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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13. Edgar 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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INDIANAPOLIS — Drew Hutchison had success in getting the first two outs of each inning with relative ease.
But getting that final out quickly proved to be elusive.
Hutchison allowed two runs and a career-high 11 hits in 6.2 innings, walking two and striking out five. But nine of those hits and both walks came with two outs in Buffalo’s 3-1 win over Indianapolis.
He was close to putting together a dominant looking outing, retiring the side in order on four pitches in the fourth inning and he got the first two outs of the fifth inning on three pitches.
It was just a matter of getting that third and final out in four innings that proved difficult.
Hutchison retired the first two batters of the second inning, before allowing three consecutive singles, albeit none hit tremendously hard. That set up Buffalo outfielder Roemon Fields’ two-run double down the left field line.
In the third inning Hutchison retired the first two batters before allowing consecutive singles, though he worked around those.
That fifth inning – when Hutchison retired the first two batters on three pitches – was extended with a single, hit-by-pitch and Phil Gosselin fielding error at third base that loaded the bases. Hutchison struck out Mike Ohlman to get out of that jam.
Hutchison’s outing came to an end in the seventh inning, when he allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases after retiring the first two batters. Edgar Santana entered in relief and ended the threat with a soft lineout on the first pitch he threw.
The good: Hutchison had a couple of quick innings and was able to get quick outs to open most innings. And he pitched out of traffic relatively well.
The bad: Well, he had to pitch out of traffic consistently and couldn’t quite finish off an inning. Well, finish off an inning quickly.
“I think he finished all of the innings,” Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett said. “He just got two outs and had to work from there. They had a lot of seeing-eye hits and bloop singles. He didn’t really do anything wrong. It was just that the game of baseball got him today. But he was able to pitch out of traffic and give us a chance.”
Indianapolis scored its lone run in the fifth inning without needing a hit. Phil Gosselin walked and Danny Ortiz was hit by a pitch around the triceps of his left shoulder. Gosselin moved to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on Eric Wood’s RBI sacrifice fly.
Kevin Newman had Indianapolis’ lone hit, a soft single to right field to lead off the fourth inning. Max Moroff was hit by a pitch to put the first two runners on base, but Jordan Luplow popped out, and Edwin Espinal and Elias Diaz each grounded out to end the scoring threat.
Johnny Barbato allowed a solo home run to Jake Elmore in the ninth inning, putting Buffalo ahead 3-1 and ending any realistic chance Indianapolis had to sneak out a win considering the team only had one hit at that point. – Brian Peloza
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ALTOONA, Pa. – JT Brubaker made his 19th start of the season for the Altoona Curve, coming into the game with a 4.70 ERA in 97.2 innings. Brubaker has struggled to go deep into games lately, only having reached the six inning mark twice in his last nine starts. Tonight was more of the same.
Brubaker was good and efficient through his first four innings of work, only reaching the 50 pitch mark after his fourth inning. He was getting quite a few groundouts and even got three straight grounders to get out of the second inning with only six pitches. He would’ve gotten three straight groundouts again in the third if not for a fielding error on Jerrick Suiter at first base.
“He was keeping the ball down and attacking,” Manager Michael Ryan said about Brubaker’s first few innings. “They are a very aggressive team, and you can get them out if you keep the ball down.”
The fifth got interesting, as Brubaker loaded the bases with a walk and HBP; however, he was able to work out of the jam with a groundout to second base. In the sixth, he loaded the bases again but wouldn’t be so lucky to get out of the jam.
The inning started with a double to left field that was almost caught with a diving attempt by Justin Maffei. Three straight singles following the double gave Reading a run and loaded the bases. Yeudy Garcia replaced Brubaker at this point, making it another outing where Brubaker failed to get through six innings. Two of Garcia’s inherited runners came around to score on sacrifice flies, and they were charged to Brubaker’s line.
The Curve scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth, giving them a 3-0 lead. Shutdown innings by pitchers has been a popular topic lately, and Brubaker has seemed to struggle with it.
