A few days back, I listed all of the hitters for the Pittsburgh Pirates who were among the top ten leaders in their league in selected offensive categories. I was going to cover the pitching side the following morning, but we got word of Nick Kingham’s season debut and that became the Morning Report topic. So now seems like a good time to look at the pitchers among the leaders in their leagues in innings pitched, ERA, strikeouts and WHIP. Since it’s a smaller list than the hitters, I’ll go to 20 spots and throw in some notes about where other pitchers fall among the leaders in their league.
INDIANAPOLIS
Tyler Eppler is tenth in the International League in ERA with a 2.36 mark. Steven Brault ranks 18th with a 3.19 ERA and Clay Holmes is 20th with a 3.39 mark.
Eppler is fifth with an 0.87 WHIP. Brault and Drew Hutchison are tied for 14th with a 1.31 WHIP.
Holmes is tied for ninth with 37 strikeouts. Brault is 12th with 35 strikeouts, Hutchison is 20th with 30 K’s and Tyler Eppler just missed the top 20 with his 29 whiffs. He pitches tonight, so he should move up that list.
Hutchison is tied for fifth with 39.2 innings pitched. Brault is 14th at 36.2, while Eppler is tied for 20th at 34.1 IP.
ALTOONA
Alex McRae is eighth in the Eastern League with a 2.47 ERA. Austin Coley is 11th at 2.76, and Tanner Anderson is 15th with a 2.90 ERA.
McRae is tied for 16th with a 1.19 WHIP. You have to go all the way to 30th to find another Curve (Austin Coley, 1.30)
McRae is second with 43.2 innings pitched.
No Curve player is in the top 30 for strikeouts.
BRADENTON
Pedro Vasquez is tenth in the Florida State League with a 2.41 ERA. Mitch Keller is 14th at 2.54, and Dario Agrazal is 17th with a 2.68 ERA.
Keller leads the league with an 0.87 WHIP. Agrazal is eighth at 1.08 and Taylor Hearn is 13th with a 1.11 WHIP.
Hearn is tied for seventh with 42 strikeouts. Keller is 14th with 38, and reliever Yunior Montero is tied for 20th with 33 strikeouts.
Agrazal is tied for third with 43.2 innings pitched. Keller is tied for tenth at 39 innings and Vasquez is 15th at 37.1 IP. Vasquez pitched tonight, so it’s possible he’s the team leader at the end of the day.
WEST VIRGINIA
Cam Vieaux is second in the South Atlantic League with a 1.35 ERA.
Vieaux is 12th with a 1.05 WHIP.
Luis Escobar is second with 50 strikeouts. Matt Anderson is 12th with 38 whiffs.
Anderson is 17th with 36 innings. James Marvel, Escobar and Vieaux are all outside the top 20, though they all have between 33.1 and 24.2 innings, so none of them are far behind Anderson.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks by a 6-4 score in ten innings on Sunday night. The Pirates have off today. They travel home now for a six game homestand, starting on Tuesday night with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals. Chad Kuhl will get the start.
In the minors, Tyler Eppler threw seven shutout innings in his last start. He had allowed seven runs over 10.1 innings in his previous two starts combined. Pedro Vasquez allowed one run over 6.2 innings in his last start. He will need to be added back to the Bradenton roster before the game. He was assigned to Extended Spring Training after his last start, so the Marauders could add Nick Kingham to their roster. Kingham has moved up to Indianapolis and should start during Tuesday’s doubleheader. Altoona has off today. Kevin Kramer has a 30-game on base streak active. Cole Tucker currently has a 21-game on base streak. Both players were off on Sunday.
MLB: Pittsburgh (15-22) vs Nationals (23-13) 7:05 PM 5/16
Probable starter: Chad Kuhl (5.81 ERA, 14:25 BB/SO, 31.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (16-17) @ Columbus (16-19) 6:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tyler Eppler (2.36 ERA, 6:29 BB/SO, 34.1 IP)
AA: Altoona (21-13) @ Binghamton (18-13) 6:35 PM 5/16 (season preview)
Probable starter: Tanner Anderson (2.90 ERA, 12:17 BB/SO, 31.0 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (24-13) @ Daytona (20-17) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Pedro Vasquez (2.41 ERA, 5:23 BB/SO, 37.1 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (17-19) vs Charleston (18-19) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Blake Cederlind (4.50 ERA, 9:18 BB/SO, 18.0 IP)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is the ninth home run of the season from Max Moroff on Saturday night. That’s a new career high.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
5/14: Cam Vieaux placed on West Virginia disabled list. Adrian Valerio added to West Virginia roster.
5/14: Barrett Barnes added to Indianapolis roster. Anderson Feliz assigned to Morgantown.
5/12: Pirates active Adam Frazier and David Freese from disabled list. Chris Bostick and Max Moroff optioned to Indianapolis.
5/12: Justin Maffei assigned to Morgantown.
5/12: Zane Chavez added to Altoona roster. Tomas Morales assigned to Morgantown.
5/11: Chris Harvey assigned to Morgantown. Brent Gibbs assigned to West Virginia.
5/11: Nick Kingham assigned to Bradenton. Pedro Vasquez assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/10: Albert Baur activated from West Virginia disabled list.
5/9: Jackson Williams assigned to Altoona from Indianapolis. Zane Chavez assigned to Morgantown.
5/8: Pirates add Max Moroff and Chris Bostick to roster. Elias Diaz and Phil Gosselin assigned to Indianapolis.
5/8: Adam Frazier assigned to Indianapolis on rehab. Just Maffei assigned to Indianapolis.
5/8: Boomer Synek retired.
5/8: Kevin Krause placed on disabled list. Logan Ratledge promoted to Bradenton.
5/7: Michael Suchy placed on disabled list. Jerrick Suiter promoted to Altoona.
5/7: Jess Amedee activated from disabled list.
5/6: Jameson Taillon placed on disabled list. Josh Lindblom promoted to Pirates
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Four former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including a pitcher who played nine seasons for the team, and the franchise’s first 20-game winner. Also on this date, Roberto Clemente had a huge game in Cincinnati.
On this date in 1967, Clemente went 4-for-5 with three homers and drove in seven runs. The Pirates scored seven runs on the day and lost 8-7 in ten innings, despite one of the best games of his entire career. He would have another three home run game near the end of the 1969 season and the Pirates won that game by a 10-5 score. You can find the boxscore of the 1967 game here.
Among the players born on this date, Al McBean played for the 1961-68 Pirates, then after playing for the Padres and Dodgers, he returned to Pittsburgh during the 1970 season. He pitched in 376 games for the Pirates, 75 as a starter. McBean won 65 times and picked up 59 saves for Pittsburgh. He had a 3.08 ERA in 1,016 innings.
Harry Salisbury, 1882 pitcher who won 20 games during the first season of the franchise. He started 38 games and pitched 38 complete games. That not only ended up being his only season with the team, it was his last season in the big leagues.
Also born on this date, outfielder Jimmy Wasdell (1942-43) and 1916 shortstop Jimmy Smith. Wasdell was one of four players acquired from the Dodgers in the Arky Vaughan deal at the end of 1941. He hit .259 over 122 games in 1942, then was sold to the Phillies after four early season pinch-hit appearances in 1943. Smith split time at shortstop with Honus Wagner at the beginning of the 1916 season. Wagner would play first base at times, while Smith took his spot at shortstop. After hitting .188 through early June, Smith was sent to the minors.
