At the end of each month, I like to look at how the players of interest fared on each team in the system. That got pushed back a week due to the draft last week, so we actually get a bigger sample size to look at now. We start at the top with the Indianapolis Indians.
Obviously the Triple-A team is going to share a lot of players with the parent club and there are 12 players who had played for both the Pirates and Indianapolis this year. A few are currently in the majors right now like Austin Meadows, so we don’t have to see how they are doing. Others like Max Moroff, Jose Osuna and new arrival Adam Frazier, have spent more time in Pittsburgh, but are currently in Indianapolis. We also saw Joe Musgrove visit briefly and Jung Ho Kang is there now, though he obviously isn’t part of that 12 player group I mentioned.
Just looking at the guys who haven’t seen Pittsburgh yet, with one exception, we look at the results from the others of note.
Kevin Newman had one huge series and really not much else besides that at the plate, though he is playing solid defense at shortstop and he’s stealing bases. He’s eighth among regulars on the team in OPS at .729 and also trails two bench players (Wyatt Mathisen and Ryan Lavarnway). The average looks good at .301, but the lack of walks and low power, keeps him near the bottom of the team’s hitting stats. He basically had three games in May against the worst pitching staff in the league and that has skewed his stats. Despite a .729 season OPS, he had a .623 OPS in his first 27 games, .688 in his last 24, and three games in the middle in which he had ten hits, two doubles and his only homer.
Jordan Luplow has become very streaky. He had a horrible April with a .511 OPS. Then he missed being our Player of the Month in May by a gnat’s eyelash, putting up a 1.006 OPS. This month he has a .651 OPS.
If the Pirates need an outfielder at any point, it’s probably going to be Jose Osuna or Adam Frazier going up at this point. Luplow would probably be behind both of them right now unless he picks things up, but he should also be behind Christopher Bostick, who is hitting much better right now and playing the majority of the time in center field. Bostick has a .322/.375/.502 slash line, and also provides someone with experience at three infield positions, plus he held his own during his brief big league time last year.
I talked about Kevin Kramer in The 21 on Monday, so I’ll be brief here. He could stand to cut down on strikeouts and use his speed better on the bases. His hitting has been fine for a first run through Triple-A (.750 OPS), but the overall game still needs some work before he’s a big league option. Pirates have a lot of Rule 5 eligible players that need to be added to the roster this winter and he’s one of them. Wouldn’t be bad if they did that in September and gave him a taste of the big leagues.
Last year we made a big deal about Edwin Espinal not getting a long enough look at Triple-A before becoming a minor league free agent. The Pirates let him go and he was quickly signed by the Detroit Tigers. The same situation could have happened with Pablo Reyes this year, but the Pirates called him up to Indianapolis in April and he has been playing regularly, seeing time at multiple positions. He’s a versatile defensive player with speed and a nice bat, so it makes sense to see how he handles Triple-A before losing him for nothing. Right now I don’t see him getting added to the 40-man roster, but he has almost three months to change that opinion.
Eric Wood is also a free agent at the end of the year and he was putting up solid stats until a pinkie fracture landed him on the DL last week. He too will be an interesting decision, although I don’t see the 40-man as an option at this point. Might be more about bringing him back as a free agent versus him going elsewhere for a chance.
On the pitching side Clay Holmes has been inconsistent with his control, although his last two starts have been much better. His stuff is just too good to put him as a power reliever right now, especially with his high strikeout and ground out rates.
Tyler Eppler has been much better than what we saw last year, which makes you wonder if he will get a shot later in the year if this keeps up. The increase in strikeouts is the key improvement. He has raised his strikeouts per nine inning rate from 6.3 last year to 8.4 this season.
JT Brubaker is off to a decent start through six games in Triple-A. He’s likely not going to see the majors this year, but he will have plenty of experience at the level going into 2019.
Brandon Waddell is off to a slow start, but he’s in the same situation as Brubaker. Likely didn’t have a shot at Pittsburgh this year, but will end up with a nice amount of Triple-A experience going into 2019.
On the relief side, two players I want to quickly mention who aren’t veterans. Tanner Anderson has put up strong numbers in his 20 appearances and 31 innings. He’s only allowed two earned runs since Opening Day and he has a 3.06 GO/AO ratio. With his control and that GO/AO ratio, he looks like he could end up pitching in middle relief someday in the majors as a ground ball specialist.
Jesus Liranzo breezed through Altoona and got a promotion because he was dominating while throwing strikes. That hasn’t continued in Triple-A with 11 walks in 9.1 innings. They will stick with him though because not many players can hit triple digits consistently.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Bradenton is in third place in their division, 5.5 games behind the leader with seven games remaining in the first half.
