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Prospect Watch: Glasnow Shows Progress, Meadows Continues Hitting Streak

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P2 Top 30

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, 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 2016 prospect guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

We’re working on a solution for the PHP stat codes not working in the app.

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Austin Meadows, CF, Altoona – [insert_php]
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3. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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4. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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5. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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6. Harold Ramirez, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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7. Reese McGuire, C, Altoona -[insert_php]
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8. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – Disabled List.

9. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

10. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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11. Kevin Newman, SS, Bradenton – Disabled List

12. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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13. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

 14. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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15.Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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16. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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17. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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18. Mitch Keller, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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19. Clay Holmes, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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20. Willy Garcia, OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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21. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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22. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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23. Barrett Barnes, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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24. Trevor Williams, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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25. Gage Hinsz, RHP  – [insert_php]
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26. Adrian Valerio, SS – Extended Spring Training

27. Adam Frazier, INF/OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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28. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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29. Jordan Luplow, OF/3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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30. JT Brubaker, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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Tyler Glasnow made his 11th start on Monday night, coming off an outing in which he threw five no-hit innings, though he gave up four walks. Glasnow faced Columbus twice this season before tonight, allowing two runs over 11 innings.

In the first inning, Glasnow started with an easy grounder to shortstop on a 2-2 curveball. The next batter also hit an easy grounder to shortstop on a curve, this coming on the second pitch. The third batter struck out on a curve. He threw 12 pitches, eight for strikes, seven fastballs and five curves.

In the second,  Glasnow gave up a solo homer on the second pitch. On the first pitch, he missed badly on a low outside fastball to a righty, drilling the umpire on the left shoulder. The next batter hit a grounder against the shift that would have been a routine play otherwise. It looked exactly the same as the play I described yesterday for Chad Kuhl. The first out was recorded on a routine fly to center field. The next batter flew out to right field, hitting a 2-2 curve. That was followed by his second strikeout, an at-bat in which four of the five pitches were curves. This was a 22 pitch inning, 13 for strikes and it obviously featured a lot of curves.

Glasnow began the third inning by getting a strikeout looking on a curve. The next batter struck out swinging on the curve. He retired the side in order, getting the final batter to ground out to shortstop. He threw 13 pitches, eight for strikes. This inning again featured a lot of curves and it has looked strong all game, while there have been some wild fastballs mixed in, which could actually help as the batters aren’t likely to get comfortable when a pitcher is hitting 95-96 (no pitch speeds have been announced to this point, just using past results) and seems like he doesn’t know where the ball is going.

In the fourth, he started with an easy grounder to third base for the first out. He got the next batter looking on a 96 MPH inside fastball. He used both his change and curve for strikes. That was followed by a four pitch walk, then a single lined up the middle. An easy grounder on a curve ended the inning. He hit 95 MPH in the last at-bat. This 21 pitch inning brought him up to 68 for the game, 41 for strikes.

The fifth started with a long at-bat that ended in an easy grounder to third base. He walked the next batter after having him down 0-2, missing with two curves and two fastballs. The next batter flew out to center in an at-bat that included a 94 MPH fastball and a terrific curve for a swinging strike. The third out was on a pop out to third base. He worked hard this inning, throwing 23 pitches.

Glasnow came out with 91 pitches and his first pitch went to the backstop, sailing over the batter’s head. That was followed shortly by a grounder to first base. That ended Glasnow’s day and it was probably a good choice because he threw another head-high inside fastball before getting the out. He threw 97 pitches total, 58 for strikes.

Despite the three hits and a run, this outing looked better than the five no-hit innings. The pitch count was too high, but his curve looked really good for most of the game and he used it very often. More times than I can recall him using it. The fastball command was off in both games. Even when he threw it for strikes, he often missed his spot. He didn’t use the changeup much, but there were some good results with it when he did.

Only two balls were hit hard the whole time, both going for hits. The no-hitter had more hard contact than this game. As mentioned above, the third hit just went against the shift and under normal circumstances it’s just a grounder to Alen Hanson at second base. An out there would have helped the pitch count. Lots of easy grounders led to a 7:3 GO/AO ratio which is well above his 0.94 GO/AO ratio coming into the day. A small step in the right direction for Glasnow, and closer to his performance two starts ago, just without the plus-plus curve he had that day.

Three relievers kept Columbus off the board for the rest of the game, leading to a 7-1 victory for Indianapolis. Arquimedes Caminero bounced back from a very rough outing last time out, one in which he walked three batters, then allowed a game-tying grand slam with two outs in the ninth. In two inning tonight, he allowed three hits, with no walks and four strikeouts. That comes with an asterisk, because he did allow four line drives, one for an out.

On offense, Max Moroff had the big day with three hits, including his sixth double. He scored twice and drove in two runs. Josh Bell had two hits and an RBI. Adam Frazier had two hits and has now reached base at least once in 45 of his 49 starts and in each of his last 27 games. Jacob Stallings connected on a solo home run, his fourth of the season. He also walked and scored a run. Willy Garcia hit his 11th double and drove in a run.

