I haven’t updated the top hitters and pitchers in the system recently, so now seems like a good time to do just that. We start today with the leading hitters and I split this up into two groups. The top group is the best from the four full-season teams. The second group is the best from the five short-season clubs. I used a minimum of two plate appearances per team game to qualify for average, OBP, slugging and OPS on both lists. These numbers are through July 16th. Tomorrow’s article will be the pitchers.
Full-Season Players
Average
- Jose Osuna, .337
2. Jason Martin, .321
3. Kevin Newman .300
OBP
- Alfredo Reyes, .412
2. Osuna, .388
3. Wyatt Mathisen, .386
Slugging
- Osuna, .522
2. J. Martin, .510
3. Arden Pabst, .508
OPS
- Osuna, .910
2. J. Martin, .891
3. Jordan Luplow, .869
Runs
- Jared Oliva, 63
2. J. Martin, 56
3. Newman, 56
Hits
- J.Martin, 99
2. Newman, 98
3. Oneil Cruz, 97
Doubles
- Newman, 23
2. Kevin Kramer, 22
3. Osuna/Luplow, 22
Triples
- Cruz, 7
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 6
3. J. Martin, 6
Home Runs
- Will Craig, 13
2. Logan Hill, 12
3. Hunter Owen, 12
RBI
- Craig, 66
2. Cruz, 53
3. Luplow, 47
Walks
- A. Reyes, 44
2. Chris Sharpe, 39
3. Luplow, 37
Strikeouts
- Sharpe, 97
2. Kyle Watson, 95
3. Mason Martin (includes Bristol)/Kramer, 89
Stolen Bases
- Oliva, 28
2. A. Reyes, 27
3. Newman, 22
Short-Season Players
Average
- Jonah Davis, .403
2. Yoyner Fajardo, .358
3. Jack Herman, .355
OBP
- Herman, .488
2. Fajardo, .466
3. Mikell Granberry, .456
Slugging
- Davis, .792
2. Herman, .613
3. Matthew Mercedes, .563
OPS
- Davis, 1.221
2. Herman, 1.101
3. Fajardo, .998
Runs
- Fajardo, 21
2. Angel Basabe, 20
3. Juan Pie/Norkis Marcos/Edgar Barrios, 19
Hits
- Fajardo, 39
2. Daniel Rivero, 39
3. Pie, 35
Doubles
- Davis, 8
2. Jhoan Herrera, 8
3. Pie/Robbie Glendinning/Luke Mangieri, 7
Triples
- Pie, 7
2. Fajardo,6
3. Basabe, 4
Home Runs
- Davis, 6
2. Mason Martin, 5 (Bristol stats only)
3. Mercedes/Ronaldo Paulino/Justin Harrer, 4
RBI
- Rivero, 20
2. Mercedes/Emilson Rosado, 19
3. M. Martin, 19 (Bristol only)
Walks
- Marcos, 26
2. Barrios, 23
3. Fajardo/Carlos Arroyo, 19
Strikeouts
- Paulino, 38
2. Marcos, 30
3. Rosado, 30
Stolen Bases
- Mariano Dotel, 9
2. Barrios, 8 (stole his ninth on Tuesday)
3. Fajardo/Michael de la Cruz, 8
For those wondering, Jonah Davis and Mikell Granberry are on Bristol, Jack Herman and Justin Harrer are in the GCL, Luke Mangieri, Robbie Glendinning, Jhoan Herrera and Michael de la Cruz are in Morgantown, and the rest play for one of the DSL teams.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates were off yesterday. They are now on the All-Star break. They resume play on Friday in Cincinnati for a three-game series against the Reds. Jameson Taillon will get the start that night.
The minor league schedule includes the Double-A debut of Luis Escobar, who was promoted from Bradenton on Monday. That game starts at noon. Shane Baz goes for Bristol. He has given up four runs over five innings in each of his last two starts, though he also has 15 strikeouts in those ten innings. Brandon Waddell, who was named the International League Pitcher of the Week on Monday, gets the start for Indianapolis. Bradenton starter James Marvel had throw seven innings in each of his last three starts and he’s allowed three earned runs over his last four starts. The Marauders have a morning start time. Morgantown will send eighth round pick Zach Spears to the mound for his fifth start. He has yet to pitch into the fourth inning, though that’s mostly due to his low pitch limit. West Virginia has off today.
