In yesterday’s Morning Report, I did the five best and worst stories at West Virginia in the first half. The Bradenton Marauders have a couple games left in their first half, but it’s close enough to call it a wrap, especially since they won the first half title last night, and they will be the home team in the playoff in September. Same rules apply as yesterday, and I won’t make any predictions about a player getting moved up a level like I did yesterday in the write-up for Tito Polo. It was the All-Star break, promotions happen around that time, I was just playing the odds.
BEST
1. Kevin Newman – The plan at the beginning of the season played out accordingly. Newman would start the year in Bradenton and move up to Altoona at the All-Star break. It played out exactly as we called it. Only problem is that no one predicted he would hit .366 and put up a .922 OPS in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. Newman surpassed all expectations with the bat. About the only disappointing thing about his season (besides the eye injury of course) is that a guy with plus speed, who was on base all the time, only stole four bases. Not sure what happened there, but steals should be part of his game in the future.
2. Brandon Waddell – While he definitely won’t make the Altoona list, it was impressive to see Waddell dominate High-A pitching for five starts and get promoted to Double-A as quick as you will see for any player.
3. Luis Heredia – Moving to the bullpen has worked wonders for Heredia, who has an 0.63 ERA in 22 appearances, with a .172 BAA and an 0.93 WHIP, to go along with a very impressive 2.65 GO/AO ratio. About the only bad thing you can say is that his work has been extremely limited, which usually isn’t a good sign for a prospect.
4. Edgar Santana – At this time last year, he was just assigned to Morgantown, skipping over two levels. In 2014, he was in the Dominican Summer League and flashing a plus fastball and plus slider, with limited mound time. Now he’s in Altoona and he made a brief, but dominating stop in Bradenton along the way.
5. The Marauders – There really wasn’t anyone else who exceeded expectations, so I’ll give it to the team for making the playoffs. That means you could see a late call-up or two from West Virginia (unless they make the playoffs) and those players are usually interesting prospects.
WORST
1. Connor Joe – I won’t get down on him for his defense at third base because he’s new to the position. The defense isn’t good, but that’s to be expected this early in the move. Joe is hitting .241/.303/.355 in 54 games. He has 17 walks and 48 strikeouts. This is the same player who had 50 walks and 34 strikeouts in 80 games last year. It’s one of the most drastic changes in BB/SO ratios you will see. He will be 24 before the season is over, making him old for this level. He doesn’t steal bases, isn’t hitting for power, doesn’t have defense, isn’t getting on base. You’re basically talking about a zero tool player at this point. While almost everyone agrees he looked like an overdraft, he was also a high on base guy at a major college, who collected his share of extra-base hits, so we aren’t even talking about someone who would have lasted to the 4th round. Maybe that player finally shows up in the second half as he gets more comfortable learning a new position?
2. Yeudy Garcia – The ERA and strikeouts make this seem like I put him on the wrong list, but Garcia has been disappointing this season. He fastball lost a few ticks early and it’s still down a little now at mid-season. His command hasn’t been good and his overuse of the slider has been well documented here. Garcia isn’t going deep into games, constantly running his pitch count up almost every inning. He’s giving up too many hits and too many walks, yet he still has the stuff to keep runs off the board. When he starts getting into the sixth inning more consistently, then you’ll know he’s back on track.
3. Pablo Reyes – It’s not really the .677 OPS that makes him disappointing, rather it’s the amount of playing time he got early in the season. I recently mentioned that Tito Polo had 12 homers and 20 stolen bases, which is a mark that only one person reached last year. That was Reyes, and yet with his ability to play shortstop and second base, the 22-year-old was on the bench way too often.
4. Junior Lopez – Perhaps the ultimate disappointment for a player is switching to a lower affiliate on the very last day of Spring Training. Lopez has great stuff, so perhaps getting left back in Bradenton has affected him mentally, because the results have been bad. He has a 6.00 ERA, a .290 BAA and a 1.60 WHIP. If you told me in Spring that he would have those stats this year, I would have asked if the Pirates promoted him to the majors. He is too good to be struggling in High-A.
5. Jordan Luplow – I gave him the back-end of the list because he’s hitting well now. Luplow started off very slow this year and that lasted awhile. What gets him on this list is that he took so long to recover and get back on track from an off-season surgery. He has been injury prone in the past, so it’s not a good sign to see it creep up again and be major enough to end his 2015 season a couple weeks early and cause him to miss the start of 2016.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Bradenton won the first half title in their division and will host the playoffs in September.
West Virginia has been eliminated from the first half pennant race. The second half begins on June 23rd.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates won 1-0 over the Giants on Monday night. No starter has been announced for today’s game yet, but we know Wilfredo Boscan will be pitching somewhere. Either Indianapolis or with the Pirates (more likely here). The Giants will counter with Johnny Cueto, who has a 2.10 ERA in 102.2 innings over 14 starts, with 90 strikeouts and a 1.00 WHIP. He has allowed a total of three earned runs over 21 innings in his last three starts combined.
