Last night the Pirates saw several home runs from their prospects. As noted in the headline of the Prospect Watch, they had homers from Ke’Bryan Hayes, O’Neil Cruz, and Mason Martin, who homered twice. They also saw home runs from four other players.
If it seems like the Pirates are hitting for more power in the minors this year, it’s because they are. For several years, the Pirates took a passive approach to power. Their belief was that doubles and shots to the gap were power, and that’s true. But their approach typically led to them passing up home run hitters with flaws in their game, all to get well-rounded hitters who might be able to add some power.
A few of those hitters did add power, with Jordan Luplow, Max Moroff, and Kevin Kramer being the biggest cases. However, outside of short runs in the majors so far from Luplow and Moroff, the strategy hasn’t led to much. Granted, it’s still early for that strategy, and there are several players making their way through the system into the majors, with a few future starters from those drafts — mostly held in the 2014-2016 time frame.
We started seeing a change with their approach last year. Their draft in 2017 seemed to target power hitters more often, as in guys who could hit home runs. That group includes Calvin Mitchell, who has a .184 ISO in West Virginia, and Mason Martin, who didn’t hit well in West Virginia, but has seen his raw power showing up more in Bristol.
They also started targeting power hitters via trade. The main return for Tony Watson was O’Neil Cruz, who just hit his tenth home run last night, along with a .220 ISO in West Virginia. They also added Jason Martin in the Gerrit Cole trade, and Martin has hit nine homers so far with a .203 ISO in Altoona.
Then there’s been more of an approach toward power with their current players, which is a big reason why Kevin Kramer and Will Craig both lead the system with 11 homers. Craig has a .218 ISO, which is well up from his .100 ISO last year in Bradenton, and his home run total is almost double the six he hit last year. The FSL usually suppresses power, but Craig’s power emergence comes from adjustments to his swing and approach.
Kramer did the same thing last year, starting to make adjustments to tap into his raw power, and it worked until he got injured. He returned this year, was promoted a level, and hasn’t lost a step. He’s got a .214 ISO, and is positioning himself well to be the second baseman of the future in Pittsburgh, which could start this year if the Pirates deal Josh Harrison.
Across the system, power has been up at every level. Each of the four full-season teams (Indianapolis, Altoona, Bradenton, West Virginia) have seen their team ISO go up this year, while seeing home runs more frequently. The entire system is hitting a home run every 46 at-bats this year, which is an improvement over the 55 at-bats last year, and the system ISO of .137 is up from .121 last year.
The full-season teams are also doing well relative to their leagues. Altoona is the only team with a below-average ISO in their league, and they are only .006 points short of the average. Indianapolis and Altoona are the only two teams below-average in their AB/HR ratio, although both are only 5 at-bats below the average.
These trends could change as the season goes on, with the summer months always suppressing power in Bradenton, and with Morgantown and the GCL Pirates playing in extreme pitching leagues. But the Pirates didn’t exactly shy away from power in the 2018 draft, and if they do become sellers at the deadline, then the system could see additional power hitters coming in, joining guys like Cruz and Martin. So while the results are incomplete, I could see the Pirates continuing to trend for power, which will lead to continued results like these.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 7-2 to the Diamondbacks on Saturday. The Pirates will send Trevor Williams to the mound for his 16th start today. He threw seven shutout innings on one hit against the Milwaukee Brewers in his last start. The Diamondbacks scheduled starter is right-hander Clay Buchholz, who has a 2.94 ERA in 33.2 innings, with 26 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP. He gave up five runs over four innings against the Pirates back on June 12th.
The minor league schedule includes Clay Holmes going for Indianapolis. In his last four starts combined, he has allowed two runs over 25.1 innings, with 28 strikeouts. Steven Jennings makes his second start for Bristol. He allowed two runs over 4.1 innings in his debut. Altoona’s starter should be Eduardo Vera making his fifth start since being promoted to Double-A, though the schedule has Logan Sendelbach.
Bradenton’s Oddy Nunez has allowed one run over 11 innings since returning from the disabled list. West Virginia starter Gavin Wallace is holding batters to a .222 average and he has an 0.99 WHIP and a 1.45 GO/AO ratio. Eighth round pick Zach Spears makes his second pro start for Morgantown. The GCL and DSL Pirates are off on Sundays.