MLB: Pittsburgh (48-49) @ Reds (43-53) 7:10 PM 7/20
Probable starter: Jameson Taillon (3.91 ERA, 103:30 SO/BB, 106.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (50-43) @ Gwinnett (42-52) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Brandon Waddell (5.19 ERA, 26:14 SO/BB, 34.2 IP)
AA: Altoona (48-43) vs Bowie (42-51) 12:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Luis Escobar (0.00 ERA, 0:0 SO/BB, 0.0 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (46-45) vs Jupiter (50-44) 10:30 AM (season preview)
Probable starter: James Marvel (3.64 ERA, 84:23 SO/BB, 108.2 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (50-41) @ Lexington (48-45) 7:05 PM 7/19 (season preview)
Probable starter: Cody Bolton (2.83 ERA, 42:6 SO/BB, 41.1 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (11-20) vs State College (12-19) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Zach Spears (4.82 ERA, 2:6 SO/BB, 9:1 IP)
Rookie: Bristol (12-14) vs Burlington (6-21) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Shane Baz (4.50 ERA, 26:11 SO/BB, 24.0 IP)
GCL: Pirates (9-13) vs Braves 12:00 PM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates1 (18-20) vs Indians/Brewers 10:30 AM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates2 (14-22) vs Giants 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
From Bradenton, here’s the entire outing from Nick Burdi on Monday night
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
7/16: Nick Burdi assigned to Bradenton on rehab.
7/16: Eric Wood placed on disabled list. Alfredo Reyes promoted to Indianapolis.
7/16: Pedro Vasquez placed on disabled list. Luis Escobar promoted to Altoona.
7/16: Jake Brentz activated from Bradenton disabled list.
7/16: Christopher Bostick assigned to GCL on rehab.
7/15: Pirates sign Alexander Mojica
7/15: Austin Meadows optioned to Indianapolis. Pirates recall Tanner Anderson
7/15: Clay Holmes optioned to Indianapolis
7/14: Austin Coley activated from Altoona disabled list.
7/14: Bo Schultz placed on Indianapolis disabled list. Jackson Williams activated from DL.
7/14: Pirates place Francisco Cervelli on DL. Recall Jacob Stallings and Clay Holmes.
7/11: Ardent Pabst promoted to Altoona. John Bormann assigned to Bradenton.
7/11: Mitch Keller and Clay Holmes assigned to Indianapolis. Sean Rodriguez assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.
7/10: Joe Musgrove activated from disabled list. Alex McRae optioned to Indianapolis.
7/10: Jackson Williams placed on disabled list.
7/10: Mitch Keller assigned to Bradenton.
7/9: Sean Rodriguez assigned to Bradenton on rehab.
7/8: Francisco Cervelli activated from disabled list. Jacob Stallings optioned to Indianapolis.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Five former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus a big game from Ralph Kiner. We start with pitcher Windy McCall, who was a lefty reliever for the Pirates during the 1950 season. He pitched twice for the Bucs, allowing seven runs in 6.2 innings.
Also born on this date, we have two groups of two players that match up well. First up are outfielder Johnny Hopp and pitcher Al Lyons. They were traded for each other, as Lyons played for the 1947 Pirates, while Hopp came over from the Braves and played three seasons with Pittsburgh. Also included in that trade was the great Pirates’ manager Danny Murtaugh, who was a player at the time.
Wilbur Fisher and Bill Haeffner go together well because they were born on the exact same day in 1894. Fisher only got to play one Major League game, pinch-hitting on June 13, 1916. Haeffner was the team’s third-string catcher in 1920, but got a chance for some regular playing time when the starter and backup both got hurt in the same game. He retired right in the middle of his playing career when the Pirates wouldn’t meet his salary demands prior to the 1921 season.
On this date in 1951, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers by a 13-12 score. Ralph Kiner helped the last place Pirates squeak past the first place Dodgers by going deep three times. He hit a first inning grand slam, a two-run homer in the fourth and a solo homer in the eighth inning. The link above has a full recap of the game and the boxscore can be found here.
