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 Cole Tucker), 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 – 0-for-4
3. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – DNP
4. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 3-for-5, RBI, BB
5. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 3-for-4, 2B, 3 Runs
6. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pirates – In Majors
7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
8. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
9. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 1-for-5
11. Cody Bolton, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Tahnaj Thomas, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
13. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
14. Lolo Sanchez, CF, Greensboro – 2-for-6, SB
15. Pablo Reyes, Util, Indianapolis – DNP
16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
17. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Greensboro – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO
18. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – DNP
19. Michael Burrows, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
20. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – DNP
21. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – DNP
22. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
23. Luis Escobar, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
24. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
25. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
26. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Bradenton – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
28. Blake Weiman, RHP, Altoona – DNP
29. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
30. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO
Indianapolis won 6-5 over Scranton. Alex McRae got the start, just two days after being named the International League Pitcher of the Week. He couldn’t build off that game, but still got the win today thanks to some early offensive support. McRae went five innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits and four walks, with four strikeouts. He now has a 5.62 ERA through eight starts. Brandon Waddell followed with one shutout inning. Jesus Liranzo was scoreless for 1.2 innings, and Jacob Brentz retired the final four batters in a row to get his first Triple-A save.
Kevin Kramer hit his tenth double, along with two singles and three runs scored. He is batting .424 in his last ten games. Trayvon Robinson had an RBI single in the second inning and hit a two-run homer in the third. Jose Osuna went 2-for-3, with two RBIs and a run scored. Lonnie Chisenhall in his second rehab game, went 2-for-4, with a double and run scored. He was the DH today, after playing right field for eight innings yesterday.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona went down 5-0 to Binghamton in the first inning, but managed to pull out a 9-8 victory. Sean Brady made his second start for Altoona and it went much like his first, though this time he got the win. After the first inning, he gave up just one run over his final five innings of work. In all, it was six earned runs on ten hits, with three walks and two strikeouts. Vicente Campos threw a scoreless seventh, then Angel German got the save, despite allowing two runs on four walks and two hits.
The Curve got their scoring started in the second inning on a two-run homer by Jason Delay. In the sixth inning, Logan Hill and Hunter Owen went back-to-back with a pair of solo shots. It was the fourth of the season for Hill and the eighth for Owen. Altoona added three more in the seventh on an RBI double by Mitchell Tolman and a two-run single by Hill. They capped their scoring in the ninth with a sacrifice fly by Jerrick Suiter that brought home two runs thanks to a throwing error. The two teams combined for 37 base runners.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 7-6 in ten innings against Ft Myers. Aaron Shortridge got the start and went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits on two walks. He had six strikeouts, a 7:2 GO/AO ratio and he threw 66 of 97 pitches for strikes. It was his fourth straight start of allowing 3+ runs after starting the year with a combined three runs in his first four starts. Hunter Stratton was out next and he had not allowed a run since April 16th. He gave up two runs over 2.1 innings tonight. Nick Mears went two innings and got the win, giving up one unearned run (the runner that starts at second base in extra innings).
Robbie Glendinning continued to be one of the top hitters in the system this season by going 3-for-4 with a walk, single and two doubles, giving him ten doubles on the year. He now has a .382 average and a 1.117 OPS in 20 games since being demoted from Altoona last month. Travis Swaggerty provided the walk-off winner in the tenth on a bases loaded infield single. He had a total of three hits, scored three runs and stole his seventh base. Lucas Tancas and Randolph Gassaway each had two hits. Tancas hit his ninth double and scored two runs.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Greensboro lost 3-2 to Delmarva in the first game of a doubleheader. Osvaldo Bido took the loss, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He had five strikeouts. It’s his second straight subpar outing after posting a 1.26 ERA in his first six starts. Bido now has a 2.58 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over 45.1 innings this season. Will Gardner threw 1.1 scoreless innings and Braeden Ogle tossed a scoreless seventh. He has now thrown more innings this year than he did during his injury-shortened 2018 season.
The Grasshoppers got their two runs in the fifth inning on Brett Kinneman’s fifth home run of the season. Greensboro had four hits in the game, with two singles by Rodolfo Castro accounting for half of them. Michael Gretler singled for the only other hit.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
In game two, Colin Selby was added to the roster from Extended Spring Training and he allowed one run over four innings in a 4-1 win. Selby, who pitched in Bristol after being drafted in the 16th round last year, gave up just two hits, with no walks and five strikeouts. Cam Alldred got the win with two scoreless innings and Yerry De Los Santos got his first save with a shutout frame in the seventh.
The offense was supplied by the top of the order. Lead-off hitter Lolo Sanchez had two hits and scored two runs. Second place hitter Jonah Davis had two hits and drove in two runs. Mason Martin picked up his 29th RBI on a ground out, while the first Greensboro run scored on a bases loaded wild pitch.
You can view the season preview here.
