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 – 5.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, HR (7), 2 RBI
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – 2-for-4, SB
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 1-for-4, RBI
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 0-for-3, RBI
7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, RBI
8. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, HR (6) 2 RBI
9. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 0-for-3, BB
11. Cody Bolton, RHP, Altoona – DNP
12. Tahnaj Thomas, RHP, Bristol – DNP
13. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
14. Lolo Sanchez, CF, Bradenton – DNP
15. Pablo Reyes, Util, Indianapolis – 0-for-3, BB
16. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bradenton – DNP
17. Michael Burrows, RHP, Morgantown – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
18. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 3-for-5, 2B, SB
19. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 0-for-4, BB, RBI
20. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
21. Luis Escobar, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
22. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
23. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
24. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Altoona – DNP
25. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
26. Blake Weiman, LHP, Indianapolis – 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
27. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
28. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP
29. Jesus Liranzo, RHP, Altoona – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
30. Rodolfo Castro, 2B, Bradenton – 1-for-4, RBI
Indianapolis lost 7-6 to Toledo. Mitch Keller came into the day with the lowest ERA in the International League and a string of solid starts recently. This was not his night. He gave up six earned runs over 5.2 innings, on nine hits and a walk, raising his ERA from 2.82 to 3.32 (through 76 innings). Despite the 50 point rise, he’s still the league leader by a decent margin in those strong year for offense in the league due to the new baseballs being used. Keller had six strikeouts and a 6:2 GO/AO ratio. Blake Weiman followed with 2.1 shutout innings, then Geoff Hartlieb allowed a run in the ninth.
The Indians got three home runs on the night. Cole Tucker launched his seventh home run of the season. Jason Martin hit his sixth home run, a two-run shot in the ninth that made it a one-run game. Christian Kelley added his second home run. Gregory Polanco played his first rehab game and went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He played the entire game, which doesn’t happen often in the first rehab game. Erik Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Pablo Reyes returned to the lineup. Hayes went 1-for-4, while Reyes went 0-for-3 with a walk. Will Craig picked up his 50th RBI.
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Altoona won 6-5 over Erie. Sean Brady got the start and went seven strong innings with two runs on six hits, a walk and six strikeouts. Eight of his last nine starts have consisted of 6+ innings and 1-2 runs allowed. Jesus Liranzo allowed one run in one inning. Blake Cederlind threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Austin Coley allowed two unearned runs in his only inning, but still picked up the win.
Chris Sharpe continues to impress with power in Double-A, hitting his fourth home run and driving in three runs. He had five homers with Bradenton before being promoted two weeks ago. Jared Oliva has been on a hot streak recently, and continued that tonight by going 3-for-5 with two runs, his 15th double and 21st stolen base. Robbie Glendinning had a single, double and drove in two runs. He has 35 extra-base hits this season and a .961 OPS.
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Bradenton won 5-2 over Florida. Nicholas Economos got the morning start and went seven strong innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits, with one walk and six strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches, with 68 going for strikes. Nick Mears threw the last two innings, allowing a run on a home run, while striking out three batters. He has 50 strikeouts in 33.2 innings this season.
Oneil Cruz had two hits and his fifth stolen base, as he continues to hit well during his return. The downside was that he got picked-off first base and thrown out stealing third base, so he was erased each time he reached base. Calvin Mitchell returned to the lineup after a hit-by-pitch two days earlier caused him to leave. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts. Travis Swaggerty had an RBI single and a run scored. Rodolfo Castro had an RBI single. Raul Hernandez hit a single, double and scored two runs.
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Greensboro lost 11-10 to Lakewood. Alex Manasa got the start and did a solid job before leaving after five innings due to his pitch count. He allowed two runs on five hits and two walks, with seven strikeouts. He has a 3.15 ERA in 88.2 innings this season. Thing got out of hand in a hurry after Manasa left. Allen Montgomery has been pitching well and looking strong on the mound, but not on this night. He recorded just two outs, while giving up six earned runs. Yerry De Los Santos really quieted things down in a hurry, tossing 2.1 shutout innings on one hit, no walks and five strikeouts. Cody Smith took the loss by allowing three runs in the ninth, though they were all unearned.
