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Prospect Watch: Mitch Keller Makes His Home Debut for Altoona

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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, 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 Mid-Season Update, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Mitch Keller, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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2. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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3. Shane Baz, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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4. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
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5. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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6. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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7. Will Craig, 1B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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8. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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9. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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10. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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11. Calvin Mitchell, OF, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bristol – [insert_php]
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13Edgar Santana, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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14. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
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15. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis– [insert_php]
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16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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17. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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18. Luis Escobar, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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19. Max Kranick, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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20. Steven Jennings, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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21. Adrian Valerio, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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22. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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23. Conner Uselton, OF, GCL Pirates – Disabled List

24. Max Moroff, INF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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25. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Pirates – [insert_php]
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26. Eric Wood, 3B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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27. Eduardo Vera, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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28. Logan Hill, LF, Altoona – [insert_php]
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29.  Tyler Eppler, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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30. Lolo Sanchez, CF, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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INDIANAPOLIS — Steven Brault did more of the same on the mound, with one new wrinkle: a 64 MPH curveball.

Well, he threw that pitch just once and it’s not likely to be a regular addition to his repertoire. But it’s something different to discuss for a pitcher that continues to roll through Triple-A hitters.

That and his three-game hitting streak.

Brault allowed two hits over seven shutout innings, striking out five and walking three, lowering his Triple-A best ERA to 1.94. He threw 63 of his 93 pitches for strikes.

It’s simply just more of the same. Brault has allowed two earned runs or less in 14 of his last 15 starts, dating back to the beginning of May.

“I feel like we’re going to get deep into the game and it’s going to be a close game (with Brault pitching),” Barkett said. “I have a lot of confidence in him right now as he has in himself. It’s just fun to watch him pitch.”

Indianapolis has had three shutdown pitching performances in a row. Nick Kingham threw an 85-pitch complete game on Thursday, allowing one run. Tyler Glasnow allowed one run over seven innings and Brault followed with his seven shutout innings.

That’s a rare trio to have at the Triple-A level this late in the season. It would be more typical to see a Triple-A team in a pennant race to be searching independent leagues for a starter than to have the situation Indianapolis does with Brault, Glasnow and Kingham.

“It’s very rare to have this much starting pitching this late in the Triple-A season,” Barkett said. “It’s great to have this much depth, but it’s just very rare.”

Now, back to that 64 MPH curveball. Brault was practicing that pitch in the bullpen and told his teammates he was going to throw one curve as slow as he could. He then followed that up with a 93 MPH fastball.

The curve will remain in the repertoire, but just maybe not a 64 MPH version.

“Not that slow,” Brault said. “Just trying to keep it fun and trying to keep it light. That’s this team, we have fun. Being able to carry it onto the field.”

Brault had to work around one serious threat, walking the first two batters of the fourth inning. He then got two outs on two pitches – Spencer Kieboom lined out to center on the first pitch he saw, while Alejandro De Aza popped out to third base on the first pitch of his at-bat. Michael Almanzar struck out in four pitches to end the inning.

“When it comes down to it sometimes I come out in an inning and I’m a little jumpy off the mound,” Brault said. “You’ll see the fastball sailing more arm side and I’ll have a hard time getting in on righties, for example. And that’s what happened against those first two hitters and I didn’t make an adjustment fast enough.”

Otherwise, Brault didn’t have many problems to work around. He allowed a lead-off single in the second inning, but a strikeout, flyout and groundout stopped that threat. Syracuse’s only other hit was a two-out single in the sixth inning that was stranded.

And Brault even kept his hitting streak alive, going 1-for-3. He’s had a hit in all three games this season in which he’s had a plate appearance, hitting a robust .500 in a small sample size.

Indianapolis sent nine batters to the plate in the sixth inning, allowing Brault to get a third at-bat, in which he singled to left field. A pitcher only hits when two National League affiliates are playing each other, and there are only five of those in the International League.

“I think hitting is kind of part of my game honestly,” Brault said. “I think it’s something I bring to the table. Whenever I get those opportunities, I want to make the most of them in the few opportunities that I do get.”

Barkett, a former assistant hitting instructor in the organization, said Brault has good hand-eye coordination and takes solid swings.

“His batting practice looks like a hitter, he doesn’t look like a pitcher,” Barkett said.

Jordan Luplow remained in the game on Saturday, despite injury concerns in the outfield with the Pirates. Luplow hit a solo homer in the first inning, his seventh with Indianapolis and 23rd overall.

Elias Diaz, Edwin Espinal, Luplow and Christopher Bostick each had two hits, while Erich Weiss had a two-run pinch-hit double.

