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Prospect Watch: Steven Brault Continues to Pitch Well; Altoona Wins on Three Homers

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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 for an extended time (Alen Hanson, Jose Osuna), or loses his prospect eligibility, he will be removed from this list. 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 more active prospects on the list. Rankings are from the 2017 Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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3. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
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4. Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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6. Will Craig, 3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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8. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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9. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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10. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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13. Max Kranick, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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14. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – [insert_php]
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15. Edgar Santana, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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16. Luis Escobar, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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17. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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18. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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19. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
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20. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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21. Stephen Alemais, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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22. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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23. Travis MacGregor, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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24. Barrett Barnes, LF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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25. Max Moroff, 2B, Pirates -[insert_php]
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26. Eric Wood, 3B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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27. J.T. Brubaker, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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28. Chris Bostick, INF/OF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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29. Connor Joe, 3B, Altoona – [insert_php]
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30. Pat Light, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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Indianapolis won 9-4 over Toledo on Tuesday night Steven Brault on the mound. He was named our Pitcher of the Month for May, then started June with seven shutout innings. His second start wasn’t too bad either. Brault went six innings on Tuesday, allowing one run on four hits and a walk, while striking out eight batters, which matched his strikeout total from his previous start. Brault dropped his ERA down to 2.14 and hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in a game since April.

Casey Sadler returned to Indianapolis for the first time in nearly two years. He pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out the side on 13 pitches. He allowed one run over 12 innings in six games with Bradenton.

Dovydas Neverauskas pitched a scoreless eighth, then Brett McKinney allowed three runs in the ninth on a rally-killing home run with no outs.

The bats had a strong game with nine runs on 13 hits and four walks, with four of those hits going for extra bases. Chris Bostick had two hits and drove in two runs. Jacob Stallings drove in three runs on a two-run double and an RBI ground out. Barrett Barnes had two hits, including his fifth double. He walked once, scored two runs and picked up an RBI. Gift Ngoepe went 0-for-3 with two walks. He is 3-for-16 with six walks and seven strikeouts since being sent down. Austin Meadows had the night off.

Jason Rogers and Anderson Feliz put up identical lines with two hits, two runs, one double and one RBI. Joey Terdoslavich had four hits and a walk.

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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Altoona won 4-3 on Tuesday night and they did all of their damage with three swings of the bat.  Tanner Anderson started this game and went 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on ten hits. He did a lot right in this game, but needed to be bailed out in the seventh to still pick up the win.

Anderson threw 67 of his 100 pitches for strikes, posting a 9:4 GO/AO ratio and a 5:0 BB/SO ratio. In that seventh inning, he gave up one run and left with two runners on base, giving way to Luis Heredia. A fly to deep left field ended the threat, then Heredia retired all three batters he faced in the eighth, followed by a scoreless ninth from Tate Scioneaux for the win. In his first season as a starter, Anderson now has a 4.37 ERA in 55.2 innings.

The offense came from three big swings. In the third inning, Wyatt Mathisen made in 1-0 with his third home run of the season. Edwin Espinal followed with a two-run shot in the fourth inning, his seventh of the season. Jordan Luplow topped off the scoring in the seventh with his 14th homer of the year. He was named the Eastern League Player of the Week for last week after homering five times. With Altoona off on Monday, that means he has homered six times in the last eight games.

Tanner Anderson actually had a nice game at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt. The top of the lineup have a tough day, with Kevin Newman going 0-for-4, and both Kevin Kramer and Connor Joe going 0-for-3. The latter two players each reached via hit-by-pitch. It was the 11th time Kramer has been hit this year.

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Bradenton had their doubleheader rained out.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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CHARLESTON – By all rights, the Power should be .500 after tonight’s game. The Delmarva Shorebirds gave West Virginia several gifts, including nine walks, but the Power saw their hopes slip away over the course of an abysmal relief appearance by Blake Cederlind.

The match-up began as a pitchers duel, with James Marvel dealing early. His sinker-heavy approach worked well, inducing three grounders to start the game and only allowing a pair of singles in his five innings of work. Marvel worked out of two-out, runners-in-scoring-position jams in the second and third inning, but his pitch count quickly inflated. By the end of the third, he had thrown 47 pitches. Despite the fatigue, Marvel’s velocity and command remained strong; he topped out at 94 MPH and only walked one.

