We don’t talk about switch-hitter splits too often unless it’s an article about the specific player, or anytime we mentioned Josh Bell before this season due to his troubles from the right side. Here is a breakdown of each switch-hitter in the system, who has a decent number of plate appearances from each side. That eliminated a few players, but none of them are considered prospects at this point. I also didn’t include Pedro Florimon because he lost his prospect eligibility a long time ago. For the record, he is doing much better against right-handed pitchers this season. I included some notes at the bottom.
Josh Bell – Indianapolis
vs LHP .267/.366/.427
VS RHP .308/.391/.490
Alen Hanson – Indianapolis
vs LHP .287/.318/.352
vs RHP .254/.313/.383
Max Moroff – Indianapolis
vs LHP .220/.384/.303
vs RHP .239/.356/.378
Anderson Feliz – Altoona
vs LHP .204/.328/.306
vs RHP .277/.328/.414
Taylor Gushue – Bradenton
vs LHP .238/.304/.365
vs RHP .222/.277/.350
Chase Simpson – Bradenton
vs LHP .246/.348/.333
vs RHP .233/.324/.419
Cole Tucker – Bradenton
vs LHP .143/.262/.163
vs RHP .271/.332/.371
Jordan George – WV
vs LHP .343/.465/.486
vs RHP .289/.441/.433
Adrian Valerio – Bristol
vs LHP .290/.333/.355
vs RHP .194/.221/.279
Johan De Jesus – GCL
vs LHP .194/194/.258
vs RHP .200/.252/.317
Rodolfo Castro – DSL
vs LHP .209/.321/.349
vs RHP .313/.405/.466
Francisco Mepris – DSL
vs LHP .281/.410/.344
vs RHP .265/.352/.354
The stats that really stand out are Cole Tucker’s line against left-handed pitching. He is really struggling from that side, while he has respectable numbers against right-handed pitchers. Adrian Valerio has splits going the other way, which you would rather not see because a majority of your at-bats are going to come against right-handed pitchers. The split in plate appearances for most players looks to be about 70/30 RHP vs LHP.
Besides Florimon, I left off six lower level players with limited at-bats, meaning that the Pirates have a total of 19 switch-hitters in their system. A surprising breakdown of the players by position includes one catcher, 16 infielders, and two outfielders. Only five of the 19 are top 50 prospects in the system.
**Keep in mind when you look at the Playoff Push section that each of the top five affiliates have about 18-20 games left, while Bristol and the GCL both end on September 1st. Altoona increased their lead yesterday during a doubleheader split. West Virginia suffered a major setback by losing both games of a doubleheader. They are only four games back, but they are tied for fifth place, so that’s a lot of teams to pass in a short time. Morgantown and Bristol look to just be playing out the season and could be eliminated sometime next week if they don’t turn things around quickly.
PLAYOFF PUSH
The Pirates trail the second wild card spot by one game.
Indianapolis is in second place in their division, trailing by nine games. They trail by 11.5 games for the lone wild card spot.
Altoona leads their division by five games. The top two teams in the division go to the playoffs, with the first place team getting the home field advantage in the first round.
Bradenton won the first half title. They have home field advantage in the playoffs.
West Virginia is tied for fifth place in their division, trailing first by four games.
Morgantown is tied for fourth place in their division, trailing first place by 13 games. They are 7.5 games back for the lone wild card spot.
Bristol is in fourth place, trailing by 8.5 games. The top two teams in each division go to the playoffs.
The GCL Pirates are 2.5 games back in their division. This is the only league where you have to win your division to make the playoffs.
The DSL Pirates have been eliminated from the playoffs. Their season ends August 27th.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
The Pirates were off on Thursday
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates were off yesterday. They now return home for three games against the Marlins. Gerrit Cole will be on the mound for the Pirates, while the Marlins will send Tom Koehler to the hill. Cole is coming off an outing in which he allowed five runs on 12 hits in 4.1 innings. In his prior start, he gave up four runs on three hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. Koehler has a 3.86 ERA in 133 innings, with 107 strikeouts and a 1.39 WHIP. In his last start, which was at home against the White Sox, he allowed three runs over six innings. Koehler threw seven shutout innings against the Giants in his prior start.
In the minors, Mitch Keller gets the start for West Virginia, getting pushed back two days to help with his high inning total this season. In his last two starts combined, he has thrown 11 shutout innings, giving up eight hits, one walk and striking out 16 batters. He is sixth in the South Atlantic League in ERA, sixth in strikeouts, and first with an 0.94 WHIP.
