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Prospect Watch: Luis Escobar Continues to Pitch Well; Ke’Bryan Hayes Leaves Game Early

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P2 Top 30A 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 Bryan Reynolds), 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 and Stephen Alemais), 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. Cole Tucker, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-3, BB, SB

4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – DNP

5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – DNP

6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4

7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4

8. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4

9. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP

10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – DNP

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 – DNP

15. Pablo Reyes, Util, Indianapolis – 1-for-4

16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Pirates – In Majors

17. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Greensboro – DNP

18. Michael Burrows, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP

19. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 2-for-4, RBI

20. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 1-for-3, BB, SB

21. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – DNP

22. Luis Escobar, RHP, Indianapolis – 5.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO

23. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – DNP

24. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP

25. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Altoona – DNP

26. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Bradenton – DNP

27. Blake Weiman, LHP, Altoona – DNP

28. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP

29. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP

30. Jesus Liranzo, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP

Prospect-Watch-Indy

Indianapolis lost 2-0 to Buffalo. Luis Escobar continued to pitch terrific in the starting rotation. He went 5.1 innings tonight, allowing one run on two hits and two walks, with five strikeouts. The run scored after he left. This is the longest outing for Escobar since he moved to the rotation. He has not allowed more than one run in any of his five starts. Tyler Lyons recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning, giving up the inherited run on a hit and a walk. Chris Stratton made his first rehab appearance and allowed one run (solo homer) on two hits, with no walks and two strikeouts, in two innings. Sean Keselica allowed three runners in the ninth, but no runs.

The Indians had just five hits on the night and one walk. Cole Tucker reached base twice on a single and a walk in his first game back with Indianapolis. He stole his sixth base. Christian Kelley also reached base twice on a double and a hit-by-pitch. His seventh double of the season was the only extra-base hit. Ke’Bryan Hayes had to leave the game with two outs in the top of the ninth and making a play at third base. He rolled over his glove a little and it looked like a possible thumb injury by the way he was holding his hand, but it could have been a hand/wrist injury. He left the field quickly with the trainer.

Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.

You can view the season preview here.

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

Altoona won 5-4 over Portland. Austin Coley got the start and lasted just one inning due to his pitch count (32 pitches). He actually had help that inning from a nice diving catcher by Jared Oliva, helping limit the damage to two runs. Beau Sulser was out next and picked up the slack, giving up one run over five innings. He didn’t walk anyone, but did surrender seven hits. Joel Cesar got the win, allowing one run in his two innings. Matt Eckelman got his seventh save with a scoreless ninth.

Hunter Owen connected on a solo homer, his 14th of the season, which leads the Eastern League. Logan Hill drove in two runs with his 18th double. Bligh Madris collected his 12th double. Jared Oliva had two hits, a run scored and an RBI. Arden Pabst went 1-for-3 and is hitting .333 (12-for-36) in his last ten games.

Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.

You can view the season preview here.

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

Bradenton had their game stopped with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third. Nicholas Economos pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, though he will be responsible for the two runners on base when the game resumes tomorrow morning. Dylan Busby hit his 13th home run for the lone run. Tomorrow’s game will follow the completion of this contest and consist of seven innings. We will have a full recap tomorrow night.

Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.

You can view the season preview here.

Greensboro lost 2-1 to Hickory. Colin Selby got the start and went five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks, with six strikeouts. He threw 56 of 85 pitches for strikes. Selby now has a 3.68 ERA in 29.1 innings, with 33 strikeouts. Yerry De Los Santos and John O’Reilly tossed two shutout innings apiece.

The Grasshoppers had five hits and they were all singles. Ji-Hwan Bae had a hit, walk and his ninth stolen base. Fabricio Macias scored the only run in the sixth inning, scoring on a Connor Kaiser hit. Rodolfo Castro walked three times in a game for the first time in his career.

Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.

You can view the season preview here.

Prospect-Watch-DSL

The DSL Pirates1 lost 17-6 to the Cubs1. The big news from this game is that Sergio Campana made his debut. He went 1-for-5 with a single. Campana, who signed for $500,000 last July, was considered the top prospect signed by the Pirates at the time. A minor ailment caused him to miss the first seven games of the season. Osvaldo Gavilan ($700,000) had two hits. He’s hitting .241, with a .600 OPS this season.

Franrielis Bastardo ($260,000) hit his first pro home run. Darwin Baez hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning. Eliazer Montero had two hits and drove in two runs. Luis Tejeda ($500,000) had his second rough game in a row. After an 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and an error yesterday, he went 0-for-3 with three errors today. A collision in the third inning between Juan Jerez ($380,000) and Luis Tello caused both players to leave the game.

Starter Joelvis Del Rosario tossed four shutout innings in his debut last week. On Tuesday, he gave up six runs (four earned) in two innings. Antonio Gonzalez followed with one run over four innings. He now has 12 strikeouts in his first 7.2 innings. Raul Mora had a tough pro debut, giving up three runs in his only inning. Miguel Peralta had an even tougher time, allowing seven runs in his only inning, though five of those runs were unearned. Jordy Ortega tossed a scoreless ninth.

Here’s the boxscore.

The DSL Pirates2 won 14-5 over the Mariners. Adrian Mendez ($355,000) made his second start and was better in this outing. After giving up two runs over 3.1 innings in his debut, he allowed one run on two hits in this game. He was the highest bonus pitcher signed by the Pirates during this current signing period. Johan Montero allowed one run in 2.1 innings, then Luis Gonzalez gave up two runs on four walks, in his 1.1 innings. Joel Blanco allowed one run in the final 1.1 innings. All four pitchers picked up three strikeouts each.

On offense, the Pirates got some help from five errors that led to five unearned runs. Alexander Mojica ($350,000) hit his fourth double, walked twice, scored three runs and drove in a pair. Rayber Romero had two hits, a walk, two runs scored, two RBIs and his fourth stolen base. Jommer Hernandez had two hits and drove in two runs. Deivis Nadal had a single, double, walk and three runs scored. Carlos Arroyo hit his first home run and also stole his third base.

Here’s the boxscore.

You can view the season preview here.

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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