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Prospect Watch: Austin Meadows Begins Rehab Assignment with Morgantown

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P2 Top 30

A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors and loses his prospect eligibility, 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 mid-season update, 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, Pirates -[insert_php]
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2. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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3. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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4. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
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5. Mitch Keller, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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6. Reese McGuire, C, Altoona -[insert_php]
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7. Nick Kingham, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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8.Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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9. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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10. Will Craig, 3B, Morgantown –  [insert_php]
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11. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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12. Harold Ramirez, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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13. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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14. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – [insert_php]
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15. Clay Holmes, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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16. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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17. Gage Hinsz, RHP, West Virginia  – [insert_php]
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18. Trevor Williams, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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19. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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20. Tito Polo, OF, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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 21. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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22. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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23. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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24. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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25. Adrian Valerio, SS – Bristol – [insert_php]
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26. Braeden Ogle, LHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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27. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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28. Travis MacGregor, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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29. Max Kranick, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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30. Frank Duncan, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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INDIANAPOLIS — A little more than one week ago, Wilfredo Boscan was muddled in a brutal stretch of outings.

Indians manager Dean Treanor had a simple message for Boscan after he lasted just two innings in a start: he needed to show the Pirates that he could still be counted upon.

Boscan answered with a solid, but not spectacular outing against Charlotte. And he was building on that performance against Norfolk on Friday before an all too familiar problem: he was taken out of the game in the sixth inning with discomfort in his right oblique.

“We saw him reach back and then he threw the next pitch and we knew we had to get out there,” Treanor said. “We just didn’t want this to turn into something that he goes on the DL.”

The Indians beat Norfolk, 2-1, in 12 innings on Danny Ortiz’s walk-off single. The win was Treanor’s 456th with the franchise, moving him into sole possession of third place on the career managerial win list. It took some solid relief pitching to set up the extra-inning win after Boscan’s early exit after 69 pitches.

Of course, a starting pitcher with an injury within the organization is nothing new lately. Triple-A All-Star Frank Duncan just recently came off the 7-day disabled list with a sprain near the base of his thumb. Chad Kuhl left his last start with right triceps strain.

Tyler Glasnow was removed from his start with the Pirates last week with shoulder discomfort and put on the 15-day disabled list. And you can even throw Ryan Vogelsong into that mix after he suffered neck tightness that shortened a rehab outing with the Indians.

And now Boscan is on that list, but for how long is unknown at this point. He was cruising through arguably his best start with Indianapolis since mid-June.

If he is healthy, Boscan will pitch in the Indians’ series at Columbus next week. That will be his next test in returning to a solid level of production. Boscan has a 1.59 earned run average in 11 starts at Victory Field, but his earned run average balloons to 8.23 in six starts on the road.

“Hopefully he can change those road stats because we need him to,” Treanor said. “We don’t need to bring that up, I’m sure he’s aware of that and I don’t need to say anything to him.”

Boscan pitched 5.1 shutout innings, allowing four hits. He struck out three and was credited with one walk after he left the game with a 3-1 count to L.J. Hoes. Justin Masterson entered in relief, but threw ball four to Hoes.

Norfolk had a pair of singles in the first inning, but the threat was squelched when Indianapolis catcher Jacob Stallings picked off Dariel Alvarez straying too far from second base.

Boscan needed 16 pitches in the first inning, but followed with some efficient innings. He needed just nine pitches to work around a two-out single in the second inning; and six pitches to retire the side in the fourth inning on a strikeout and pair of groundouts.

Masterson allowed a run in the seventh inning that tied the game at 1-1. But Curtis Partch and Jorge Rondon allowed just three hits over the final five innings of the game, setting up the extra-innings win.

Max Moroff walked to load the bases with nobody out. Willy Garcia hit a flyout to shallow rightfield and Indianapolis held Bell at third. But Ortiz delivered with his fourth walk-off hit of the season, singling to right to score Bell.

“I go to the plate not thinking too much because if you think too much you might rush something and miss your pitch,” Ortiz said. “I try to stay in the middle and not do too much.”

Jose Osuna continued to do what he has been doing since being promoted to the Triple-A level: hit for extra bases. Pedro Florimon had a lead-off single in the fourth inning, and scored on Osuna’s double to the right-centerfield gap. Osuna went 2-for-5 and his hit streak is now at 13 games, with 15 of his 25 hits going for extra bases.

Norfolk centerfielder Mike Yastrzemski led the ninth inning off with a bunt single, but that threat was quickly erased. Michael Almanzar fouled off two bunt attempts before grounding into a 6-3 double play.