West Virginia is in fourth place in their division, five games behind the leader with six games remaining in the first half.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 9-5 to the Diamondbacks on Monday night. The Pirates will send Trevor Williams to the mound for his 14th start. He allowed four runs over three innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last start. The Diamondbacks scheduled starter is right-hander Clay Buchholz, who has a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings, with 21 strikeouts and an 0.83 WHIP. He gave up two runs over six innings against the San Francisco Giants in his last start.
The minor league schedule includes a rehab start in Bradenton for MLB reliever Enny Romero. He will be followed by Adam Oller in game one and then James Marvel will pitch the second game. JT Brubaker tossed six shutout innings in his last start for Indianapolis. Eduardo Vera makes his third start for Altoona. He has allowed three earned runs over 14 innings with the Curve. West Virginia starter Gavin Wallace allowed one run over eight innings in his last start.
MLB: Pittsburgh (32-34) @ Diamondbacks (36-29) 9:40 PM
Probable starter: Trevor Williams (4.18 ERA, 49:24 SO/BB, 71.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (32-29) vs Toledo (38-23) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: JT Brubaker (3.09 ERA, 21:20 SO/BB, 32.0 IP)
AA: Altoona (29-28) @ Binghamton (34-28) 6:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Eduardo Vera (1.93 ERA, 8:1 SO/BB, 14.0 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (31-27) @ Florida (26-33) 4:00 PM DH (season preview)
Probable starter: Adam Oller (1.69 ERA, 15:5 SO/BB, 16.0 IP) and James Marvel (4.37 ERA, 45:18 SO/BB, 70.0 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (32-28) @ Augusta (35-27) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Gavin Wallace (3.20 ERA, 29:8 SO/BB, 50.2 IP)
DSL: Pirates1 (4-4) vs Rangers1 10:30 AM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates2 (1-7) vs Giants 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
From Indianapolis, Wyatt Mathisen hits a two-run homer
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
6/11: Pirates sign seven draft picks.
6/11: Jung Ho Kang assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.
6/10: Ivan Nova activated from the DL. Nick Kingham optioned to Indianapolis.
6/10: Jacob Stallings recalled from Indianapolis. Adam Frazier optioned to Indianapolis.
6/9: Jackson Williams added to Indianapolis roster.
6/8: Richard Rodriguez placed on disabled list. Pirates recall Dovydas Neverauskas.
6/8: Mason Martin assigned to Bristol. Jesse Medrano assigned to West Virginia.
6/6: Samuel Reyes added to West Virginia roster. Evan Piechota promoted to Bradenton.
6/6: Eric Wood placed on disabled list. Jerrick Suiter added to Indianapolis roster.
6/6: Cam Vieaux promoted to Altoona. Jake Brentz assigned to Bradenton.
6/6: Oddy Nunez placed on disabled list.
6/5: Yoel Gonzalez released.
6/5: John Bormann added to West Virginia roster.
6/4: Pirates released Andrew Walker and Linse Carvajal.
6/3: Cam Vieaux promoted to Altoona. Garrett Brown added to Bradenton roster.
6/3: Austin Coley placed on disabled list.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
One former Pittsburgh Pirates player born on this date, plus one small trade of note and a special pitching performance from 45 years ago today. We start with the player, and that was second baseman Otto Knabe, who played for the Pirates in 1905 and then again in 1916. He was just a rookie when the Pirates brought him up late in the 1905 season for a brief tryout. By the time he came back, he was on the downside of his career. Knabe was without a job at the start of the 1916 season and the Pirates brought him in for a tryout. He was out of shape, so it was basically his Spring Training, but injuries forced him into the lineup ahead of schedule and he did not perform well. His total time with the Pirates was less than two months, but he was actually a really good player in between his brief stops. One interesting note about the start of his 1916 season and it seems like a misprint now, but it was a sign of the times. He wasn’t signed to a contract when he first got into games that season.
On this date in 1946, the Pirates and Braves exchanged struggling outfielders, with Chuck Workman headed towards Pittsburgh and Johnny Barrett going to Boston. Workman was batting .167 at the time of the deal, while Barrett’s average was just two points higher. The trade ended up being a draw, as Workman struggled in a platoon role and Barrett got injured. By the start of the next season, both players were in the minors and never returned to the big leagues.
On this date in 1970, Dock Ellis threw the sixth no-hitter in team history (two were shortened games). This is the famous game in which he supposedly pitched that day while on LSD. It’s a claim that is disputed by some, but makes a good story now. A recap can be found in a link above, while the boxscore for the game can be viewed here.