MLB: Pittsburgh (36-40) vs Diamondbacks (43-33) 1:35 PM
Probable starter: Trevor Williams (4.00 ERA, 58:28 SO/BB, 81.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (40-32) vs Durham (40-32) 1:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Clay Holmes (3.39 ERA, 71:30 SO/BB, 66.1 IP)
AA: Altoona (36-32) @ Erie (32-40) 1:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Eduardo Vera (4.74 ERA, 15:1 SO/BB, 24.2 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (35-33) vs Fort Myers (31-40) 1:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Oddy Nunez (3.63 ERA, 43:25 SO/BB, 67.0 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (40-29) @ Hickory (30-41) 4:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Gavin Wallace (3.59 ERA, 39:10 SO/BB, 62.2 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (5-4) @ Auburn (2-6) 2:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Zach Spears (0.00 ERA, 0:1 SO/BB, 3.0 IP)
Rookie: Bristol (3-2) vs Elizabethton (4-1) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Steven Jennings (4.15 ERA, 4:2 SO/BB, 4.1 IP)
GCL: Pirates (2-4) vs Yankees West 12:00 PM 6/25 (season preview)
DSL: Pirates1 (8-11) vs Rays2 10:30 AM 6/25 (season preview)
DSL: Pirates2 (7-12) vs Giants 10:30 AM 6/25 (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
From Indianapolis, Christopher Bostick makes a great diving catch coming in on a ball
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
6/23: Corey Dickerson reinstated from Family Medical Emergency Leave list. Adam Frazier optioned to Indianapolis.
6/23: Evan Piechota placed on disabled list. Ryan Haug promoted to Bradenton.
6/22: Pirates sign Braxton Ashcraft and Connor Kaiser.
6/22: Francisco Cervelli placed on disabled list. Jacob Stallings recalled from Indianapolis.
6/22: Arden Pabst promoted to Indianapolis. Blake Cederlind promoted to Bradenton.
6/22: Travis MacGregor assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
6/22: Fernando Villegas activated from Morgantown restricted list. Assigned to GCL Pirates.
6/21: Fabricio Macias activated from West Virginia restricted list. Assigned to Morgantown.
6/21: Pirates sign Kyle Mottice and Steven Kraft.
6/21: Tyler Eppler activated from temporary inactive list.
6/21: Cody Smith assigned to Morgantown from GCL Pirates
6/20: Corey Dickerson placed on Family Medical Emergency Leave list. Adam Frazier recalled.
6/20: Jackson Williams placed on Indianapolis disabled list.
6/20: Pirates sign three draft picks
6/20: Pirates sign Matt Morrow and Pat Dorrian
6/20: Enny Romero assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.
6/18: Richard Rodriguez activated from disabled list. Dovydas Neverauskas optioned to Indianapolis
6/18: Pirates recall Jose Osuna. Jacob Stallings optioned to Indianapolis.
6/16: Tyler Eppler placed on Temporary Inactive List.
6/15: Jung Ho Kang assigned to Indianapolis.
6/15: Pirates sign Travis Swaggerty
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Five former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including the franchise’s all-time leader in batting average. Starting with the players that didn’t hit .360 for the Pirates, we have third baseman Ken Reitz (1982), pitcher Al Gerheauser (1945-46) and Rollie Hemsley, who caught for the Pirates from 1928-31 and made five All-Star teams during his 19-year career.
Also born on this, pitcher Kirtley Baker, who played for the worst team in franchise history. The 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys went 23-113 and Baker won three of those games. Unfortunately, he lost 19 games, giving him the lowest winning percentage (.136) for any pitcher that has at least 20 decisions with the Pirates. Despite the poor record, he did have a highlight to brag about. At the end of June, he threw a shutout against the New York Giants and pitcher Mickey Welch, who is a 300-game winner and a Hall of Famer.
Finally, Jake Stenzel was born on this date and no one had a higher average than his .360 mark with the Pirates. He is the only player in Major League history to hit .350 with 80 RBIs, 100 runs scored and 50 stolen bases in a season four times. He did it three times with the Pirates, while everyone else combined in franchise history reached those numbers twice, both times by Honus Wagner. Stenzel hit .371 in 1895 and the previous year he scored 150 runs, which remains the franchise’s single-season record. His .429 on base percentage is also the best in team history
