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 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 – DNP
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-4
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, GCL Pirates – DNP
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – DNP
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – DNP
8. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – DNP
9. JT Brubaker, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 1-for-4
11. Cody Bolton, RHP, Altoona – DNP
12. Tahnaj Thomas, RHP, Bristol – DNP
13. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
14. Lolo Sanchez, CF, Bradenton – 0-for-3
15. Pablo Reyes, Util, Indianapolis – DNP
16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
17. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bradenton – DNP
18. Michael Burrows, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
19. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 0-for-3, BB, SB
20. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
21. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
22. Luis Escobar, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
23. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – 6.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
24. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
25. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Altoona – DNP
26. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
27. Blake Weiman, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
28. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
29. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP
30. Jesus Liranzo, RHP, Altoona – DNP
Indianapolis lost 3-2 to Columbus. Alex McRae got the start and lasted just 4.2 innings due to his pitch count. He allowed three runs on six hits, two walks and a hit batter. McRae had eight strikeouts, a 5:1 GO/AO ratio and threw 65 of 92 pitches for strikes. Sean Keselica took over in the fifth and stranded an inherited runner, then threw three more scoreless innings. Jake Brentz took the ninth and walked two batters, but didn’t give up any runs.
The Indians scored their two runs in the ninth. Trayvon Robinson singled, followed by a double from Logan Hill and a two-run double by Eric Wood. That was followed by a lineout from JB Shuck and a Steven Baron strikeout to end the night. Wood had two hits and a hit-by-pitch in the game. No one else reach base twice and they failed to draw a single walk.
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Altoona won 6-3 over Binghamton. Domingo Robles had two rough starts back-to-back leading up to tonight, failing to get through five innings either time. He got back on track with a decent start on Thursday, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings. Robles threw 61 of 88 pitches for strikes, with four strikeouts and a 6:3 GO/AO ratio. He has a 4.13 ERA through his first six Double-A starts. Yeudy Garcia followed him with two shutout innings, before Matt Eckelman took over in the ninth and picked up his 12th save on a 1-2-3 inning, throwing just six pitches, all strikes.
Robbie Glendinning had the big hit, belting a two-run homer in the third inning. It was his third home run with Altoona and his 11th homer of the season. Jerrick Suiter hit his third home run of the season in the second inning. Brett Pope had two singles and two runs scored. Jared Oliva stole his 16th base.
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Bradenton lost 2-1 to Jupiter on Thursday afternoon. Max Kranick got the start and his game began with three straight singles that brought home a run. Over the next six innings, he allowed one more run on three hits. Kranick finished the month of June with Quality Starts in all five starts, posting a 2.56 ERA in 31.2 innings, with a 1.07 WHIP. Shea Murray took the final two innings and gave up a hit and a walk, while recording four strikeouts.
The offense was very quiet, with singles from Calvin Mitchell, Rodolfo Castro and Dylan Busby accounting for all three hits. Busby drew the only walk and had the team’s lone RBI, while Castro scored the run. Lolo Sanchez is off to a rough start in his first week with the Marauders, going 4-for-27 with a triple and two walks (.429 OPS).
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Greensboro won 9-8 over Lakewood. Osvaldo Bido had a bit of a shaky start, giving up three runs on nine hits, but he limited the damage by throwing a lot of strikes, missing some bats and keeping the ball on the ground. Bido didn’t issue a walk, while striking out six batters and posting a 6:2 GO/AO ratio. He threw 62 of his 86 pitches for strikes. He now has a 3.19 ERA in 90.1 innings. Allen Montgomery followed with two scoreless innings before things got crazy in the ninth. John O’Reilly recorded the first two outs, then got a grounder to Ji-Hwan Bae, which resulted in an error. Up 9-3 at the time, Lakewood pushed across five unearned runs before Cody Smith came on for the final out.