Montana DuRapau, appearing in his eighth game at the Triple-A level, allowed his second run after three of the first Syracuse batters he faced had a hit. But after a mound visit, DuRapau induced a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play. – Brian Peloza

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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ALTOONA, Pa. – Game One: Top prospect Mitch Keller made his first home start for the Altoona Curve in game one of a doubleheader on Saturday. He allowed two runs over six innings in his Double-A debut on Sunday against this same Trenton lineup, so this was a good test for the righty to face the same potent lineup for a second time.

In the first inning, Keller faced four batters and threw 21 pitches. His first home pitch for the Curve was a 95 MPH called strike. The first batter he faced reached base thanks to a hit-by-pitch on a breaking ball in the dirt. With a runner on, Keller buckled down and recorded two straight strikeouts, the first on a 97 MPH fastball looking (the batter checked his swing) and the second a check swing on a curve ball.He got out of the inning on a high pop out straight up to the catcher Jin-De Jhang. Keller was sitting between 95-98 MPH with his fastball.

In the second, Trenton recorded their first hit of the night on a 96 MPH fastball. Keller again fought back with two straight strikeouts. The first was looking on a 97 MPH fastball; the second came on a 98 MPH fastball, and the batter swung right through the pitch. Keller definitely looked to overpower the batter during his second strikeout of the inning. The third out came on an easy groundout to third on a fastball.

No strikeouts for Keller in the third, but he got four straight ground balls. The first out came on a 97 MPH fastball to second base. The second batter was late on a 98 MPH fastball but snuck a ground ball down the left field line. It wasn’t hit hard, but it was well-placed and went for a double. Keller used his curve ball to get two more easy ground balls, the first fielded by Keller himself on a swinging bunt and the second to third base.

Keller’s fourth and fifth innings were quick, combining for 17 pitches (10 in the fourth, 7 in the fifth). He struck out three batters combined in the two innings, all with the breaking ball. He also got two groundouts  to second base and a fly out to center field, still working heavy fastball and curveball later in the counts.

In the sixth, you could tell that Keller was beginning to tire some, as his fastball velocity dipped slightly to around 94-95 MPH. The inning began with a single to left field, but Keller fought back to get a strikeout looking on a 95 MPH fastball and fly out to right on a changeup. With the runner at first, Keller left a curveball up in the zone for really his only mistake pitch of the outing. Trenton’s lead-off hitter Jeff Hendrix took advantage by driving the pitch to right center field; the ball bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. With runners on second and third, Keller got the ground ball he wanted; however, it snuck through the right side and scored both runners. He got the next batter, his last of the game, looking on a 95 MPH fastball.

Overall, Keller threw 96 pitches over his six innings of work. In total, he struck out nine batters and gave up five hits. Both runs scored against him in the sixth were earned.

His fastball and curveball were dominant throughout the majority of the game. The fastball sat between 95-98 MPH early, with it dropping down to 94-95 MPH in his last inning of work. His curveball was nasty and tied up a strong hitting Trenton lineup for most of the game, with only one really being a mistake pitch left up in the zone.

In only his second Double-A start and facing off against one of the best teams in all of minor league baseball, Keller did not look over-matched at all. Rather, he pretty much dominated this Trenton lineup for 5+ innings. His fastball had life with batters swinging late on the pitch often. The curveball was a great out pitch. Altogether, Keller looked everything like a top pitching prospect.

Manager Michael Ryan said that his stuff looked “electric”.

“He gave us a chance and kept us in the game,” Ryan said. “It’s just electric stuff. He mixes really good and knows how to pitch. Not to say that it’s surprising, but his present out there is like he’s been here all year. It’s fun to watch him pitch.”

Ryan defined presence as “looking like you belong, confident, in control of the game, and nothing phases him.”

“It’s tough when you make your Double-A debut with two starts against the best team in the league,” Ryan said. “He handled it well, and it just shows how confident he is. He trusts his stuff and did very good against a great team.”

Offensively, the Curve were able to do just enough in game one to grab the win. Cole Tucker got things started with an opposite field triple down the left field line, just barely staying fair. He came around to score on a groundout. Jerrick Suiter then slapped a single to center field to score Anderson Feliz, giving the Curve an early 2-0 lead. Not much else really happened until the seventh inning with a tied ballgame. Wyatt Mathisen led off with a triple to right field off of Trenton’s starter Dillon Tate, still pitching into the seventh. Trenton then intentionally walked the bases loaded and brought the infield in to try for the force out. It didn’t matter, as Elvis Escobar smacked a line drive down the right field line to give the Curve a walk-off win.

Game Two: The second game of the doubleheader saw Austin Coley, and his third best ERA in the Eastern League, take the mound against Trenton. Coley came into the game with a 2.96 ERA this season, and he has been extremely consistent of late, going 3-1 with a 2.58 ERA over his last nine starts (17 ER/59.1 IP).

