A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. Note that this list doesn’t include players currently in the majors. If a player is in the majors, he will be removed, 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 (Nick Kingham, Jacob Taylor), 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 30 active prospects on the list. Rankings are from the mid-season update, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.
1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
3. Austin Meadows, CF, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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4. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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5. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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6. Reese McGuire, C, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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7. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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8. Harold Ramirez, OF, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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9. Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – Disabled List
10. Kevin Newman, SS, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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11. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, GCL -[insert_php]
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12. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bristol -[insert_php]
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13. Clay Holmes, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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14. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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15. Max Moroff, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
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16. Barrett Barnes, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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17. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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18. Trey Supak, RHP, Bristol -[insert_php]
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19. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bristol -[insert_php]
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20. Adam Frazier, SS, Altoona -[insert_php]
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21. Willy Garcia, OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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22. Steven Brault, LHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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23. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Morgantown -[insert_php]
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24. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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25. Adrian Valerio, SS, GCL -[insert_php]
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26. Connor Joe, 1B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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27. John Holdzkom, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
28. Jordan Luplow, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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29. Casey Hughston, OF, Morgantown -[insert_php]
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30. Billy Roth, RHP, Bristol -[insert_php]
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Vance Worley pitched his first game for Indianapolis and went five innings, throwing a total of 75 pitches, 45 for strikes. He allowed two runs on three hits and a walk, surrendering a solo homer to Nick Franklin in the first inning and another run in the fifth. After the Franklin homer, he retired eight in a row until walking Franklin, who was immediately throw out stealing. Worley had only two strikeouts, but ended up with ten ground ball outs.
Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer each played their third rehab game. Harrison was at second base last time, but returned to third for this game. He played the entire game, as it looks like his rehab is a little ahead of Mercer, who left after seven innings like the last two times. Harrison went 0-for-4, with a ground out, line out, pop out and strikeout. Mercer was 1-for-3, with a strikeout, ground out and a single, which he came around to score on.
Indianapolis won 3-2 thanks to a two-run single in the fourth inning by Josh Bell. John Bowker followed with a single that would give them all the runs they would need. Bell was 1-for-2 with a walk. Keon Broxton had a single, two walks and a run scored, though he was thrown out stealing twice. A.J. Morris threw 2.1 scoreless after Worley and Blake Wood struck out the side in the ninth for his 26th save.
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The Altoona Curve won 5-3 on Saturday, overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the first inning. A Max Moroff error(his 16th) led to two unearned runs early, but Zack Dodson finished with 4.2 scoreless for the win. Three relievers combined for 3.1 shutout frames. Jose Osuna, Erich Weiss, Eric Wood and Jacob Stallings each had two hits. Wood drove in two runs. Mel Rojas Jr. had a double, walk and scored two runs. Stetson Allie struck out three times in three at-bats, but picked up an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The two bats at the top of the order are having a very tough time lately. Max Moroff has watched his average plummet along with Adam Frazier. A couple weeks ago, Moroff was fighting for a batting title, while it looked like it was all for naught, as Frazier just needed the plate appearances to qualify, before he would take over a huge lead. After an 0-for-3 in this game, he is down to .326, which is 27 points lower than just 11 days ago and well off the .364 mark he had three weeks ago. Frazier is 4-for-30 in his last eight games.
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Clay Holmes had his toughest outing since returning from Tommy John surgery, allowing three runs over 3.2 innings. The good part of this game is that he was able to throw 73 pitches, with 44 going for strikes. He has been limited since his return, so at least the pitch count is good to see. Holmes allowed five hits and walked two batters, but he had three strikeouts and six ground ball outs. He now has a 2.74 ERA for Bradenton in 22 innings over six starts.
The Marauders ended up losing 3-2, collecting seven hits in the game. Jin-De Jhang had two hits, including his 13th double. He also drove in a run. Wyatt Mathisen drove in the other run with a solo homer in the eighth inning, his second home run of the season. Austin Meadows had two hits, giving him a .302 average, which trails Jhang by seven points for the team lead. Harold Ramirez went 1-for-4, giving him a .352 average, though he is well short of the necessary plate appearances to qualify for the league lead. Andy Otamendi and Isaac Sanchez combined to throw 5.1 no-hit innings after Holmes left.