Bae made the error that almost ended up disastrous, but he went 3-for-4 at the plate, with two RBIs, a run scored and his eighth double. That raised him to a .305 average. Connor Kaiser, Mason Martin and Jack Herman each had one hit, two walks and two runs scored. Fabricio Macias also had a hit and two walks, scoring one run. Kyle Mottice had two hits and an RBI. He has reached base 63 times in 29 games this season.
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Morgantown won 6-5 over Batavia in ten innings. Jesus Valles made his third start and went 4.1 innings, serving up four runs on nine hits. He had no walks and two strikeouts, throwing 40 of his 63 pitches for strikes. Valles was followed by Jacob Webb, who tossed 1.2 scoreless, before he gave way to Winston Nicacio. Over three innings, Nicacio allowed one run on two hits and a walk, while striking out six batters. Garrett Leonard pitched a scoreless tenth on 12 pitches, with two strikeouts, for his second save.
Kyle Wilkie and Luke Mangieri led the way for the offense, each picking up three hits. Wilkie had his first two career doubles and drove in a run. Mangieri had a double and a home run. Sixth round pick Will Matthiessen made his pro debut and went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base. Ryan Haug had two hits and an RBI.
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Bristol won 6-2 over Elizabethton. Jose Maldonado made his second start and went five innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk, with four strikeouts. He wasn’t exactly pounding the strike zone with 41 of 75 pitches going for strikes, but it was more effective than his debut, which was three runs over 4.2 innings. Yoelvis Reyes followed with one run on two hits and a walk in four innings, picking up the save.
The Pirates scored all of their runs in the first inning. Jesus Valdez, who was acquired in the David Freese trade, went 3-for-5 with a run scored in the lead-off spot. Daniel Rivero drove in two runs, going 2-for-4 with a single and his first double. He also scored a run. Brendt Citta got the scoring started with a two-run single in the first. That was followed by an RBI double from Ernny Ordonez. Matt Morrow capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly.
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The GCL Pirates had off on Thursday
Here’s the boxscore.
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The DSL Pirates1 won 8-2 over the Cubs1. Braham Rosario got the start and went five innings, allowing one run on two hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts. Rosario is a rare player who got time in the U.S. then returned to the DSL. He has a 2.57 ERA in 21 innings, with 23 strikeouts and a ridiculous 3.88 GO/AO ratio. Mario Garcia gave up one run over three innings for his fourth win (he has almost half of the team’s wins in relief). He has 31 strikeouts in 22.2 innings this season. Miguel Peralta tossed a scoreless ninth.
The offense was led by 16-year-old third baseman Ronny Sanchez, who had three hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Fleury Nova had three hits, a run scored and an RBI. Franreilis Bastardo ($260,000 bonus) hit his fourth double, walked twice and scored two runs. Jhan Polanco had a single, double, walk and two runs scored.
The DSL Pirates2 won 20-1 over the Tigers2, giving the Pirates a 20-3 record. Second baseman Deivis Nadal ($185,000 bonus) came into the day with a .458 OBP. That number went up a bit as he reached base in all seven plate appearances. He had two hits, two walks and was plunked three times. That led to him scoring four runs from the lead-off spot. Rayber Romero batted second and hit a grand slam, on his way to a five-RBI game. It was his third home run of the season. Jose Berroa also drove in five runs. His first pro triple came with the bases loaded in the second inning.
Randy Romero went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBIs, a walk and his fifth double. He now has a .377 average. Geovanny Planchart reached base five times and two singles, a triple and two walks. He scored three runs. Jommer Hernandez came off the bench and had a single and his fourth triple in two at-bats. He scored twice and drove in two runs and was hit by a pitch. The Pirates had a total of 21 hits, seven hit batters (without their pitchers hitting anyone) and six walks.
Sergio Umana got the start and was excellent on the hit, throwing five shutout innings on two hits, no walks and six strikeouts. Jose Amaya threw a scoreless inning. Luis Gonzalez gave up an unearned run in his only inning, and Miguel Diaz tossed two scoreless frames, striking out four batters.
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