes his third start of the season tonight. The #6 prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates system has pitched well in each of his first two starts and looks to continue that success at home against Richmond. Check out the Prospect Watch from last night. For a look at possible starters down the line, check out our Probable Starter Chart. All minor league transactions over the last month can be found at the bottom of the page.
AAA: Indianapolis (9-3) @ Louisville (7-5) 6:35pm
Probable starter: Casey Sadler (1-0, 2.08)
Yesterday’s Result: Louisville 7, Indianapolis 3
Casey Sadler will make his third start of the season. He was originally supposed to start on Monday, but this start was pushed back due to two consecutive rainouts and then Jeff Locke ended up going Wednesday. Sadler went six innings in his debut against Columbus, allowing one run on four hits and a walk, with three strikeouts. He lasted seven innings in his second game, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks, with five strikeouts. Sadler made 23 starts for Altoona and one late season start for Indianapolis last year. He threw a total of 136.1 innings, allowing 123 hits, 12 homers and 43 walks. He had 72 strikeouts, a 1.69 GO/AO ratio and a .244 BAA. In his lone Indianapolis start, Sadler allowed three earned runs over six innings.
AA: Altoona (4-7) vs Richmond (8-5) 6:30pm
Probable starter: Nick Kingham (1-0, 0.75)
Yesterday’s Result: Altoona 5, Harrisburg 2
Nick Kingham will make his third start of the season tonight. In his season debut, he threw six shutout innings, allowing three hits and three walks. In his second outing, Kingham gave up one run over six innings and just like in his first game, he allowed three hits and three walks. He has ten strikeouts, a .158 BAA and a 1.44 GO/AO ratio.
High-A: Bradenton (8-5) vs Jupiter (6-7) 6:30pm
Probable starter: Orlando Castro (2-0, 2.45)
Yesterday’s Result: Bradenton 4, Palm Beach 0
Orlando Castro will make his third start of the season tonight. He went five innings in his debut, allowing three runs on four hits. In his last game, Castro threw six shutout innings. He has 11 strikeouts and hasn’t issued a walk this season. Castro has a 4.00 GO/AO ratio and a .225 BAA. In 108 innings last season, split between West Virginia and Bradenton, he had a 2.67 ERA and 84 strikeouts, while walking just 17 batters. He has pitched in the Pirates system since 2010 and has never walked more than 18 hitters in a season.
Low-A: West Virginia (6-8) @ Kannapolis (6-8) 7:05pm
Probable starter: Felipe Gonzalez (0-1, 2.25)
Yesterday’s Result: Asheville 5, West Virginia 4 (game one) West Virginia 3, Asheville 2 (game two)
Felipe Gonzalez will make his first start since joining the Pirates organization. He was picked up from the New York Yankees in the minor league portion of the Rule V draft last December. Gonzalez has pitched three times in relief this year, throwing a total of eight innings. He has allowed two runs on four hits and one walk, while striking out ten batters.
Recent Transactions
4/16: Collin Balester activated from disabled list and assigned to Bradenton.
4/16: Adalberto Santos assigned to Indianapolis. Jay Jackson transferred to Jamestown roster.
4/14: Luis Heredia placed on disabled list. Brett McKinney added to West Virginia roster.
4/13: Adalberto Santos transferred from Indianapolis to Jamestown roster.
4/12: Vin Mazzaro assigned to Indianapolis. Josh Kinney transferred to Jamestown roster.
4/11: Chris Stewart transferred from Bradenton to Indianapolis.
4/11: Jeff Locke activated from disabled list. Assigned to Indianapolis.
4/7: Barrett Barnes and Harold Ramirez placed on disabled list. Adam Landecker and Justin Maffei added to West Virginia roster.
4/6: Chris Stewart assigned to Bradenton on rehab.
4/5: Robert Andino placed on disabled list. Blake Davis added to Indianapolis roster.
4/4: Stetson Allie added to Altoona roster. Junior Sosa transferred to Jamestown roster.
4:4 Kenn Kasparek and Quinton Miller placed on disabled list. Brandon Mann added to Altoona roster.
3/29: Quincy Latimore and Erick Fernandez released.
3/27: Traded a player to be named later in exchange for Keon Broxton.
3/25: Acquired Vance Worley in exchange for cash.
3/22: Six minor league players released. Carlos Mesa, Cesar Lopez, Axel Diaz, Elvin Ramirez, Kirk Singer and Eliecer Navarro.
3/20 Zac Fuesser, Ethan Hollingsworth, Kevin Kleis and Dalton Friend released.
