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 (Kevin Newman, Nick Burdi and Pablo Reyes), 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 (Travis MacGregor), 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 updated 2019 Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.
1. Mitch Keller, RHP, Indianapolis – 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Indianapolis – 2-for-5, 2B
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Pirates – In Majors
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-4
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2B, SB
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-5
7. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pirates – In Majors
8. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 3-for-4
9. Jason Martin, OF, Pirates – In Majors
10. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
11. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 1-for-5
12. Cody Bolton, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
13. Tahnaj Thomas, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
14. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
15. Lolo Sanchez, CF, Greensboro – 1-for-4, BB
16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO
17. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Greensboro – DNP
18. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – DNP
19. Michael Burrows, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
20. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 0-for-4
21. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – DNP
22. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
23. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
24. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO
25. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
26. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
28. Blake Weiman, RHP, Altoona – 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
29. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
30. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
Indianapolis won 8-4 over Charlotte. Mitch Keller had one of the strangest outings you’ll see. He was absolutely dominant in the first three innings, striking out eight of the nine batters he faced. In the next two innings, he allowed four runs on eight hits. Keller was throwing more changeups that he has in any game before, using it in all counts to lefty and righty batters. If I had to guess, I’d say he threw close to 25 changeups, with many of those coming during the first three innings. He wasn’t using his curveball often and wasn’t throwing it for strikes most of the time.
In the fourth inning, Charlotte put together four hits and there was no hard contact. One hit didn’t leave the infield, one was a grounder against a major shift, and another was a bloop over second base. In the fifth inning, Charlotte had four balls hit harder than any in the previous inning.
Keller had just two strikeouts in the final two innings, including one where a guy watched two fastballs right down the middle. A few batters later, Keller’s only walk came on two pitches that were almost right down the middle and a third that could have gone either way. His final line was five innings, with four runs on eight hits and a walk, with ten strikeouts.
After Keller left, Tyler Lyons and Clay Holmes combined to throw four shutout innings with eight strikeouts, giving the Indians 18 strikeouts on the night. Each of them went two innings with four strikeouts.
Jacob Stallings began a rehab assignment on Saturday night and belted two solo home runs. He also walked and scored a total of three runs. Eric Wood had three hits, four RBIs and two runs scored. He hit his first double of the season and his third home run. Will Craig collected three hits. Ke’Bryan Hayes picked up two hits, including his ninth double. Kevin Kramer had two hits. Kevin Newman played shortstop for the second game in a row (his first two rehab games were in the outfield). He went 1-for-5 and struck out four times, which he had never done before in 434 games as a pro. Newman has just three games with three strikeouts over his pro career.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 8-5 to Richmond. Pedro Vasquez has been pitching well this season, but he didn’t have it on this night. He went five innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk, with three strikeouts. Sean Keselica followed with two shutout innings, then Blake Weiman allowed two runs in the eighth, though both were unearned. Tate Scioneaux, who has a 16.50 ERA this year, gave up another run in the ninth. The Curve committed four errors.
Hunter Owen hit his fifth home run of the season and Logan Hill added his second homer, both solo shots. Owen also had a single and two runs scored. Jason Delay has been off to a slow start this season, but he collected three hits tonight and drove in two runs. Bligh Madris is 11-for-24 in his last five games. The downside is that he hasn’t drawn a walk yet this season.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 4-1 over Daytona. Oddy Nunez has shown poor control this season, coming into this game with more walks than strikeouts. That has led to poor overall results. He had a strong night on Saturday, going six innings with one run on five hits and two walks, with five strikeouts. He threw 53 of 88 pitches for strikes and posted a 7:6 GO/AO ratio. Hunter Stratton, Gavin Wallace and Blake Cederlind each tossed a scoreless frame to finish out the win.
Travis Swaggerty provided much of the offense with a single, double, two RBIs and a run scored. He also stole his third base. Lucas Tancas had three hits, scored once and drove in a run. Jose Osuna had a single, double and an RBI. He has played four games and has started at four different positions. After playing right field in his first rehab game, he went from left field to first base to third base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Greensboro won 13-2, as the offense upstaged another strong start from Osvaldo Bido. The Grasshoppers hit a total of seven home runs, with two each from Connor Kaiser and Fabricio Macias. Kaiser had just two homers in his first 65 games as a pro. Macias had two homers in his first 75 games. He was batting .083 through his first 16 games this season. Both players picked up four RBIs.
Greensboro also got homers from Brett Kinneman (3), Rodolfo Castro (3) and Zack Kone (2). The team had just three other hits in the game, including doubles by Mason Martin and Grant Koch.
Osvaldo Bido had allowed just one run prior to tonight. He gave up two runs before he could record his second out of the game, but then went another 6.2 innings with no runs and just two base runners allowed. He had no walks, four strikeouts and a 10:2 GO/AO ratio, while throwing 63 of his 84 pitches for strikes. Bido now has an 0.91 ERA in 29.2 innings. Samuel Reyes and Nick Mears each tossed a scoreless frame. Reyes has 12.1 innings without a run.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
