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 – 5.1 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Indianapolis – 0-for-2, BB
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-5
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – DNP
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – DNP
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – DNP
7. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, RBI
8. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – DNP
9. Jason Martin, OF, Pirates – In Majors
10. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
11. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 3-for-5, RBI
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-3
16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
17. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Greensboro – DNP
18. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 2-for-4
19. Michael Burrows, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
20. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 0-for-4
21. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 0-for-4
22. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
23. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
24. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
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 – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
Indianapolis won 4-3 over Toledo on Tuesday morning. Mitch Keller had his best results of 2019 by allowing just one run over 5.1 innings, but this still wasn’t the Keller of old. He gave up seven hits in the game and walked four other batters, but minimized the runs allowed by working out of two bases loaded jams. He threw 57 of 92 pitches for strikes, picked up five strikeouts and had a 5:4 GO/AO ratio. Keller was sitting 94-95 with the fastball, hitting 97 MPH early in the game. He didn’t use the changeup often and it didn’t show enough separation from his fastball, sitting 89-90 MPH. He had a couple of nice ones with downward break that got him strikes, but he also gave up two hits on the changeup. The curve was his most effective pitch, though I’ve seen him control it better.
Brandon Waddell pitched the seventh inning and added an adjustment to his scouting report. He hit 95 MPH, which is one MPH above what we have seen it the past, though he rarely hit 94 much (our own views) before he did it a few times today. He struck out two batters in his only inning of work. Brandon Maurer made the game interesting in the eighth by allowing two runs. Michael Feliz closed out the game for his second save.
Erich Weiss was the offense for the Indians, falling a double short of the cycle. The homer and triple were his first of the season. He drove in three runs and scored once. Bryan Reynolds drove in the other run, scoring Elias Diaz with a first inning single. Diaz caught for the second game in a row, though he was done after seven innings. Gregory Polanco was the DH and he went 0-for-2 with two walks and two strikeouts.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 2-1 to first place Harrisburg. Dario Agrazal had his best outing in quite some time. He went six innings on Tuesday, allowing one run on six hits, with no walks and four strikeouts. He gave up a total of 20 hits and nine earned runs in his first two starts combined. Agrazal still has yet to walk a batter this season. Jake Brentz followed and tossed a scoreless frame. he got out of the inning with just a hit batter, despite throwing nine of his 15 pitches for balls. Angel German allowed a run in the eighth, then Matt Eckelman came on for the ninth and issued a lead-off walk before retiring the next three batter, two by strikeouts.
The only run for the Curve came on a bases loaded walk to Agrazal, which was the only Altoona walk of the game. The Curve had six hits in the game, all of them were singles. Mitchell Tolman and Stephen Alemais each had two hits, while Hunter Owen and Logan Hill had one hit apiece. Jared Oliva went 0-for-4 in his second game back from the injured list.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 11-6 over Tampa by scoring six runs in the top of the ninth. Oddy Nunez had control issues in this start, but they stuck with him for 5.2 innings anyway. He allowed five runs on four hits and six walks, striking out two batters. He threw 46 pitches for strikes, 45 for balls. Nunez was followed by Hunter Stratton, who stranded an inherited runner in the sixth. He gave up one run over the next two innings and picked up the win. Ryan Valdes threw a scoreless ninth.
Dylan Busby continued his recent power surge, hitting a three-run homer in the fifth innings, his fourth home run of the season. The downside is that he struck out three times, which was the main cause of his early season struggles before these last few big games. Chris Sharpe hit a two-run homer in the ninth to give the Marauders the lead. Calvin Mitchell had three hits, scored two runs, and picked up an RBI. Daniel Amaral had three singles, a walk, an RBI and scored three runs. Raul Hernandez drove in two runs, while collecting two doubles and a single.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Greensboro dropped to 6-7 on the season with a 3-1 loss to Augusta. Osvaldo Bido couldn’t continue his shutout streak, but he still had a terrific outing on Tuesday night. He went six innings, giving up one run on two hits and a walk, while striking out six batters. Bido threw 55 of 83 pitches for strikes. He now has an 0.53 ERA in three starts. Conner Loeprich followed and allowed a run in the seventh and eighth innings. Shea Murray came on for the final out, stranding two inherited runners to keep the game close.
The Grasshoppers were getting no-hit until the seventh inning when Mason Martin broke that up with his first home run of the season. A Lolo Sanchez single in the eighth turned out to be the only other hit. Greensboro had three hits and 12 strikeouts. After his hot streak to start the season, Brett Kinneman is 2-for-27 in his last eight games. He has 19 strikeouts in 43 at-bats this season. Ji-Hwan Bae is 2-for-18 in his first four games.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