“It’s something that he’s had trouble with,” Ryan said about Brubaker not being able to shut down opponents after his team has scored. “He got more of a cushion, then I don’t know if he was trying to be too fine or what.”
Brubaker had to run the bases the half inning before he had to pitch that inning, and Ryan thinks that may have had something to do with the poor results. However, Brubaker still may need to alter his way of thinking when going out after his team scores.
“It’s something that we will push forward with,” Ryan said. “He’s aware of it. It’s a matter of his mindset maybe changing a little bit when we do score a run.”
Brubaker didn’t go with his breaking ball often tonight, working mostly with his fastball. It worked well early; however, he may have needed to turn to it more late.
Luis Heredia was called upon to record the final four outs tonight, and he sat down four batters straight to easily pick up the save. He relieved Sean Keselica with runners on second and third in the eighth, and got a groundout to shortstop on one pitch. The ninth was quick and clean for the tall Mexican righty.
“Location of his two quality pitches has been better,” Ryan said about Heredia. “Getting ahead with his fastball allows him to throw his breaking ball more. The more he throws his breaking ball, the better the feel he gets for it. It makes him more dangerous.”
Heredia hasn’t allowed a run in his last six outings/nine innings. Opponents have only gotten two hits against him during that time.
The Curve struck first in the third inning after a Cole Tucker triple to the right field wall (batting right handed) and sacrifice fly by Pablo Reyes. In the fifth inning, Jerrick Suiter came up with the bases loaded and two outs. He delivered by going inside-out on an inside fastball and dropping it into right field for a two-RBI single.
“He worked the count, laid off a really good slider, and fought off a fastball,” Ryan said. “It was a great two strike approach by going the other way. He was strong enough to get it on the grass.”
The biggest hit of the game came in the sixth inning for the Curve. After Reading came back to tie the game at three in the top of the inning, a Michael Suchy walk and Justin Maffei single set the scene for pinch-hitter Jon Schwind. In his first at-bat in Altoona since last season, Schwind delivered with a three run home run over the left field wall on a 1-1 pitch.
Schwind isn’t necessarily a prospect; rather, he’s an older organizational guy around to contribute when called upon and to be a mentor to the younger players. He’s an easy player to tip your hat to, especially in a moment like tonight in Altoona.
“It’s a goose bump moment,” Ryan said. “To watch him get around the bases so fast is what’s funny to me. I couldn’t be happier for a guy that’s been through a lot this year – injuries, on and off rosters, traveling different places but staying with it. It’s a great story for you guys to write.”
Schwind went down in Spring Training with an oblique injury, taking months to recover. He rejoined the team earlier this summer with the hopes of being reinstated from the disabled list; however, he re-aggravated the injury. After spending some time in Morgantown rehabbing as an unofficial player/coach, he finally came back to Altoona a few weeks ago, only to travel with the team essentially as a 26th man, not being activated from the disabled list.
He was just activated on their recent road trip, and he came up big tonight in a huge moment for the Curve.
“He’s the heart and soul of the club,” Ryan said. “The reaction in the clubhouse tells the story. He’s an amazing person. As a coach, he’s somebody that I look to when I may be in a bad mood or if something doesn’t go right. We’re fortunate enough to have him on our club.”
Cole Tucker went 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk. Jerrick Suiter was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk. -Sean McCool
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Bradenton won 6-4 over Lakeland on Wednesday night, behind the bat of an unlikely hero. Logan Ratledge scored once and drove in three runs on two doubles and a single. He batted second behind lead-off hitter Mitchell Tolman who also had a nice game, going 1-for-2 with a single, two walks, two runs scored and an RBI. Alfredo Reyes had two hits, a run scored and his 19th stolen base. Christian Kelley and Kevin Krause each drove in a run.
Bret Helton started and had some control issues in his six innings, but still picked up the win. He allowed four runs on six hits and four walks. Miguel Rosario walked four while recording just two outs, but didn’t allow a run. Geoff Hartlieb threw 2.1 innings, with one hit, no walks an four strikeouts.
