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Morning Report: Three Up, Three Down for the Bradenton Marauders

Morning Report

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Reading time: 8 min.

In yesterday’s Morning Report, we took a look at the Greensboro Grasshoppers, highlighting what has gone right for them over the first two months and which areas haven’t gone as planned. Today we move up to the Bradenton Marauders.

The idea here is to first look at players who are exceeding expectations, then follow it with players who aren’t living up to expectations going into the season. The “down” players could be due to injury, performance or just not getting regular playing time. In the past when we did this, including yesterday’s article, that could also include pitchers working out of the bullpen instead of the starting rotation.

THREE UP

  1. Cody Bolton’s performance so far is the biggest highlight for Bradenton. We had him rated #13 going into the season, even with some doubt about his injury recovery from last year, so it’s obviously not a total surprise to us that he’s pitching well. The main reason he is listed as #1 here, besides the strong stats, is that he looks even better than last year. Bolton has got his fastball up to 98 MPH this season and improved his second best pitch, while still maintaining success with his slider and changeup. He added a cutter (basically just a harder version of his slider) and uses it often with strong results.
  2. Robbie Glendinning (pictured above) could be on both lists here because he was sent down after hitting well in a small sample size at Altoona earlier in the year, so that was a bit disappointing. He has been terrific so far for Bradenton, hitting for average and power, while showing off athleticism at shortstop. We got a glimpse of his potential in our winter coverage this last off-season, but now he’s showing that he could be more than a strong organizational player.
  3. The bullpen as a group deserves the third spot, including Blake Cederlind, Luis Escobar and Joel Cesar, who were all promoted after strong starts to their season. They still have Shea Murray, Hunter Stratton, Nick Mears and Samuel Reyes (he started on Wednesday, so he might not be in the bullpen long). Mears and Murray have both hit 99 MPH recently, while showing a strong breaking ball as their out pitch. Stratton has pitched well in long relief and shown mid-90s velocity, while Reyes has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball this season, displaying a three-pitch mix that is tough for the opposition.

THREE DOWN

  1. The clear winner (maybe loser?) for the top down spot is Oneil Cruz, who missed time in April, then he has been out with a foot fracture for over a month. He could return within a few weeks. Before he went down, he was having a lot of trouble with off-speed pitches, though 11 games is a small sample size to make any real assessment.
  2.  Travis Swaggerty is off to a very mediocre start, with some flaws to his game. Swaggerty is a toolsy player, who has taken a nice step in the right direction recently with more patience at the plate. He still has a .685 OPS, with only nine extra-base hits. We have seen some bad routes in the outfield, which is covered up some by his plus speed. He also swings through a lot of fastballs in the strike zone. He’s not over-matched at the level, but that’s not what you want to see from your first round pick.
  3. Michael Gretler posted a .426 OPS before being sent down to Greensboro. Gretler was drafted as a college senior last year, with the Pirates taking him two years in a row before he signed. He played well at Morgantown, then got a lot of attention in the off-season from the Pirates. Besides going to Pirate City for the Fall Instructional League, he also attended the winter strength and conditioning camp, another camp for hitting instruction, and a camp for catchers. That type of time investment means that they think highly of a player because those camps are small in number. He’s now down in Greensboro, where he has a .605 OPS. You have to imagine that he will turn things around soon, but this is a very slow start for an advanced player.

PLAYOFF PUSH

Altoona is in fourth place in their division, 9.5 games back with 19 games remaining in the first half.

Bradenton is in second place in their division, one game back with 17 games remaining in the first half.

Greensboro is in second place in their division, six games back with 18 games remaining in the schedule.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 11-5 to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night. The Pirates are sending out Chris Archer, who allowed four runs on six hits and six walks in his last start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has a 4.50 ERA at home in five starts this season and an 8.56 ERA in three May starts. The Brewers will counter with 31-year-old right-hander Jhoulys Chacin, who has a 4.88 ERA in 55.1 innings, with 42 strikeouts and a 1.37 WHIP. He gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings in his last start, which was against the Philadelphia Phillies. Chacin had a 5.90 ERA in six road starts.

The minor league schedule includes Indianapolis sending out Luis Escobar, who has apparently moved into the starting rotation. While he still isn’t fully stretched out yet, Escobar has given up one earned run on two hits over seven innings in his two starts. He is holding batters to a .145 BAA in 22.2 innings this season. Greensboro’s Osvaldo Bido is coming off of his worst start of the season, allowing seven runs in four innings. However, he’s facing a Lakewood team that he gave up one run over six innings against in his previous start.

Bradenton’s Aaron Shortridge is coming off of one run on three hits and no walks in seven innings during his last start. His opponent that day (Tampa) will also be tonight’s opponent. Altoona is likely sending out Sean Brady, who has a 4.81 ERA in four starts since being signed as a free agent. He had a 9.64 ERA with Eastern League rival Akron before he was released. Austin Coley was scheduled to start game two of a doubleheader last night, which was postponed, so he could end up with the start today.

The full 2019 Pirates Prospects Prospect Guide is now available, up to date as of April 3rd, with every player in the minor league system (NOTE: There have been just three players released and two added since then, so the book is still 99% up to date). Includes full reports on the top 50 prospects, reports on over 150 other players, as well as looks back at the recent drafts and international signing classes. Subscribers get 20% off the purchase of a book.

MLB: Pittsburgh (27-28) vs Brewers (32-25) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: Chris Archer (5.75 ERA, 40:24 SO/BB, 40.2 IP)

AAA: Indianapolis (30-20) vs Gwinnett (31-22) 7:15 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Luis Escobar (2.89 ERA, 12:4 SO/BB, 9.1 IP)

AA: Altoona (23-27) vs New Hampshire (23-28) 6:00 PM  (season preview)
Probable starter: Sean Brady (4.81 ERA, 15:4 SO/BB, 24.1 IP)

High-A: Bradenton (31-21) vs Tampa (21-31) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Aaron Shortridge (3.27 ERA, 42:7 SO/BB, 55.0 IP)

Low-A: Greensboro (35-17) vs Lakewood (17-35) 7:00 PM  (season preview)
Probable starter: Osvaldo Bido (3.42 ERA, 45:12 SO/BB, 55.1 IP)

HIGHLIGHTS

From Indianapolis on Wednesday, Ke’Bryan Hayes showing off some defense while basically playing shortstop

Two rehab highlights. A double by Corey Dickerson, followed by an RBI single from Jung Ho Kang, which turned out to be the game winning hit.

and

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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