Indianapolis threatened in the 10th inning with a pair of two-out walks by Jason Rogers and Max Moroff, but Willy Garcia struck out to end that threat.

Ortiz led the 11th inning off with a walk and Pedro Florimon drew a one-out walk. Pinch-hitter Dan Gamache, with runners at first and second with one out, grounded out to first base and the runners advanced. But Osuna struck out swinging at a high pitch to end that inning.

The win moved Treanor past Wade Killefer [1933-37, 1941] for third all-time on the Indianapolis managerial wins list with 456. He trails second-place Vern Rapp by 57 wins. But the all-time wins leader — J.C. Hendricks — may remain atop for quite a while with 764 wins.

“I think it means more to everyone else than it does to me,” Treanor said. “I think it means that I’ve been here for a while. I think it means that the Pirates have sent some pretty good players through here. I think what it means more than anything is that has been a lot of good talent come through here.” – Brian Peloza

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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Altoona lost 3-1 on Friday night in Trenton and Barrett Barnes had his 22-game on base streak snapped. Tyler Eppler started the game and went 6.2 innings, allowing three runs in the fourth inning. Trenton had nine hits off Eppler, but six of those came in that fourth inning and two of them were infield hits. Prior to that frame, he retired the first nine batters he faced.

Edgar Santana followed Eppler and threw 1.1 scoreless innings. In his last seven appearances, Santana has thrown 13.2 shutout innings.

Altoona had six hits in this game and four of them were doubles. Stetson Allie, Edwin Espinal and Reese McGuire each hit their 16th double of the season. For McGuire, that sets a new career best. Kevin Newman also doubled, his 20th of the year and tenth since joining Altoona. Newman struck out twice in this game, just the fifth time that has happened this season. The Curve went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Barrett Barnes went 0-for-4 tonight, with two ground outs, a fly out and a strikeout.

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Bradenton lost the first game of a doubleheader to Daytona by a 4-2 score. Buddy Borden got the start and allowed three runs over five innings, which was all the opposition would need. Borden has struggled since returning to Bradenton, going from a relief role with the Rays this year, right into a starting role with the Pirates. He has an 8.06 ERA in seven starts since he returned.

Wyatt Mathisen had two hits, including his seventh double. He scored a run and had an RBI. Mathisen is now hitting .309 through 21 games and he has collected two hits in each of his last three games. Tito Polo had a single and an RBI, while Michael Suchy scored a run.

Game Two: Colten Brewer made his first start since June 15th and allowed two runs on six hits and a walk over four innings. Sam Street came in next and gave up two runs over the last two innings in the 4-3 loss.

Tito Polo had a single, a walk, scored two runs and stole his 29th base of the season. He is hitting .270/.323/.385 through 30 games with Bradenton. Kevin Kramer hit his 20th double of the season. Jerrick Suiter had a single, walk, run scored and an RBI. Both Suiter and Kramer drove in their 37th run of the year. Elvis Escobar had three singles in three trips to the plate.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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West Virginia lost the first game of a doubleheader against Delmarva on Friday night by a 3-1 score. All three of those runs came off of starter Logan Sendelbach, who couldn’t get out of the first inning. He recorded just two outs, while allowing five hits, including a home run. Sendelbach threw 33 pitches (22 for strikes), which is what knocked him out of the game. The Pirates don’t allow pitching prospects to start a batter after surpassing 30 pitches in an inning.

Julio Vivas followed Sendelbach and did a good job of saving the bullpen with another game to play tonight. He threw 4.1 shutout innings, striking out six batters. While Sendelbach tied his shortest career outing, set almost exactly one year ago, Vivas tied his season high for innings. Cesilio Pimentel threw shutout ball over the last two innings.

The offense had five hits, with singles from Mitchell Tolman, Jordan George, Ryan Nagle and Christian Kelley, along with a double from Carlos Munoz. Kelley drove in Nagle with the only run in the fifth inning.

Game Two: The Power got swept in the doubleheader with a 5-2 loss in the second game. Yunior Montero got his second spot start of the season and allowed two runs over 4.2 innings while striking out eight batters. Seth McGarry followed and took the loss with three runs on five hits and three walks in just 1.1 innings. Julio Eusebio finished it out with a shutout inning, giving him an 0.93 ERA in 30 appearances this season.

The offense came up short in this game as well, as they collected just three hits. Casey Hughston and Ryan Nagle each hit a double, while Nagle also singled. Hughston and Mitchell Tolman drove in the runs, while Hughston and Alfredo Reyes scored the runs. Reyes stole his 21st base of the season.