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Stephen Tarpley came into this game just a handful of innings short of qualifying for the league leaders in ERA. His 2.34 mark would have ranked second if he had enough innings. He went eight innings in this game and allowed just three singles. Tarpley was able to go so long because he was getting a ton of ground balls, with a 16:1 GO/AO ratio. All three hits he allowed were grounders that found holes. He dropped his ERA to 2.14 and he should have just enough IP to qualify, although before his next start, he will drop off the leader board again. Tarpley has given up two earned runs or less in 14 of his 16 starts.
Lost in the eight shutout innings, two home runs from Jordan Luplow. He now has 12 on the year, to go along with 35 doubles and three triples. He drove in four runs and scored three times. Connor Joe didn’t do anything with the bat, but he didn’t have to. He was walked four times and scored two runs. Elvis Escobar had three hits and drove in two runs. He now has a .297 average. Michael Suchy had two hits and drove in two runs, giving him 68 RBIs. Kevin Newman had his first three-hit game for West Virginia, with a double and two singles. He also scored two runs.
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When the Pirates drafted Seth McGarry in the eighth round, they sent him to the GCL, where he was able to stretch out as a starter against younger competition. He was a reliever in college and had limited innings his first two seasons. When he got to Morgantown, he had some strong outings, but the starting role is beginning to catch up with him. He gave up five earned runs on five hits and four walks in four innings on Saturday, giving him a 5.64 ERA in 30.1 innings. Including his time in the GCL, he has given up 18 walks, with 16 coming in his last six outings, so command has been an issue recently.
Logan Ratledge had the big hit for Morgantown, though they ended up losing by a 7-5 score. He drove in three runs with a first inning triple that gave the Black Bears an early 4-0 lead. It was his first hit since joining the team two weeks ago, leaving him 1-for-20 in seven games. He has been playing shortstop since Kevin Newman left. Danny Arribas had an RBI single in the first and drove in a run on a ground out in the fifth inning. Christian Kelley moved to the second spot in the order and had two hits, walked and scored two runs. He is hitting .221 on the season. Mitchell Tolman had a single, two walks and scored a run. Kevin Kramer went 1-for-5 with a single, reaching base for the ninth straight game. Tate Scioneaux followed McGarry with three shutout innings.
Bristol was postponed due to rain. The game will have to be made up during the last weekend of the season.
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Luis Escobar had a terrific outing on Saturday morning, though his own success limited his innings. Escobar allowed one run over four innings, giving up three hits, a walk and he hit a batter. He also struck out a career-high seven batters, which got him to his pitch limit an inning earlier than usual. Escobar recorded his other five outs on grounders. In 33.2 innings, the 19-year-old righty has a 3.82 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP and a .207 BAA.
Edison Lantigua had a strong game, something that has eluded him all season. The top prospect coming over from the DSL for the Pirates has had a rough time in the GCL, partly due to two minor injuries. He went 2-for-3 in this game, with a double, two runs, a walk and a stolen base. On the season, he has a .202/.228/.315 slash line in 27 games.
The Pirates went with the “Sunday lineup” in this game, with Adrian Valerio, Michael de la Cruz, Yoel Gonzalez, Victor Fernandez and Ke’Bryan Hayes all getting the day off. Fourth string catcher Reggie Cerda played for the first time in two weeks and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, leaving him 0-for-17 on the season. Third string catcher Paul Brands, who is an 18-year-old signed out of the Netherlands, went 1-for-3 as the DH and drove in the first two runs of his career. Raul Siri picked up his ninth stolen base.
Nick Hutchings pitched his second game since returning from a shoulder injury suffered last Fall Instructional League. In his debut on Monday, he couldn’t get out of the first inning. This game was much better, with one unearned run over two innings, and he struck out four batters, tying his career-high from last year.
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The DSL Pirates dropped to 25-41 with a 4-1 loss on Saturday. They have just six games left in the season, which ends next Saturday. The Pirates had five hits, with the only run scoring on a walk to Melvin Jimenez and a double from Huascar Fuentes in the sixth inning. Mikell Granberry was the only player with two hits in the game. Yondry Contreras struck out twice to extended his DSL/VSL Pirates record to 78 strikeouts, three ahead of the old mark.
This game saw the good side of one of the best, yet most erratic, arms in the DSL. Julian Villamar threw three innings, and while he allowed a run, he walked none and struck out four batters. He has major control issues sometimes, although he has improved slightly over last year and he’s been much harder to hit. Villmar has 51 strikeouts in 38 innings and hasn’t allowed a homer this year.
