I’ve gotten a little impatient, on the days when I’ve done the Prospect Watch, from updating the performances of the Pirates’ top 30 prospects. It’s a bit outdated now; we don’t update it until after the signing deadline for draftees has passed. Not that it’s anybody’s fault, but it’s a bit annoying updating the list while NOT being able to include some of the guys who clearly belong there now. Also, it’s fun to go through all the guys who’ve been pleasant surprises. So I thought I’d run through the players who seem like good candidates to join the top 30. This is strictly my personal rundown, with no input from Tim or John, so it may not reflect what you’ll see when we do our rankings soon. I’m also going to ignore the guys who were just drafted and the ones who just moved up to the US from last year’s Dominican Summer League.
Dario Agrazal, RHP: Agrazal doesn’t have the mid-90s fastball that got him on the Pirates’ 40-man roster the first time around. He has, however, been fully healthy so far (knock on wood) for the first time in several years. He seems to have transitioned from a guy who was very sinker-heavy to mixing his pitches more and taking advantage of good command. His ceiling is probably fifth starter, but that’s certainly good enough for the top 30.
Robbie Glendinning, SS: This sort of thing is always a tough call. Glendinning appeared to be an organizational utility guy, but he suddenly started mashing the ball at both Bradenton and Altoona, including very good power. Is it real? Well, he won’t be 24 until October and deserves a bit of a break for growing up in Australia, although he did play college ball in the US. He’s not exactly a guy who’s just beating up on younger players.
Pedro Vasquez, RHP: Up until mid-2017, Vasquez looked very promising, but he had a rough second half and then battled illness and injury last year. He’s been terrific this year, with a WHIP below 1.00 at Altoona. He also had an outstanding start at Indianapolis (his second game there, after a rough first one), but the Pirates sent him back to AA. He’s another pitcher whose ceiling is the back of the rotation, but the Pirates aren’t exactly swimming in starting depth.
Blake Cederlind, RHP: His command comes and goes, but Cederlind can hit triple digits and he’s gotten excellent results at Altoona. The Pirates haven’t had much success with similar pitchers so far (i.e., Dovydas Neverauskas and Geoff Hartlieb), but the potential is there.
Rodolfo Castro, IF: Castro was probably a bit too young for the South Atlantic League last year, hence his return there this year, but he has significant power for a middle infielder. He even has a better OPS in his brief time at Bradenton than he did at Greensboro.
Brad Case, RHP: An obscure, late-round pick in last year’s draft, Case has obviously made an impression on the Pirates, as they put him in the Greensboro rotation this year and then gave him an early promotion. He doesn’t miss a ton of bats and has occasional gopher issues, but he minimizes baserunners and has made a lot of progress quickly.
Nick Mears, RHP: Signed as a non-drafted free agent near the end of last year, Mears has moved very quickly pitching in short relief. He misses a ton of bats — his K/9 between Greensboro and Bradenton this year is 13.4 — and his control isn’t as much of an issue so far as some of the other hard throwers in the system. I’ll be a little surprised if he doesn’t finish the year at Altoona.
Mason Martin, 1B: Duh. This is a lot of power for a guy who just turned 20 a month ago. He’ll always strike out a lot, but he’s made significant adjustments and his K rate has been trending downward throughout the season. There’s good reason to be hopeful.
Jack Herman, OF: Herman had a big debut last year, but it’s not a great idea to place a lot of weight on rookie level stats for a late-round draft pick. Now, though, Herman is showing very good power in limited time in full season ball at age 19. He’s striking out a lot more than last year, but that’s not completely surprising given his age and the fact that he moved to Greensboro well into the season.
I was going to list some candidates to drop out of the top 30, but that’s probably unnecessarily mean. I will say, though, that I’ve got fewer candidates to drop out than to join the list. I guess something will have to give.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates won 6-5 over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. The Pirates are sending out Jordan Lyles for the series finale. He missed three weeks with a left hamstring injury before coming back last week with three runs over six innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was his third consecutive start against the Brewers. Lyles faced the Cubs back on April 10th and gave up one run over six innings. The Cubs will counter with veteran lefty Jose Quintana, who has a 4.21 ERA in 94 innings, with 78 strikeouts and a 1.37 WHIP. He tossed six shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds in his last start. That followed eight earned runs versus the New York Mets on June 22nd. Quintana had seven shutout innings and 11 strikeouts against the Pirates on April 11th.
The minor league schedule includes Michael Burrows trying to bounce back from a rough start last time out. In his first six pro outings, Burrows gave up one earned run. In his last outing, he surrendered six runs on five hits and four walks in 1.2 innings. Mitch Keller starts again for Indianapolis. He leads the International League with a 2.82 ERA and has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last six starts for Indianapolis.
Bristol will send out Dante Mendoza for his third start. The 20-year-old right-hander allowed four runs over four innings in his last start after tossing four shutout frames in his debut. Bradenton’s Nicholas Economos has allowed one earned run over his last 12.2 innings. His 86 strikeouts this year leads all Pirates minor leaguers. Altoona’s Sean Brady has gone at least six innings in each of his last nine starts. In his last eight starts, he has given up 1-2 runs in seven of those outings. Greensboro doesn’t have a starter listed.
