Over the last two days, we looked at the power and the hitting around the minors for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first article showed that they were fairly average as a farm system in power, with Indianapolis and Bradenton rating the best in their leagues. Indianapolis also did well in hitting, which looked at a combo of batting average and on base percentage. The rest of the teams proved to be fairly average as well as a group.
Today we move on to the speed tool and look at the stolen bases for each club, as well as the individual leaders and how the teams do compared to the league caught stealing percentage. Stats are through July 24th.
The league average in the International League for caught stealing is 32%. Indianapolis has 78 steals in 114 attempts for a 68% success rate, which is exactly league average. Those 78 steals rank them second in the league.
The league average in the Eastern League for caught stealing is 31%. Altoona has 81 steals in 125 attempts for a 65% success rate, which is below league average. They rank fifth in the 12-team league in steals.
The league average in the Florida State League for caught stealing is 32%. Bradenton has 108 steals in 149 attempts for a 72% success rate, which is above league average. The Marauders lead the league in steals.
The league average in the South Atlantic League for caught stealing is 33%. West Virginia has 81 steals in 114 attempts for a 71% success rate, which is above league average. The Power rank seventh out of 14 teams in steals.
The league average in the New York- Penn League for caught stealing is 28%. Morgantown has 52 steals in 71 attempts for a 73% success rate, which is just slightly above league average. The Black Bears rank second in the league in steals.
The league average in the Appalachian League for caught stealing is 30%. Bristol has 36 steals in 53 attempts for a 68% success rate, which is just below average. The Pirates rank second in the league in steals.
The league average in the Gulf Coast League for caught stealing is 31%. The GCL Pirates have 34 steals in 44 attempts for a 77% success rate, which is well above league average. The Pirates rank eighth out of 18 teams in steals.
The league average in the Dominican Summer League for caught stealing is 34%. The DSL Pirates as a group (both teams) have 103 steals in 154 attempts for a 67% success rate, which is just above league average. The Pirates affiliates rank 21st and 39th in steals out of 44 teams.
So the Pirates do better in the stolen base category compared to their rankings in power and hitting. They rank near the top in four of the eight leagues and in the middle of the other four (though one DSL team is near the bottom). Here are the individual leaders in steals and success rate (which I used a minimum of ten attempts)
Stolen Bases
- Jared Oliva, 28
- Alfredo Reyes, 27
- Cole Tucker, 27
- Kevin Newman, 22
- Lolo Sanchez, 21
- Daniel Amaral, 14
- Stephen Alemais, 14
- Tyler Gaffney, 11
- Chris Sharpe, 11
- six players tied with 10
Success Rate
- Alfredo Reyes, 27-for-30- 90%
- Austin Meadows, 9-for-10- 90%
- Kyle Watson, 9-for-10- 90%
- Jared Oliva, 28-for-34 – 82%
- Daniel Amaral, 14-for-17 – 82%
- Francisco Mepris, 9-for-11 – 82%
- Michael de la Cruz, 8-for-10 – 80%
- Yoyner Fajardo, 8-for-10- 80%
- Oneil Cruz, 10-for-13 – 77%
- Adrian Valerio, 10-for-13 – 77%
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 4-0 to the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday afternoon. They now travel home, where they will start with a four-game series against the New York Mets. Nick Kingham will get the start today, coming off of his last outing on July 21st when he allowed two runs over 6.1 innings against the Cincinnati Reds. The Mets will counter with left-hander Steven Matz, who has a 3.65 ERA in 101 innings, with 88 strikeouts and an 1.29 WHIP. He gave up five runs over five innings against the New York Yankees in his last start
The minor league schedule includes the second start for Clay Holmes since he returned to Indianapolis after throwing six shutout innings for the Pirates. He gave up five runs over seven innings last Friday. West Virginia has a second straight doubleheader scheduled with Hunter Stratton and Sergio Cubilete scheduled to start. Morgantown starter Alex Manasa allowed three runs over five innings in his last start. Bristol’s Colin Selby threw five shutout innings in his last start.
For those who are wondering, Braxton Ashcraft and Michael Burrows are tentatively scheduled to make their debuts next week, with Tuesday likely being the date we first see one of them. We should also see Braeden Ogle this week.
MLB: Pittsburgh (53-50) vs Mets (41-57) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: Nick Kingham (4.11 ERA, 54:14 SO/BB, 57.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (53-47) vs Rochester (45-54) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Clay Holmes (3.68 ERA, 79:32 SO/BB, 73.1 IP)
AA: Altoona (51-46) vs Binghamton (48-54) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Austin Coley (4.15 ERA, 10:5 SO/BB, 13.0 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (47-51) @ Florida (43-54) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Mike Wallace (4.50 ERA, 52:13 SO/BB, 74.0 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (50-46) @ Kannapolis (55-43) 5:05 PM DH (season preview)
Probable starter: Hunter Stratton (5.25 ERA, 59:35 SO/BB, 61.2 IP) and Sergio Cubilete (5.40 ERA, 44:27 SO/BB, 48.1 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (15-23) vs Aberdeen (14-22) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Alex Manasa (5.30 ERA, 19:17 SO/BB, 37.1 IP)
Rookie: Bristol (15-18) @ Bluefield (23-12) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Colin Selby (3.72 ERA, 14:6 SO/BB, 19.1 IP)
GCL: Pirates (12-15) vs Blue Jays 12:00 PM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates1 (22-23) vs Indians 10:30 AM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates2 (18-26) vs Mariners 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
From Indianapolis, here’s Jose Osuna belting a two-run homer
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
7/25: Pirates recall Adam Frazier. Casey Sadler optioned to Indianapolis.
7/24: Erich Weiss assigned to Morgantown on rehab.
7/23: Cody Bolton placed on disabled list. Oddy Nunez demoted to West Virginia.
7/23: Pirates select contract of Casey Sadler. Max Moroff optioned to Indianapolis. Josh Smoker designated for assignment.
7/23: Nick Burdi assigned to Altoona on rehab.
7/23: Jacob Webb promoted to Bristol. Juan Henriquez assigned to GCL Pirates from Morgantown.
7/23: Will Gardner promoted to Morgantown.
7/22: Bralin Jackson placed on Altoona disabled list.
7/21: Christopher Bostick activated from Indianapolis disabled list. Alfredo Reyes assigned to Altoona.
7/20: Sean Rodriguez activated from disabled list. Tanner Anderson optioned to Indianapolis.
7/19: Pirates release Johan De Jesus and Adonis Pichardo.
7/19: Chris Sharpe placed on West Virginia DL. Robbie Glendinning promoted from Morgantown.
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.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Four former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus a trade of note. First the trade, and on this date in 2008, the Pirates sent Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady to the New York Yankees for Jose Tabata and three pitchers, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen. The Pirates got decent use out of the three pitchers, with both Karstens and Ohlendorf looking like solid pitchers at times. Jose Tabata was still around until 2015 and he ended up signing a deal that looks bad now with the way he performed, but it could have been a good deal if he lived up to his potential.
The Yankees didn’t get much from the deal. Marte was a free agent at the end of the 2008 season. Nady had another year on his contract, but he ended up getting injured just seven games into the 2009 season and missed the rest of the year.
The players born on this date include 1969-70 infielder Jose Martinez, 1949-51, 1955 outfielder Tom Saffell, 1948-49 third baseman Eddie Bockman and 1947 second baseman Jimmy Bloodworth. Saffell, Bockman and Bloodworth all served in the military during WWII, missing a combined nine years of their playing career. You can read more about those players in this link.
