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 (Colin Moran, 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, Pirates – In Majors
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 2-for-4, RBI, BB, SB
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Bristol – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 2-for-4, 2B, BB
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 0-for-3, RBI, SB
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-2, BB, SB
9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 2-for-4, RBI, SB
10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 2-for-5, RBI, SB
11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-4, 2B
16. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-4
17. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – DNP
18. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 0-for-4
19. Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (disabled list) – DNP
20. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – DNP
21. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
22. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 0-for-2, 2 RBI, SB, HBP
23. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 2-for-4, RBI
24. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
25. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
26. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – DNP
28. Conner Uselton, OF, Bristol – DNP
29. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
30. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – DNP
Indianapolis won 7-0 over Toledo.
Wyatt Mathisen drove in two runs with his third homer and Adam Frazier hit his first triple and drove in a pair. Kevin Kramer had two hits, including his 20th double. Jordan Luplow had two hits and an RBI. Eric Wood had two hits and a run scored in his return to Indianapolis. Kevin Newman lost his 12-game hitting streak, but still added an RBI on a sacrifice fly and he stole his 19th base.
Alex McRae has had a tough first season as a starter for Indianapolis, but his outing on Wednesday night was one of the best of the season for the team. He tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts. It’s the second time he’s thrown shutout ball as a starter and the second time he’s reached eight strikeouts. Jesus Liranzo was out next and he finished the game with two shutout innings.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona won 7-2 over Harrisburg.
Starter Cam Vieaux allowed one run in each of his first three starts with Altoona. He couldn’t keep that streak alive on Wednesday, but he still had a strong outing. Vieaux went seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk, with five strikeouts. He needed just 81 pitches to get through his night. Logan Sendelbach and Geoff Hartlieb finished the night off with a scoreless inning each.
On offense, Cole Tucker, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds and Stephen Alemais each had two hits. Tucker added a walk, RBI, his 16th stolen base and two runs scored. Hayes scored twice, picked up his 18th double and walked. Alemais had a run scored and an RBI. Reynolds stole his first base and drove in a run. Will Craig hit two sacrifice flies, giving him 54 RBIs on the year. He was also hit by a pitch and stole a base. Jason Martin had a single, RBI and two walks, then was promoted to Indianapolis after the game.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 2-1 over Palm Beach
James Marvel got the start and allowed just one unearned run over six innings. He gave up five hits and walked two batters, while striking out five and posting a 10:2 GO/AO ratio. Scooter Hightower was out next and he threw two shutout innings with four strikeouts. Matt Eckelman retired the side in order in the ninth for his sixth save.
Alfredo Reyes went 2-for-4 and scored both runs for the Marauders before finding out he was promoted to Altoona after the game. He also stole his 21st base of the season. Arden Pabst had a double and a sacrifice fly to drive in both runs. Mitchell Tolman had two walks. Palm Beach went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 4-3 over Hickory
Gavin Wallace finally got to make his start from Sunday, waiting through two rain outs and being pushed back one day in the middle. He made it 4-for-4 on the night for strong outings (there was also a nice DSL start during the day). Wallace allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in six innings. He had three strikeouts and a 3:8 GO/AO ratio, which is very odd for him because he’s a ground ball pitcher. He now has a 3.54 ERA in 68.2 innings. Joel Cesar tossed two scoreless innings, while Matt Seelinger picked up four strikeouts in the ninth inning…yes, four.
Chris Sharpe drove in all four runs for the Power, including three in the sixth inning on his fourth home run. He also hit a double and drew a walk. Ben Bengtson had two hits and scored a run. Brett Pope had a single, two walks and a run scored. He also stole his fourth base. Lolo Sanchez walked and stole his 15th base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown had off today.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol had off today.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates won 6-2 over the Tigers West.
Jean Eusebio had three hits and scored a run. He’s batting .407 through his first seven games. Justin Harrer hit his first home run and drove in two runs. He also had a single and a walk. Ryan Haug had a single, double and two RBIs. Fernando Villegas had a single and a walk.
Santiago Florez got his second start and went five innings, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk, with three strikeouts. He gave up four runs over 3.1 innings in his debut. The bullpen shut down the Tigers West for four innings, getting 1.2 shutout innings from Randy Jimenez and a scoreless inning from Wilmer Contreras. Both of those players have made significant improvements since last year and Contreras has yet to allow a run.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 won 10-8 over Red Sox2.
Jesus Valles, who has pitched well early on, got the start today. Prior to this game, he allowed four earned runs in four starts. On Wednesday, Valles served up six runs on ten hits in 4.1 innings. He had no walks, one strikeouts and he hit a batter. Jose Amaya stranded one runner in the fifth and then tossed a scoreless sixth. Wilger Camacho followed with 1.2 shutout innings, bringing on Enrique Santana in the eighth. He recorded the final out of that inning, but couldn’t get through the ninth. Santana gave up two runs and Domingo Gonzalez got the save by getting the final out.
The offense saw almost everyone get into the game, with 14 players seeing action. Top prospect Juan Pie had the best day, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs, a run scored and his first stolen base. He hit his fifth triple, which ranks third in the league. His .642 slugging percentage is fourth in the league. Ronaldo Paulino came off the bench and hit his second homer of the season. Carlos Arroyo had two hits, two walks, two runs scored and a stolen base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 won 8-4 over Colorado.
Estalin Ortiz, who has struggled early on, got the start today. He lowered his ERA to 7.50 by allowing one run on two hits and one walk in five innings. Ortiz struck out three batters. Christian Charle was out next and had trouble throwing strikes, walking four of the five batters he faced, with three of them coming around to score. Eddy Vargas allowed one hit and struck out four batters in 2.2 shutout inning. Oliver Mateo was perfect in the ninth.
On offense, the top of the order led the way. Edgar Barrios had two hits, a walk, two stolen bases and two runs scored. Mariano Dotel had two hits, two runs scored, a stolen base and an RBI. Ninth place hitter Fleury Nova also contributed with two RBIs.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