MLB: Pittsburgh (42-43) vs Cubs (45-42) 4:05 PM
Probable starter: Jordan Lyles (3.71 ERA, 71:26 SO/BB, 70.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (42-41) vs Toledo (37-47) 6:15 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Mitch Keller (2.82 ERA, 82:27 SO/BB, 70.1 IP)
AA: Altoona (44-38) vs Erie (44-37) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Sean Brady (3.88 ERA, 36:18 SO/BB, 62.2 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (45-37) vs Florida (29-53) 10:30 AM (season preview)
Probable starter: Nicholas Economos (2.54 ERA, 36:19 SO/BB, 46.0 IP)
Low-A: Greensboro (51-32) vs Lakewood (34-50) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD
Short-Season A: Morgantown (10-9) @ Williamsport (4-15) 1:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Michael Burrows (5.91 ERA, 13:9 SO/BB, 10.2 IP)
Rookie: Bristol (7-8) @ Greeneville (6-9) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Dante Mendoza (4.50 ERA, 9:4 SO/BB, 8.0 IP)
GCL: Pirates (3-4) vs Red Sox (4-4) 10:00 AM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates1 (12-16) vs Dodgers Shoemaker (14-14) 10:30 AM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates2 (23-5) vs Mariners (10-18) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
From Altoona, there were no videos posted from Tuesday’s action, so we go back to Monday for this two-run double by Chris Sharpe
CHRIS. CLUTCH.@Chris_Sharpe19 ties the game, 4-4, in the eight with a two-run double! pic.twitter.com/6bRaCaVyIi
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) July 2, 2019
Sharpe already had an RBI earlier in the game
Another go-ahead RBI for @Chris_Sharpe19 puts us on top, 2-1, in the third #FullSteamAhead
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
7/3: Pirates sign Jake Wright and Jasiah Dixon
7/2: Pirates sign a ton of international players
7/2: Mario Garcia promoted to GCL Pirates
7/1: James Marvel promoted to Indianapolis. Blake Cederlind added back to Altoona roster
7/1: Pirates sign JC Flowers, Ethan Paul, Jake Snider and Marshall Gilbert.
6/30: Hunter Owen placed on Indianapolis injured list (retroactive to 6/27).
6/30: Oneil Cruz activated from Bradenton injured list. Chase Lambert placed on injured list.
6/30: Yandy Vega and Hai-Cheng Gong assigned to Morgantown.
6/29: Ke’Bryan Hayes and Pablo Reyes assigned to Morgantown on rehab.
6/29: Ryan Peurifoy assigned to Bradenton
6/29: Fernando Villegas assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab
6/29: CJ Dandeneau and Alex Roth assigned to Bristol.
6/29: Jordan Lyles activated from injured list. Geoff Hartlieb optioned to Indianapolis.
6/28: Pirates release Nick Franklin.
6/28: Daniel Amaral placed on injured list. Ike Schlabach activated from injured list.
6/28: Pirates sign Orsen Josephina.
6/28: Oliver Mateo placed on injured list.
6/27: Jake Elmore activated from Indianapolis injured list.
6/27: Pirates sign Gift Ngoepe.
6/27: Zack Kone and Jonah Davis added to Greensboro roster.
6/27: Dario Agrazal optioned to Indianapolis. Pirates recall Dovydas Neverauskas
6/27: Aaron Shortridge placed on Bradenton injured list.
6/25: Pirates send Pat Dorrian to Baltimore Orioles to complete Yefry Ramirez trade.
6/25: Pirates recall Dario Agrazal. Option Jason Martin to Indianapolis.
6/25: Cody Bolton promoted to Altoona. Blake Cederlind placed on the temporary inactive list.
6/25: Daniel Amaral activated from Bradenton injured list.
6/24: Oneil Cruz assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
6/24: Yandy Vega and Hai-Cheng Gong assigned to GCL Pirates.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Seven former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date , plus a famous manager was born on this date as well. Going quickly through the players, as bios of each can be found in the link. Starting with the most recent first we have 2010 relief pitcher Brendan Donnelly, left fielder Wayne Nordhagen, who played for the Pirates on June 19, 1982. We also have pitcher Jim Minshall (1974-75), pitcher Jim Nelson, who was a member of the 1971 world champs, 1929 pinch-runner Mel Ingram, 1912 right fielder Stump Edington, and 1906 pitcher Lou Manske. Ingram was a four-sport star at Gonzaga and was signed to a unique contract, one that started on June 18th and guaranteed he would be released by September 1st so he could return home to his job.
Chuck Tanner was born on this date in 1928. He managed the Pirates from 1977 until 1985, leading them to their fifth World Series title. Tanner was a Major League outfielder for eight years, but he is better known for his work as a manager. He was managing the Oakland A’s when the Pirates traded Manny Sanguillen and cash to Oakland for Tanner. In his nine seasons in Pittsburgh, which included the dreadful 1985 season, he had a 711-685 record. He led the Pirates to one title and three second place finishes. Tanner finished with 1,352 career wins.
The link above also contains a noteworthy trade from 1905, plus a recap of a doubleheader from the 1902 season, when the Pirates were the most dominant team in baseball. In that 1905 trade, the Pirates sent shortstop George McBride to the St Louis Cardinals in exchange for infielder Dave Brain. The significant part of the deal is that Brain was soon traded to Boston as part of the deal to acquire Vic Willis, who would go on to have four straight 20-win seasons with the Pirates, including the 1909 World Series winning season.