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West Virginia won 8-5 over Lakewood on Wednesday afternoon. The Power put together a 16-hit game, with Clark Eagan leading the way with two singles, a double and a triple, while driving in three runs. Adrian Valerio was strong in the lead-off spot with three hits, including his 14th double. He also walked and scored two runs. Andrew Walker, Garrett Brown and Ryan Nagle each had two hits. Albert Baur hit a two-run homer and picked up a sacrifice fly.
Oddy Nunez started and looked strong through four innings before tiring in the fifth. He gave up three runs on six hits and a walk, with four strikeouts and 50 of his 70 pitches going for strikes. Nunez returned from the disabled list last week and threw four shutout innings in that game, so he is still building back up his pitch count. After Matt Eckelman allowed two runs in the sixth (one unearned) Pasquale Mazzoccoli tossed two shutout frames and Angel German picked up his first save with the Power by throwing a scoreless ninth.
Oneil Cruz had a tough game, going 1-for-5 with three strikeouts and his first error with West Virginia.
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Morgantown lost 9-4 to Brooklyn, as All-Star starter Ike Schlabach had a rough outing. He lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing five runs on six hits. He came into the day ranked top five in the league in ERA and WHIP. He did have no walks, six strikeouts and a 5:0 GO/AO ratio, so that helps the outing out a little when you’re looking for positives.
Joel Cesar allowed two runs in his only inning, matching his total from his first 17 innings of the season. Blake Weiman and Yoandy Fernandez each allowed a run.
Austin Meadows played his second rehab game for Morgantown and went 1-for-5 with an RBI single. He played all nine innings in right field. Dylan Busby is coming on lately, collecting two hits and stealing his fifth base in this game. Lucas Tancas had a double, walk and two RBIs. Brett Pope had an RBI, run scored and stolen base.
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BRISTOL, Va. – Hunter Stratton had his worst pro start tonight, giving up five earned runs in two innings, with two hits and six walks allowed. Almost all of the damage came in the third inning of work, which was when Stratton’s control fell apart.
Stratton gave up a leadoff single, followed by a wild pitch and then a home run. He then walked two batters in a row before reaching his single inning pitch count.
The walks were an issue earlier in the game. He gave up one walk in the first, then two walks in a row in the second with one out. He gave up one more walk that inning, and allowed a runner to score on a wild pitch.
Stratton has seen some control problems as of late, with six walks in 5.2 innings over his last two outings. He was 87-93 MPH tonight, and he wasn’t afraid to pitch inside, although that wasn’t exactly a good thing, since it put a few hitters in danger. Stratton was much better with control and results earlier in the season, so I don’t want to make too much of the recent stretch until we see which pitcher shows up for the long-term.
Edison Lantigua impressed in his second game back from a shoulder injury, going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Both his double and the single were hit to the opposite field, with the double going off the wall in left.
Yondry Contreras went 2-for-5, but struck out twice. He makes hard contact, and has some of the best raw power on the team, but the strikeouts continue to be an issue that plague him. – Tim Williams
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TAMPA, Fla. – The GCL Pirates lost 13-4 on Wednesday afternoon. Shane Baz had his worst pro start against the Yankees West, retiring just two hitters. Baz had little command of his fastball or slider, throwing very few strikes. The first six batters produced HR, single, walk, walk, strikeout, single. Baz got that strikeout on a couple good curves, then after the second single, he recorded a 3-6 forceout. The throw to first was wild, so two runs scored to make it 4-0. With his pitch count around 30, Baz was done.
Baz’ fastball was mostly 91-93, but got up to 94-95 a few times. His slider was in the mid-80s and his curve in the low-80s. He had better command of the curve, which was tight with sharp break.
Things didn’t improve after Baz was gone. Adonis Pichardo got the last out in the first, but allowed two more runs in the second. He did get through the third and fourth without allowing any more. Angel Vasquez then got torched for seven runs in an inning and a third, making it 13-0. Jose Delgado threw scoreless baseball over the last two and two-thirds. A few notes on the three:
Pichardo’s fastball was only 88-89 mph, which is well below where he reportedly was around the time he signed. His command was poor — he walked three and hit one — but he showed a good slider, which he relied upon heavily.