Prospect-Watch-Morgantown

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Morgantown lost 6-2 on Friday as Austin Meadows returned to action for the first time since June 30th. He played center field and batted three times, going 0-for-3 with two ground outs and a fly out to left field. Meadows played five innings on defense and picked up an outfield assist.

Luis Escobar started this one and had his best outing of the season. He threw strikes and went six innings, allowing two runs on five hits, one walk and one hit batter. He had four strikeouts and a 5:4 GO/AO ratio. Escobar has had major control issues this season, with 16 walks in 25.1 innings coming into tonight. He needed just 68 pitches to get through his day, with 47 going for strikes. He now has a 3.16 ERA.

Tenth round pick Matt Anderson threw two scoreless innings, striking out four batters. He has 24 strikeouts in 13.2 innings this year.

Clark Eagan and Albert Baur each had two hits in this game. Eagan and Stephen Alemais each scored a pair of runs. Alemais stole his fifth base of the season, while Eagan picked up two steals. Ty Moore and Will Craig both drove in two runs. Craig is hitting .234/.370/.346 in 32 games.

Prospect-Watch-Bristol
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Bristol had a doubleheader planned today, just like yesterday, but rain ended the first game early. This was the completion of yesterday’s game, which was 0-0 in the bottom of the first when it was suspended. David Whitehead started and threw a scoreless inning. When play resumed, Nick Hutchings took over on the mound and he pitched the last four innings. That tied his season-high for innings this season. Hutchings allowed three runs in the fourth inning for the loss.

The Bristol offense managed just two hits in the game and four base runners total. Raul Siri had a double and a walk. Huascar Fuentes hit a double, and Sam Kennelly was hit by a pitch. Besides only having four runners, both Siri and Kennelly got picked off by the opposing catcher. I wrote this morning about the offensive struggles from Bristol and they continued in this game.

Game two was postponed due to rain.

Prospect-Watch-GCL

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The GCL Pirates lost 3-2 on Friday afternoon, as fourth round pick Braeden Ogle made his third pro start. Scheduled to go three innings today, he reached his pitch limit with one out in the third inning. Ogle allowed one run on two hits and two walks, with no strikeouts. The one run wasn’t much, as he allowed an infield single, followed by a stolen base and two ground balls. Ogle did a great job of getting grounders in this game, posting a 7:1 GO/AO ratio.

Ogle has been working mostly fastballs so far in his three games, but he added in some more off-speed pitches today, with success.

“Still threw a lot of fastballs, but also mixed in some sliders and changeups,” Ogle said. “Got some good swings and misses on the slider. Lots of ground balls, they were generated mostly from the fastball.”

The second inning is where he got hurt with the pitch count, which limited his outing. He gave up a single and a walk that frame, then came back out for the third and got a couple quick outs, before issuing a walk that ended his day.

“I got outside my mechanics a little and it caused me to miss on the walks,”said Ogle. “Made an adjustment and came out throwing better in the third, however my pitch limit was just about reached already.”

While he would have liked to do better, this game was a learning experience for him and hopefully that will carry over into his future outings.

“It was an okay outing at best,” Ogle said, “but I learned some things today and made a mechanical adjustment that I think will really gonna help me in my next couple outings with both velocity and command.”

He should be stretched out to four innings next time, though the Pirates went two innings twice with him before upping it to three this time. That’s a bit different than the usual progression, so next time out might be another three inning out.

On the offensive side, it was basically the Mikell Granberry show. He had three hits, including his seventh double. He drove in one of the runs for the Pirates and scored the other one. Felix Vinicio had two hits and a walk. The team went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base.

Prospect-Watch-DSL

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The DSL Pirates lost 6-0, as Yeudry Manzanillo continued to struggle and the offense continued to sputter. Manzanillo was the highest bonus pitcher sign during the 2015-16 July 2nd signing period. The Pirates gave him a $150,000 bonus, but the 17-year-old righty is having some issues in his first season. He gave up four runs over five innings on Friday, allowing eight hits, with no walks or strikeouts. In ten starts, he has a 7.09 ERA.

The offense had two hits (both singles) and drew five walks. They only had four at-bats all game with runners in scoring position and came up empty each time. Eddy Vizcaino had two walks and picked up an outfield assist. Ramy Perez had a single and a walk. Jeremias Portorreal extended his hit streak to six games and he has a 17-game on base streak as well. His OPS has gone up .153 points during the stretch.

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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