Drew Hutchison makes his fourth start since being acquired from the Blue Jays. He ranks second in the International League in strikeouts and sixth with a 1.13 WHIP. Stephen Tarpley has a 6.35 ERA in 17 innings this month. After giving up just two runs over 12 innings in his two previous starts combined, Brandon Waddell got knocked out of his next game in 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and four walks, throwing 79 pitches. He pitched in relief of Tyler Glasnow, who was making a rehab start for Altoona last week. Ike Schlabach is scheduled to start for Bristol.
MLB: Pittsburgh (62-56) vs Marlins (62-59) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (3.25 ERA, 28:86 BB/SO, 102.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (63-63) @ Louisville (61-65) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Drew Hutchison (5.40 ERA, 7:13 BB/SO, 16.2 IP)
AA: Altoona (68-55) @ New Hampshire (59-65) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Brandon Waddell (4.00 ERA, 54:75 BB/SO, 96.2 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (63-59) @ Charlotte (61-60) 6:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Stephen Tarpley (4.60 ERA, 35:81 BB/SO, 88.0 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (61-61) @ Kannapolis (53-70) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Mitch Keller (2.72 ERA, 15:119 BB/SO, 112.1 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (26-32) vs Vermont (22-36) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: TBD
Rookie: Bristol (22-31) vs Johnson City (31-23) 7:00 PM (season preview)
GCL: Pirates (20-25) vs Blue Jays (34-12) 12:00 PM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates (26-37) vs Cubs1 (24-40) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Indianapolis game. Frank Duncan threw six shutout innings.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
8/18: Pirates release Josh Outman.
8/18: Juan Diaz assigned to Bristol.
8/18: Jeremias Portorreal and Gabriel Brito promoted to GCL Pirates.
8/17: Josh Smith assigned to Indianapolis.
8/15: Yeudy Garcia and Chase Simpson placed on disabled list.
8/15: Hector Garcia assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
8/15: Nick Kingham and Justin Topa assigned to Bradenton.
8/14: Tyler Glasnow assigned to Altoona on rehab.
8/14: Jason Creasy assigned to Altoona.
8/12: Chris Stewart assigned to Altoona on rehab.
8/10: Christian Kelley promoted to Bradenton. Raul Hernandez assigned to West Virginia.
8/10: John Kuchno assigned to Altoona.
8/9: Chad Kuhl promoted to Pirates. Curtis Partch optioned to Indianapolis.
8/9: Erik Lunde retired.
8/9: Kyle Lobstein placed on disabled list. Kelvin Marte activated from disabled list.
8/9: Raul Hernandez assigned to Bradenton.
8/8: Delvin Hiciano assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
8/8: Josh Outman assigned to Indianapolis.
8/7: Austin Meadows activated from Indianapolis disabled list.
8/6: Arquimedes Caminero traded to Mariners for two players to be named later. Curtis Partch recalled from Indianapolis
8/6: Jason Creasy assigned to Morgantown on rehab.
8/6: John Kuchno assigned to Indianapolis. Josh Outman assigned to Altoona.
8/6: Chris Harvey assigned to Morgantown
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Three former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus three trades of note. Starting with the transactions, we have one that helped the 1909 World Series team. The Pirates gave up infielders Alan Storke and Jap Barbeau for third baseman Bobby Byrne. The Pirates got Byrne for his strong defense at third base, but he was also a better hitter than either player they gave up. He scored five runs during the World Series and stuck around in Pittsburgh until 1913.
In 1983, the Pirates traded catcher Steve Nicosia to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for catcher Milt May, who was a former Pirates player. Nicosia asked for a trade because he wasn’t happy about the limited playing time he was getting behind Tony Pena.
In 1988, the Pirates traded 1B/OF Mike Diaz for outfielder Gary Redus, who played on all three pennant winners from 1990-1992, spending most of his time at first base.
Players born on this date include:
Britt Reames, 2006 pitcher. Spent most of the season in the minors, getting into six games in August.
Terry Harper, 1987 outfielder. Was acquired in late June from the Detroit Tigers for two minor league players. Hit .288 in 36 games, seeing time at both corner outfield spots.
Ike McAuley, 1914-16 shortstop. Played a total of 24 games during his three seasons, occasionally taking the place of Honus Wagner, while Wagner also played third base a few times with McAuley in the lineup.