Unfortunately for Coley, the Thunder bats awoke for the night cap. He started strong, facing seven batters through two quick innings. In the third, Trenton had four hits, all singles, to manufacture two runs and give Trenton their first lead of the day. They began with two singles, then bunted to move those runners up 90 feet. Two more singles brought those runs across the plate. He could’ve been out of the inning with only one run scoring after a ground ball to Cole Tucker at shortstop; however, Tucker tried to run to beat the lead runner at second and failed rather than throwing to first. Michael Ryan said that Tucker knew he made a mistake on the play and that he should’ve made the easy throw to first for the third out.

In the fourth, Coley struck out the first two batters he faced swinging. He got to two strikes on the third batter he faced, but Trenton’s Francisco Diaz flew one to the left field corner, just out of the reach of Jon Schwind’s glove. With Diaz standing on second, nine hitter Abiatal Avelino lined a shot over the left field fence for his second home run of the season. Coley allowed another hard hit ball in the inning, but center fielder Elvis Escobar tracked down the long fly ball for the final out.

After the home run, Coley was back to his typical self, working a clean fifth and getting two outs in the sixth before being lifted after 94 pitches for Yeudy Garcia. In not so typical fashion, however, Coley struck out eight batters, matching a career high.

Ryan said that Coley had to work from behind a lot of the night, getting his pitch count up; however, he has been able to throw all three pitches in any instance.

“He can throw all three at any time for a strike; he can throw all three at any time for a chase; he can throw all three when he wants off the plate or inside for effect,” Ryan said. “He keeps opposing hitters guessing. It led to strikeouts tonight and early contact on the ground. He’s been solid for us all year in that aspect.”

Coley said that his breaking ball wasn’t as good as it typical was tonight, forcing him to work more fastball and changeup for out pitches. Only one of his strikeouts was with the curve ball, and the rest were between the other two pitches. He had a good feel for the changeup tonight and relied heavily on it.

Yeudy Garcia worked 1.1 innings in relief, striking out two batters and allowing only one hit. He has struggled with control all season, including when he moved to the bullpen about a month ago. On the contrary, he had very good control tonight, throwing 17 strikes on 25 pitches. He did not walk any batters.

Offensively, the Curve were only able to manage four singles against Trenton in the night cap. There were a few hard hit balls, but they never really threatened.

Injury Update: Kevin Kramer will not rejoin the Altoona Curve this season, as Michael Ryan said that his broken hand has taken longer than expected to heal. He is still dealing with some pain when swinging and throwing, so they were slowing down his rehab process with the hopes of still playing fall baseball.

“It healed properly, just not as fast as they thought,” Ryan said. “Each guy is different on how they handle that and how they heal.”

Ryan said he talked to Kramer last week.

“I called him, and he said it’s painful,” Ryan said. “When he throws, it’s painful, so you can only imagine how it feels when he’s swinging. He said that when he went out to 90 feet throwing, it was really hurting him. He took about ten swings, and it started hurting after the fifth. The next week he took 20 swings, and it started bothering him when he was at 15. It was getting better a little bit, but he’s smart. He just wants to heal. I don’t know if the plan is for the AFL or instructs, but they will try to catch him up to get at bats some time this fall.”

 

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Bradenton lost 5-4 to Charlotte on Saturday night. Cam Vieaux started and retired the first nine batters he faced before things fell apart in the fourth. Vieaux was hurt by a Ke’Bryan Hayes error, which led to two unearned runs in the fourth inning, but he also allowed two singles and a walk to bring home three runs. He gave up another run in the sixth on a solo homer. Vieaux went six innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk, with four strikeouts and a 10:5 GO/AO ratio.

Daniel Zamora followed Vieaux with two scoreless frames, then Geoff Hartlieb gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth for the loss.

Bradenton got three hits each from Casey Hughston and Stephen Alemais. Hughston hit his sixth home run of the season, while Alemais raised his average to .352 through 16 games with the Marauders. Ty Moore hit a solo homer in the fourth inning, his sixth of the season. Ke’Bryan Hayes had a single, walk and run scored. Will Craig had a walk, HBP and an RBI.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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West Virginia had their game postponed due to rain. They will play a doubleheader tomorrow.

Prospect-Watch-Morgantown

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Morgantown lost 7-3 to Aberdeen, as Austin Meadows continued his rehab assignment, which should be winding up soon. He went 2-for-4 with two singles and played in right field.

Tenth round draft pick Beau Sulser made his third start and had a lot of trouble in this game. He lasted three innings, plus he faced two batters in the fourth without retiring either. Sulser gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk, throwing 75 pitches. Nicholas Economos and Yoandy Fernandez each threw two shutout innings, before Brandon Bingel gave up three runs in the eighth inning.