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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Altoona lost 10-4 on Monday, with all ten runs being scored off starter David Whitehead in the first three innings. He has barely thrown more strikes than balls this season in 11 starts and that number got a little bit smaller with 38 strikes and 39 balls in this game. Whitehead has a 7.36 ERA now, and his WHIP jumped over the 2.00 mark. Three relievers combined to throw five shutout innings on one hit and one walk. The last one was Altoona’s secret weapon out of the pen. With a shutout inning tonight, outfielder Jonathan Schwind has now thrown 8.1 shutout innings over his eight career pitching appearances.

The highlight on offense was the ninth double of the season from Austin Meadows, who now has hit in 15 games in a row. In 36 games, he has 19 extra-base hits. Erich Weiss drove in two runs with a seventh inning single. Jin-De Jhang had a single, double and scored a run. His .295 average would lead the team if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. Barrett Barnes had an RBI double and scored a run, but he also struck out in each of his other three at-bats. Harold Ramirez went 1-for-4 with a walk. He was 0-for-12 in his previous three games.

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Bradenton had their Monday night game canceled due to the weather. They don’t play Lakeland again during the first half, so this game won’t be played.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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CHARLESTON, WV – Tonight’s 9-5 loss to the Delmarva Shorebirds was perhaps the ugliest game of the season so far. From the start it looked to be a long night for Dario Agrazal, as the first three Shorebirds hit a home run and a pair of doubles. In four innings of work, Agrazal gave up five runs, four of them earned, and ten hits.

Though the box score might lead one to believe that the Power batters chased Delmarva starter after two-thirds of an inning, the West Virginia offense actually received many of their runs as gifts. In the bottom of the first, they knotted the score at three on four walks, an error, a single, and a sacrifice fly. Their second earned run of the game came in the second on a Tito Polo home run.

There is no end to the discussion of Polo’s emergence this season, and I don’t want to belabor the point. However, I would like to point out that Polo is in the top 10 in the South Atlantic League in the following stats: batting average, hits, doubles, triples, home runs (T-2nd), total bases, runs, slugging, on-base plus slugging, and stolen bases. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying that we’re likely to see Polo’s name listed when the SAL All-Stars are named tomorrow morning.

The wild scoring continued when, in the bottom of the sixth, Christian Kelley scored from second on a wild pitch and a throwing error by the Delmarva catcher.

Daniel Zamora pitched two innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out three. Zamora’s languid, tailing slider hasn’t been quite as effective this season. His strikeouts per nine have dipped by two, and his walks per nine have increased by the same amount. His last four appearances have been a return to his 2015 form. In eight and two-thirds innings, he has allowed one run, six hits, and two walks, and he has struck out nine.

In fact, the Power relievers were absolutely lights out for most of the game. Zamora, Julio Eusebio, and Seth McGarry combined for seven innings of two-hit, shutout baseball. They did struggle with control, issuing three walks, a balk, and a hit batsman, but ultimately, they worked out of those jams easily.

As the game labored beyond four hours, Christian Kelley hit a two-out double in the bottom of the 10th, but Alfredo Reyes squandered the rally by flying out to right. Again, the Power threatened in the bottom of the 11th when Mitchell Tolman drew a one-out walk. Tolman, incidentally, has now reached base in fifteen consecutive games. However, Ke’Bryan Hayes struck out, and Carlos Munoz popped up to second to end the inning.

The fifth Power pitcher of the night, Billy Roth, continued his tortuous career as a reliever. Roth, who began his career as a starter with 13 consecutive loses, stymied the Shorebirds in the 12th, but his night fell apart in the 13th. Roth allowed a walk, a double, a triple, and a pair of singles over the course of six batters. He walked off the mound trailing 9-5 and would take the loss for his third on the season. His ERA now stands at 6.63. – Abigail Miskowiec

 

Prospect-Watch-DSL

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The DSL Pirates lost 6-5 on Monday, their second game in a row to open up the season in which they had a 5-0 lead and lost without scoring another run. The Pirates scored all five runs in the fourth inning and they got five shutout innings from starter Roger Santana. He allowed two singles, with no walks and four strikeouts. Reliever Oliver Garcia in his pro debut allowed four runs in 1.1 innings. Hector Garcia followed him and gave up two runs, though only one was earned. Garcia was the top reliever last year and got an invite to the Fall Instructional League last September. That usually means the player will stick in the U.S. the following season, but he was one of two players to return to the DSL. Adonis Pichardo threw a scoreless eighth inning. He was one of the top pitching prospects on last year’s team, then multiple injuries shortened his season.

The scoring came from two walks, followed by four singles and a double. Catcher Yair Babilonia in his pro debut, drove in two of those runs with his first career hit. Second baseman Francisco Mepris ended the scoring with a double. Shortstop Kyle Simmons, out of the Bahamas, had two hits, a walk, a run scored and an RBI. Unfortunately, he also made two errors to begin the seventh inning, when the Rangers1 scored five runs to take the lead. Jeremias Portorreal had a hit, a run scored, two walks and a stolen base.

You can view the DSL season preview here. In it, I named 17-year-old center fielder Kevin Sanchez the top player to watch due to his contact ability and plus-plus speed. He hasn’t played either of the first two games due to a leg injury, which doesn’t sound serious.

John Dreker
John Dreker
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.

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