Prospect Watch: Joe Musgrove Rehabs; Kevin Kramer Has a Big Day at the Plate

A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time (Colin Moran), or loses his prospect eligibility (Edgar Santana, Kyle Crick, Max Moroff and Dovydas Neverauskas), 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 our 2018 Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Mitch Keller, RHP, Altoona – DNP

2. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis – 2-for-5, 2 SB

3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 1-for-5, 2B

4. Shane Baz, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP

5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 0-for-3, BB

6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, BB

7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP

8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-4

9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – Disabled list

10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, 3B, RBI

11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO

12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 5 SO

13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP

14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Pirates – In Majors

15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 3-for-5, 3B, HR, RBI, BB

16. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 0-for-4

17. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 0-for-4

18. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 1-for-4, 3B, RBI

19. Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (disabled list) – DNP

20. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

21. JT Brubaker, RHP, Altoona – DNP

22. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI

23. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 1-for-5, 2 RBI

24. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 1-for-5, RBI

25. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP

26. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Bradenton – DNP

27. Mason Martin, 1B, West Virginia – 2-for-3, 2B, BB

28. Conner Uselton, OF, Extended Spring Training – DNP

29. Cody Bolton, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP

30. Steven Jennings, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP

Indianapolis won 7-3 over Toledo on Tuesday night. Starter Clay Holmes threw shutout ball in each of his last two starts, going four innings the first time, followed by five innings last week. He’s still in the process of getting stretched out, but he should be full strength in his next start after throwing 90 pitches tonight. He got the win but wasn’t sharp in this game, walking five batters, while allowing three runs on five hits in five innings. Holmes had five strikeouts and a 4:2 GO/AO ratio.

The Indians got all they would need in the first inning by putting up four runs. The big hit was Kevin Kramer’s second home run of the season. He would later single, steal his second base of the year and then hit his first triple. Austin Meadows had two singles and two stolen bases. Christopher Bostick hit two doubles, giving him six on the season to go along with a .333 average. He also drove in two runs. Eric Wood had two singles, a walk and an RBI.

Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.

You can view the season preview here.

Altoona won 8-2 over Richmond. Starter Dario Agrazal was one of the best pitchers in the system in April, posting a 1.46 ERA and an 0.89 WHIP in 24.2 innings. He started off May with another fine performance, allowing one run on four hits and one walk in six innings. Agrazal threw 56 of his 81 pitches for strikes and he posted a 10:4 GO/AO ratio. This start basically mirrored his season, as his ERA went up one point and his WHIP went down one point.

The Curve scored four runs in the fifth inning, then a pair of runs in both the sixth and eighth innings. The scoring in the fifth started with a bases loaded single from Agrazal for his first pro RBI. A Stephen Alemais single brought home two runs and Jason Martin capped the scoring with an RBI single. In the sixth, Will Craig drove in a run with his second double of the game. He would score on a sacrifice fly by Christian Kelley. In the eighth inning, Kelley brought home two more runs with his third double of the season.

Cole Tucker picked up his sixth double, though he did also strike out four times.

Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.

You can view the season preview here.

Bradenton won 5-2 over Dunedin. Joe Musgrove made his first rehab start and was efficient, though not quite effective, in three innings of work. He allowed two runs on five hits (all singles), while throwing 29 of his 36 pitches for strikes. He had two strikeouts, no walks and a 5:1 GO/AO ratio. Two of the hits he allowed were from the bat of Josh Donaldson, who is also on a rehab assignment. Tim Williams talked to Musgrove after the game.

Luis Escobar followed Musgrove and had a dominant performance. In six shutout innings, he allowed two hits and a walk, while striking out seven batters and posting a 6:1 GO/AO ratio. He now has a 3.08 ERA through 26.1 innings, with 22 strikeouts.

All five Bradenton runs scored in the third inning. They got four straight hits from Jared Oliva, Jason Delay, Casey Hughston and Tyler Gaffney. That was followed by an error from Josh Donaldson, which scored a run. An Albert Baur double scored two more runs to cap the scoring. Oliva had two hits and his fourth stolen base. Alfredo Reyes stole his sixth base.

Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.

You can view the season preview here.

West Virginia won 6-4 over Augusta on a walk-off homer from Ryan Peurifoy. They had tied the score two batters earlier on Rodolfo Castro’s second home run of the season.

Starter Travis MacGregor came into this game with a 2.08 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. He gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk in five innings on Tuesday night. That one walk came back to bite MacGregor, who allowed a two-run homer to the next batter. He continued his strong strikeout rate, setting down eight batters in this game. He posted a 4:1 GO/AO ratio and threw 57 of 84 pitches for strikes. Beau Sulser allowed one run over three innings, then Matt Seelinger picked up the win with a scoreless ninth.

The Power had six hits in the game, with just one hit (a Mason Martin double) off of the opposing starter in six innings. Martin also had a single and a walk. He was the only West Virginia hitter to reach base more than once. Lolo Sanchez is currently in a 2-for-35 slump.

Here’s the boxscore from the MiLB site.

You can view the season preview here.