The scoreless start by Marvel kept the Power in the game in spite of quiet bats. West Virginia only managed two base runners in the first two innings, but in the third, they chased the Shorebirds starter when Albert Baur drove in two runs with a two-out double. Baur has been hot since returning from the DL on May 10. He has reached in all 26 games in 2017 (22 consecutive since his return).

Manager Wyatt Toregas praised Baur’s third inning at-bat, saying, “Not only did he spoil the guy’s pitches, he ended up hurting him for two runs with two outs.”

“I’d kind of seen everything he had,” remarked Baur. “I eventually got the pitch that I was looking for and was fortunate enough to put a good swing on it.”

Those two runs would hold until Marvel turned the ball over to Cederlind to start the sixth inning. Cederlind got into trouble quickly, retiring one before allowing a double and a single. Kevin Mahala made a sharp play at shortstop to get the lead runner at third for the second out, but Cederlind, who was sitting in the high 90s, left a fastball over the middle, which Gerrion Grim planted in the seats to give the Shorebirds a 3-2 lead.

The Power climbed back on top in the bottom of the sixth with Trae Arbet’s two-out, two-run double. Arden Pabst and Mahala both walked to load the bases, but Ty Moore struck out looking to end the inning.

Moore has struggled recently after a red-hot start. After tonight’s 0-4 performance, which included two strikeouts, he’s hitting .139/.225/.139 over his last 10 games. Moore had a chance to pull the Power close again in the eighth inning, but he grounded out with runners on second and third.

The Shorebirds roughed up Cederlind in his 1.2 innings. In the seventh, they added another double and a pair of homers in addition to a two-base error by centerfielder Alexis Bastardo.

Toregas commented that Cederlind couldn’t throw his off-speed pitches for strikes. “That makes it easier for hitters to just swing at the hard stuff,” Toregas said. “It’s the worst game he’s had this year, but he’s been pretty solid for us for the most part.”

Geoff Hartlieb cooled the Delmarva bats with a perfect 1.1 inning appearance. Hartlieb struck out the side in the eighth. He has not allowed a run in eight innings (five appearances), and has only allowed three earned runs all season.

Albert Baur recorded another RBI on a groundout in the ninth to close the gap to 7-5, but West Virginia ultimately fell short to drop two games under .500.

Despite being ejected in the eighth inning over a disputed infield fly call, Toregas spoke optimistically about the team’s effort. He also had good news regarding the recent injury to Adrian Valerio. Although  a final diagnosis has not been given, Valerio, who was hit in the face when a ball ricocheted off a runner’s helmet, was given a good prognosis at the hospital in Georgia. He will meet with the Pirates medical team as well, and barring any setbacks, Toregas hopes to see him back in action in a couple of weeks.

No timetable has been set for the return of the Power’s other stellar shortstop, Stephen Alemais. – Abigail Miskowiec

Prospect-Watch-DSL

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The DSL Pirates lost 7-2 on Tuesday to the Rays2, dropping their first game of the season after starting the year with two wins against the Cubs2 (for future reference, DSL teams with numbers at the end means the parent club has two DSL teams).

Hard-throwing Osvaldo Bido made his pro debut and gave up four runs in the second inning, though all four were unearned due to three errors. He hits 95 MPH as a starter, giving him the best fastball velocity on the team. Bido was followed by 17-year-old Luis Arrieta, who signed for a $130,000 bonus last July. He allowed one run over four innings, serving up a solo homer in the fourth inning. Kleiner Machado and Randy Jimenez followed with one run over one inning each, though Jimenez picked up three strikeouts.

The offense was very quiet in this game after two big days to start the season. Third baseman Sherten Apostel had two hits and an RBI, while backup catcher Ruben Gonzalez picked up his first career hit and the only other hit for the Pirates. All three hits were singles. Shortstop Francisco Acuna had two walks and a run scored, while Jean Eusebio reached base once on a walk in his four plate appearances. Apostel committed his fourth fielding error already. That’s half of his season total from last year.

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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