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 – DNP
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Indianapolis – 2-for-5
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Pirates – In Majors
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-4
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 0-for-2, 2 BB
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 0-for-3
7. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pirates – In Majors
8. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 0-for-3, BB
9. Jason Martin, OF, Pirates – In Majors
10. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
11. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 0-for-4
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 – 0-for-5
16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
17. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Greensboro – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
18. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 1-for-5
19. Michael Burrows, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
20. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 0-for-5
21. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – DNP
22. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
23. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
24. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
25. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
26. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
28. Blake Weiman, RHP, Altoona – DNP
29. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
30. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
Indianapolis lost 5-2 to Gwinnett on Tuesday night. This game included the rehab debut of Kevin Newman, who was out in center field for the first time in his career. He went 1-for-4 with a walk, playing for the first time since going on the injured list on April 11th with a finger laceration. Newman had two put outs. Lonnie Chisenhall continued his rehab assignment by going 0-for-5 and playing all nine innings for the first time. Jake Elmore continued to hit better than anyone else this season, going 3-for-4 with his sixth double and his first home run. He drove in both runs. Will Craig is now 0-for-19 with nine strikeouts in his last five games.
Alex McRae had another tough outing, going 4.2 innings, with four runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out four batters. He now has a 6.20 ERA this season. Dovydas Neverauskas threw a shutout inning. He has given up just one hit over his seven scoreless frames this season. Geoff Hartlieb allowed a run over 1.1 innings, his first run given up this season. Montana DuRapau tossed a scoreless eighth.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 5-4 to first place Harrisburg. Cam Vieaux started and went five innings, looking strong through the first four frames before allowing four runs in the fifth. He allowed a total of five hits, with two walks and one strikeout. Yeudy Garcia continued his solid start to the season by retiring all six batters he faced, four by strikeouts. In 11 innings, he’s given up four hits, with one walk and ten strikeouts. Jake Brentz took the loss after giving up a run in the bottom of the eighth.
The offense managed to stay in the game despite striking out 16 times and not walking once. They were helped out by four Harrisburg errors. Hunter Owen hit his first triple and fourth homer of the season. He scored two runs. Bligh Madris had two hits. Mitchell Tolman picked up his third RBI of the season.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton lost 2-1 to Fort Myers. Max Kranick got the start and wasn’t as sharp as his last start, which was six shutout innings, but he pitched well in this game despite getting the loss. Kranick went six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, with no walks, five strikeouts and a 10:3 GO/AO ratio. He threw 61 of 84 pitches for strikes. He allowed back-to-back doubles in the first inning, though the second one was just a lazy fly ball to left center that went against a shift. Kranick gave up a sixth inning homer for the other run. He hit 97 MPH for the second game in a row (last game was the first time he hit that top speed) and he was hitting 96 MPH in his final inning. Kranick was very effective when he doubled up on changeups to left-handed hitters.
Luis Escobar followed Kranick and he tossed two shutout innings on one hit and one walk, with two strikeouts. In 8.1 shutout innings this season, he has 12 strikeouts and a .143 BAA. Joel Cesar pitched the ninth and worked around a walk to strike out three batters.
The offense came early, as the Marauders got a double by Dylan Busby and an RBI single by Michael Gretler. Oneil Cruz returned to action and went 1-for-4 with a single and three strikeouts. He looked solid at shortstop, though the throws were a little off and Gretler made a terrific pick to save an error. Cruz was out for just over a week with what the Pirates called “lower body discomfort”. The three hits mentioned already were the only Bradenton hits of the game. Travis Swaggerty walked twice. Daniel Amaral stole his fifth base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Greensboro won 7-2 in ten innings over Lexington. Alex Manasa had another solid performance, throwing a lot of strikes as usual. He gave up two runs on four hits, with no walks and four strikeouts in six innings. Manasa threw 52 of 76 pitches for strikes and posted a 10:1 GO/AO ratio. He now has a 2.95 ERA in 21.1 innings, with 23 strikeouts. Braeden Ogle followed Manasa with a quick scoreless inning, needing just 11 pitches to retire the side in order. This was his second relief appearance after being removed from the rotation. Shea Murray threw a scoreless eighth, then Nick Mears took over in the ninth and tossed two scoreless frames for the win.
Zack Kone was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts through nine innings tonight, but he came through big in the tenth with a grand slam. He had just two RBIs this season before that swing. It was the second home run of his pro career. Mason Martin homered for the second game in a row. He now has four on the season. Martin also hit his fifth double, singled and walked. Pat Dorrian had two singles, an RBI and a run scored.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