Raul Siri had the only extra-base hit for the Black Bears, slugging his second home run. Chris Sharpe had a single, walk and run scored, but he also struck out three times and was thrown out stealing. Tristan Gray had a single, walk and a stolen base.

Prospect-Watch-Bristol
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Bristol got some strong pitching through the first eight innings, en route to a huge upset victory over Pulaski. Coming into the day, Bristol had a 10-38 record. They were on enemy soil, going up against Pulaski with a 33-16 record. Seemed like this would be a one-sided contest, but Braeden Ogle and Alex Manasa made sure the good guys would win.

Ogle went five innings, and while his control wasn’t the best, he threw shutout ball on one hit and picked up seven strikeouts. The lone hit was a third inning single after he retired the first seven batters of the game. Ogle now has a 3.14 ERA through 43 innings, with 35 strikeouts. Manasa was on next and he went through three innings on just ten batters, giving up a walk, while picking up five strikeouts.

Mason Ward came up to get the save, but after giving up a two-run homer and putting another runner on, Evan Piechota had to finish out the 3-2 contest.

Edison Lantigua had a single and a walk. Yondry Contreras had a walk and an RBI. Melvin Jimenez reached three times on two walks and a HBP. Jason Delay had a walk and was plunked twice.

Prospect-Watch-GCL

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BRADENTON, Fla. – The GCL Pirates broke a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Braves, just their third win in their last 12 games.  Second-round pick Steven Jennings threw the first two innings.  Jennings sat at 90-91 mph with his fastball and threw both his slider and slow curve.  He wasn’t commanding any of his pitches well and was behind in the count too much to use either breaking ball effectively.  He wasn’t able to throw either breaking ball for strikes.  Jennings generally kept the fastball down, but elevated it some when he was behind in the count.

Jennings had some trouble in the first after getting two quick outs.  He got into some deep counts and allowed three hits, all well struck, along with a walk.  That produced two runs.  Jennings was more effective in the second inning, giving up a two-out bunt hit, but otherwise getting a soft line out and two comebackers, one of which struck him in the leg before he picked it up and tossed it to first to end the inning.

Jennings seemed fine after the last comebacker, but that might have accounted for him exiting.  Claudio Scotti followed with three surprisingly effective, scoreless innings.  Scotti signed out of Italy, which means he’s probably taking a big step forward in quality of competition.  He pitched only sparingly last year in the GCL, but is getting more regular work this year.  He threw an 89-91 mph fastball on a good, downward plane.  At times the pitch would get away from him and he walked two, but the Braves didn’t make much good contact against him.  He also threw a b – i – g ,  s – l – o – w curve that probably needs to be tightened up a bit.

Samuel Reyes followed Scotti with four more scoreless innings, like Scotti allowing only one hit.  In fact, Reyes allowed no baserunners in his first three innings, relying on a 90-91 mph fastball that had good life.  He also threw a slow curve that he was able to drop in for strikes at times, and a change.

The Pirates again didn’t get a great deal of offense, with seven singles and one walk.  They got two runs in the second on a sacrifice fly by Mikell Granberry and a single by Calvin Mitchell.  Those followed a hit batsman, steal, infield hit and wild pitch.  The other run came the next inning on two singles and two errors.  Mitchell and Victor Ngoepe each finished with two hits.  Rodolfo Castro went 0-for-4, but had an opposite field drive caught at the fence in left-center field.

Just a couple more notes:

Mitchell was a late substitution for Lolo Sanchez.  The latter fouled a ball off his ankle near the end of yesterday’s game.  He stayed in, but limped around a bit.  He was at the game today and looked fine, so he’s hopefully just a bit sore.

Castro played short today.  He had one tough chance on a bouncer up the middle, but the ball glanced off his glove.  He’s struggled quite a bit defensively, both at short and third, in the games I’ve seen over the last couple weeks. – Wilbur Miller

Prospect-Watch-DSL

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The DSL Pirates lost 7-5 in a game dominated by wild pitchers. The Pirates scored five runs, yet they had just four singles in the game. The game included a total of 15 walks, five hit batters and eight wild pitches.

The Pirates scored their first run in the fifth inning without collecting a hit. A walk to Ivan Rosario was followed by a wild pitch, sac bunt and a throwing error. In the eighth inning while trailing 7-1, the Pirates mounted a comeback that came up two runs short. They had just one single in that inning, getting help from three walks and three hit batters to bring in the four runs.

The pitching by the Pirates wasn’t any better. Each of the first three pitchers they used allowed two runs in short stints. Six walks, two hit batters and three wild pitches contributed to the poor effort. The Rays2 had eight hits in the game, all of them singles.

Jean Eusebio had a strong game, going 1-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and his 12th stolen base. Sherten Apostel had a single and a walk. Francisco Acuna walked twice, which now gives him a share of the DSL lead in walks with 46, tying him with Apostel.

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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