Vasquez threw 88-90 mph along with a curve that wasn’t especially effective. He left a lot of pitches up and got hit very hard; he gave up eight hits, including two longballs, while recording only four outs, and there were no bleeders.
Delgado was the most interesting of the three, although that’s a low bar. His fastball came in anywhere from 88-94. He also threw a slider, which was often effective, and a curve, which tended to be extremely wild. (Several times, on curves, the ball appeared to slip out of his, which may have resulted from the fact that there was a light rain through much of Delgado’s stint on the mound.) Delgado’s mechanics were erratic, to put it mildly. At times he threw with a great deal of effort, sometimes including either a big finishing leg kick or head whacking that was reminiscent of Dylan Prohoroff after he was drafted. Sometimes his delivery was a lot calmer. He scuffled through much of his outing, but got through it unscathed.
The Pirates’ offense had chances throughout the game. Prior to the eighth inning, they put runners on third with zero or one out, but couldn’t score. They finished 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Two of those hits came in the eighth, when a single by Felix Vinicio and a bases-loaded triple by Gabriel Brito produced all four of the Pirates’ runs. Vinicio, Brito, Lolo Sanchez and Rodolfo Castro each had two hits. Jeremias Portorreal and Mikell Granberry each had doubles.
A few other observations:
Castro hasn’t played short in two weeks, staying at third while Victor Ngoepe plays short. Ngoepe has very limited upside with the bat, so that’s disappointing, especially if it means the Pirates are skeptical about Castro’s ability to stay at short. He may have the bat for third, but he’d be much more valuable if he could play short.
With four pitchers who were all varying degrees of wild, Brito had a busy day on the pitch-blocking front and handled it very well.
Although he had only two hits in five at-bats, Sanchez hit line drives his first three times up and a long fly to left his fourth time. If there was a concern with him coming into the season, it was that he’d go the same route as Michael De La Cruz, i.e., a speedy center fielder with too weak a bat to advance far. Happily, this year Sanchez is showing considerably more pop, as evidenced by his four HRs and .461 slugging average. It’s also a plus that he combines that pop with very good contact ability, as he has only 16 whiffs in 141 at-bats. – Wilbur Miller
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The DSL Pirates had a doubleheader on Wednesday. They lost game one to the Cubs1 by a 5-4 score. Luis Arrieta started and gave up one unearned run over 4.2 innings. He was just recently put in the rotation and has been having success over the last month, giving up four earned runs over his last 21.2 innings. That gives him a season ERA of 2.59 in 41.2 innings.
After Arrieta left, Kleiner Machado gave up two runs in 3.1 innings. The Pirates took a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth, before Francis Del Orbe lost the game in the bottom of the inning, failing to record a single out. The problem was that the Pirates made three costly errors in the game and all of them led to unearned runs. In fact, none of the five runs were earned because two of them were the designated runners, who are put on second base at the start of each inning during extra innings (doubleheaders are seven inning games).
On offense, Francisco Acuna had a strong day, going 1-for-1 with three walks, a run scored and two stolen bases, giving him 17 steals on the season. Sherten Apostel had two walks and a run scored. Jean Eusebio had a single, run scored and his 11th stolen base.
Game Two Recap: The Pirates won game two by a 3-1 score. Saul de la Cruz made his first career start and it was a successful one, going four innings, with one unearned run on one hit and one walk. He posted a 9:1 GO/AO ratio. Osvaldo Bido, who was in the rotation for most of the season, followed de la Cruz and threw three shutout innings, striking out four batters.
Francisco Acuna came off the bench to tie this game 1-1 in the fifth inning, hitting his second home run of the season. In the sixth inning, Sherten Apostel hit his eighth home run, a two-run shot. He also drew the team’s only walk of the game. The Pirates had just one other hit in this contest, an infield single by John Lantigua, who scored on the Apostel homer.
