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 (Clay Holmes, Jacob Stallings, Kevin Newman 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, Nick Burdi 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 – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, 2B
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – 2-for-4
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 0-for-4
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 2-for-4, HR (18), 2 RBI
8. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-3
9. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 1-for-3, HR (11), 2 RBI, HBP
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 – 1-for-2, 2 BB
16. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bradenton – DNP
17. Michael Burrows, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
18. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 1-for-5
19. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 1-for-5
20. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
21. Luis Escobar, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
22. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
23. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
24. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Altoona – DNP
25. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Bradenton – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
26. Blake Weiman, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
27. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
28. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP
29. Jesus Liranzo, RHP, Altoona – DNP
30. Rodolfo Castro, 2B, Bradenton – 0-for-4
Indianapolis lost 5-2 to Syracuse. Mitch Keller got the start and it was a bit of an odd outing. With one out in the fourth, the game went through a 49 minute rain delay. Keller still came back out and didn’t pitch well afterwards, giving up two runs in the fifth to end his day. He gave up a total of three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings. Sean Keselica allowed two runs in his two innings, while Montana DuRapau retired the final six batters, four on strikeouts.
Will Craig hit his 18th home run of the season in the second inning and also drove in the second run of the game on a single in the sixth. Cole Tucker hit his tenth double and scored on Craig’s single. Pablo Reyes couldn’t homer for a fourth straight game, but he did reach base three times on a single and two walks.
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Altoona lost 4-2 to Trenton. Sean Brady continued to be one of the most effective pitchers in the system over the last two months. He allowed two runs on two hits, with four walks and five strikeouts, in six innings. This is his 12th straight start of at least six innings. Ten of his last 11 starts have resulted in him allowing either one or two earned runs. Beau Sulser followed and he had an unusually rough outing by his standards. He had a 1.28 ERA prior to tonight, before giving up two runs in two innings, picking up his first loss of the season. Matt Eckelman had two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth.
The Curve picked up 13 hits, with Logan Hill leading the way on a 4-for-4 night that included his third triple. Chris Sharpe hit his fifth home run since joining Altoona, matching his total with Bradenton. Jason Delay had two hits and drew the only Altoona walk.
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Bradenton won 8-0 over Clearwater. Aaron Shortridge started his second game back from a short trip to the injured list. He went five shutout innings on four hits, with no walks or strikeouts. He has just one strikeout in his last 13.1 innings, covering three starts. That doesn’t seem to be a huge issue because he has allowed just three runs over that stretch. Samuel Reyes followed with three shutout innings on one hit, then Joe Jacques finished things up with a scoreless ninth. The three pitchers combined for no walks.
Calvin Mitchell hit his 11th home run of the season in the second inning, then added another RBI the hard way, getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Dylan Busby hit his 18th home run of the season. That gave him 50 RBIs for the year. He also drew two walks. Lucas Tancas put the game away with an eighth inning grand slam. It was his fifth home this season. Oneil Cruz had two singles and scored two runs. Mason Martin had a single and his second double since being promoted.
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Greensboro won 9-3 over Hagerstown. Luis Nova got the start and went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks, with six strikeouts. Two of those walks came in the sixth and Cam Alldred stranded both runners while recording the final out of the inning. Alldred stayed on for two more scoreless innings. Cristofer Melendez gave up a run in the ninth.
Fabricio Macias put together his fifth straight multi-hit game. He had two singles and his 16th double, drove in three runs and scored twice. He is 14-for-23 in these last five games, which has taken his average from .270 to .295 over that time. Luke Mangieri hit two homers, both of them two-run shots. Connor Kaiser hit his seventh homer and Grant Koch added his fourth home run. Koch also hit his 12th double. Kyle Mottice saw his average drop below .400 (now at .393), but he still reached base twice on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Jack Herman had two hits.
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Morgantown had off on Tuesday
Here’s the boxscore.
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Bristol lost 3-2 to Pulaski. Dante Mendoza went four innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks, with five strikeouts. He threw 48 of 78 pitches for strikes and had a 5:2 GO/AO ratio. Trey McGough was out next and he had a strong performance, throwing three shutout innings with one hit, no walks and five strikeouts. CJ Dandeneau was next and he retired the side in order in the eighth.
Bristol scored two runs in the first inning on an error, single and double. They were shut down for the rest of the game, collecting just four more hits. Ernny Ordonez hit two doubles, giving him seven on the season. Aaron Shackelford hit an RBI single, but also committed two errors that led to the two unearned runs.
After the game, relief pitcher Bear Bellomy was promoted to Morgantown. The 28th round pick this year has opened up his career with 11 shutout innings, with one walk and 17 strikeouts.
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The GCL Pirates lost 9-6 to the Braves. Arlinthon De Dios started for the fourth time (all on the road) and went 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks, striking out four batters. Angel Suero followed and got out of the fifth without anymore damage, but walked the first two batters of the sixth before being removed. Hai-Cheng Gong was next and he allowed both inherited runners to score, as well as three more runs in the sixth. Lizardy Dicent took the seventh, making his first appearance of the season. He allowed a hit and a walk, while striking out two batters, over one scoreless inning. Estalin Ortiz tossed a clean eighth.
Pirates 23rd round pick, Jasiah Dixon, made his pro debut today. He was signed for a $225,000 bonus to get him away from a USC commitment. Dixon opened up his career with a two-run double. He would add two more singles later in the game. Juan Pie came into the game with a .133 average in his first 15 GCL games. He too had a strong game on Tuesday, going 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. He stole his fifth base. Daniel Angulo had two hits, a walk and an RBI. Sammy Siani went 0-for-5 in the lead-off spot. He has a .224 average and a .653 OPS in his first 13 games, along with 20 strikeouts.
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The DSL Pirates1 won 5-2 over the Cubs1. The Cubs1 collected their first run before their first hit. Valentin Linarez tossed six no-hit innings, but his own error set up a sacrifice fly for a run in the sixth. After Kelvin Disla tossed two more no-hit inning, while striking out three batters, Wilkin Valdez came on for the ninth. He walked the first batter, then got a fly ball for the first out. That was followed by a single to break up the no-hitter, which also added the second run. After another walk, Valdez got a game-ending double play.
Darwin Baez had the big hit, belting his fourth home run of the season in the fourth inning, a two-run shot. Osvaldo Gavilan got the scoring started in the fifth inning with his fifth triple. Juan Jerez also added an RBI triple, and brought home another run on a sacrifice fly. Eliazer Montero, who was hitting .200 prior to today, went 3-for-3 with three runs scored. He had two triples and stole his sixth base. Luis Tejeda had two hits. Sergio Campana stole his seventh base.
The DSL Pirates2 dropped to 31-7 on the season with a 6-2 loss to Colorado. Starter Adrian Mendez had a rough outing, giving up five runs on three hits and five walks in 2.2 innings. He was followed by Jose Amaya, who tossed 3.1 shutout frames. Wilbur Martinez gave up a run on three hits in his only inning, before Alex Rosario and Oscar Echarry each threw a shutout inning.
The offense managed to collect nine hits and two walks, but couldn’t push enough runs across the plate. The Pirates went the entire game without striking out, which I can’t recall seeing at any level this season (could have happened, I just don’t remember it). Alexander Mojica went 3-for-4 to give him a .370 average. Dariel Lopez had two hits and scored both runs. All-Star Randy Romero went 2-for-4, giving him a .385 average.
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