In the minors, Luis Escobar makes his first start of the season. He finished last year with Morgantown, which is usually a sign that a player will start with West Virginia the following season. The Pirates like to get GCL players used to the bus trips and playing under the lights, so they will send players to the NYPL at the end of the GCL season. Escobar had a 5.68 ERA in 6.1 innings over two starts at Morgantown. He sits low-90s with his fastball, touching 95 MPH, and mixes that with a curveball that has plus potential. His fastball command held him back a level this year. He turned 20 years old three weeks ago.
West Virginia is currently on their All-Star break. They return to action on Thursday.
MLB: Pittsburgh (34-36) vs Giants (44-27) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: TBD
AAA: Indianapolis (39-31) @ Gwinnett (31-40) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD
AA: Altoona (37-31) @ Binghamton (28-39) 6:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Alex McRae (18.41 ERA, 6:6 BB/SO, 7.1 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (37-29) vs Jupiter (30-36) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Austin Coley (3.69 ERA, 25:45 BB/SO, 70.2 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (35-34) @ Asheville (34-35) 7:05 PM 6/23 (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD
Short-Season A: Morgantown (4-0) vs Batavia (0-4) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Luis Escobar (NR)
DSL: Pirates (5-9) vs Cubs1 (6-8) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is the 26th game of Austin Meadows’ 26-game hit streak. It’s also his first Triple-A home run. He didn’t collect a hit on Monday night, snapping the streak.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
6/20: Trace Tam Sing and Erik Lunde added to Bradenton roster. Pablo Reyes placed on temporary inactive list.
6/19: Steven Brault sent to Morgantown on a rehab assignment.
6/19: Pirates purchase the contract of Jacob Stallings. Jason Rogers optioned to Indianapolis.
6/19: Tomas Morales promoted to Indianapolis.
6/18: Pirates option Rob Scahill to Indianapolis. Recall Jason Rogers, Jorge Rondon and Curtis Partch.
6/18: Cory Luebke designated for assignment.
6/18: Juan Nicasio placed on restricted list.
6/17: Pirates released Garrett Russini and Guido Knudson.
6/17: Pirates sign Matt Frawley, Stephen Owen and Arden Pabst.
6/16: Pirates sign 13 draft picks.
6/16: Casey Hughston and Logan Sendelbach assigned to West Virginia. Julio Vivas and Billy Roth assigned to Morgantown.
6/15: Pirates sign Will Craig, Matt Anderson and nine other draft picks.
6/15: Pirates release Nick Buckner.
6/15: Trey Haley sent outright to Indianapolis.
6/15: Dovydas Neverauskas promoted to Indianapolis. John Kuchno placed on disabled list.
6/14: Pirates place Gerrit Cole on the disabled list. Recall Jameson Taillon.
6/14: Kevin Newman and Wyatt Mathisen activated from disabled list. Trace Tam Sing assigned to GCL Pirates.
6/14: Miguel Rosario promoted to Altoona.
6/14: Pirates release Robert Zarate.
6/13: Sam Street activated from Temporary Inactive List. JT Brubaker assigned to GCL Pirates.
6/11: Pirates acquire Erik Kratz from Angels for cash considerations. Trey Haley designated for assignment.
6/11: Clay Holmes added to Altoona roster. David Whitehead placed on disabled list.
6/11: Pirates place Francisco Cervelli on disabled list.
6/11: Pirates option Kyle Lobstein and Cole Figueroa to Indianapolis. recall Rob Scahill and Arquimedes Caminero.
6/10: Mitch Keller added to West Virginia roster. Logan Sendelbach assigned to GCL Pirates.
6/10: Alex McRae promoted to Altoona.
6/9: Pirates option Jameson Taillon to Indianapolis. Kyle Lobstein recalled from Indianapolis.
6/9: Frank Duncan promoted to Indianapolis.
6/8: Pirates recall Jameson Taillon. Curtis Partch optioned to Indianapolis.
6/8: JT Brubaker promoted to Bradenton. Julio Vivas added to West Virginia roster.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Two former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus one game of note. The players are 1B/RF Garrett Jones and 1923 infielder Spencer Adams. Jones played five years for the Pirates, hitting .256/.318/.462 in 677 games, with exactly 100 homers. Adams spent four years in the majors, playing one year each with four different teams. With the Pirates as a rookie, he had a .608 OPS in 25 games, splitting his time between second base and shortstop.
On this date in 1888, the Pittsburgh Pirates (then know as Alleghenys) were no-hit for the first time in franchise history. It was a six inning game, called due to rain. Pittsburgh lost 1-0 and reached base twice in the game, once by error and once on a walk. The opposing pitcher for the Chicago White Stockings was George Van Haltren, who has a connection to the Pirates. He played for Pittsburgh in 1892 and 1893, and by that time he was an outfielder. He hit .338 during that second season. Van Haltren won 40 games as a pitcher, but made his name as a hitter and he is one of the best players not in the Hall of Fame. He hit .316 career in 1,990 games and scored 1,642 runs, while stealing 587 bases. He is also fourth all-time in outfield assists.