Kyle Mottice hasn’t been playing every day, but he should be. He had two doubles, two stolen bases, three runs scored and a hit-by-pitch. He has a .523 OBP in 27 games and ten stolen bases. Jonah Davis hit a two-run homer, his fourth. He also had a single and a run scored. Fabricio Macias had two hits, his tenth stolen base and an RBI. Zac Susi hit his first home run. He also had a single and a run scored.
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Morgantown won 6-2 over Williamsport. Michael Burrows allowed just one earned run in his first six pro appearances. Then came his last start, where he gave up six runs in 1.2 innings. There was some hard luck in the game, such as a very small strike zone, but he still gave up some hard hits. Burrows bounced back strong on Thursday afternoon, giving up one run on five hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out five batters, had a 4:2 GO/AO ratio and threw 45 of 76 pitches for strikes. Francis Del Orbe followed with two shutout innings, Jacob Webb had a scoreless eighth and Garrett Leonard served up a solo homer in the ninth.
The Black Bears were quiet until the sixth inning when they broke things open. The inning started with an error, which was followed by singles from Dean Lockery and Cory Wood, then a double by Jared Triolo (his sixth), which brought in the second run. Matt Gorski then hit an RBI single, followed by a sacrifice fly by Matthew Fraizer, which accounted for the fourth run of the inning. After a walk, Blake Sabol made it five runs with an RBI single. Cory Wood added an insurance run in the ninth, as his single brought home Luke Mangieri.
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Bristol won 8-7 over Greeneville. Dante Mendoza made his third start and allowed three runs on four hits and three walks in four innings. He had one strikeout and some control issues, with two wild pitches, a hit batter and 41 of 75 pitches going for strikes. Enrique Santana and Julio Rosario each allowed two runs. Bear Bellomy tossed two shutout innings for the save, picking up three strikeouts.
Francisco Acuna had the big hit, belting a two-run home run, his first of the season. He also singled, stole a base and scored a run. Brendt Citta also drove in two runs. Josh Bissonette had three hits and an RBI. Aaron Shackelford had three hits and two runs scored. He collected his sixth double. Daniel Rivero had a single, walk and run scored. Eli Wilson had two hits and an RBI.
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The GCL Pirates won 5-4 over the Red Sox. Estalin Ortiz started and left after facing/walking just two batters, which isn’t a good sign. He was replaced by Domingo Gonzalez, who was just promoted from the DSL this week. He went four innings, allowing one run on five hits and a walk, while picking up seven strikeouts. Jake Sweeney was out next and he recorded two outs, while giving up a run on one hit, one hit batter and two walks. Hai-Cheng Gong helped out Sweeney by stranding three inherited runners. Gong gave up two runs of his own in three innings of work. One of those runs scored off of Matt Eardensohn, who got charged with a blown save, but also got the win with 1.1 shutout innings. Right about now I recommend checking out our player pages section for those of you asking who all of these pitchers are right now.
Andres Alvarez had the big hit, bringing home two runs with a bases loaded single in the seventh inning. Juan Pie got the scoring started in the first inning with an RBI triple. He also drew two walks. Between his time at Morgantown and in the GCL, he is hitting .278/.395/.417 in his first ten games. Yoyner Fajardo had a single, two stolen bases and a run scored. Carlos Canache had a single, walk, run scored and an RBI.
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The DSL Pirates1 won 6-2 over the Dodgers. Braham Rosario started and went five innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks, with five strikeouts. He has a 2.42 ERA in six starts, with 28 strikeouts, a .227 BAA and a 2.69 GO/AO ratio in 26 innings. Raydel Velette followed with one run on one hit in four innings. He had one walk and five strikeouts.
The big hit of the game was a two-run homer from Jhan Polanco, who also drew two walks and scored two runs. It was his second home run of the season. Rafael Escalante had two hits, a walk, an RBI and a run scored. Juan Jerez ($380,000 bonus) had a single and his second triple. He scored once, stole his third base and drove in a run. Osvaldo Gavilan ($700,000) went 1-for-3 with a walk, HBP, RBI and run scored.
The DSL Pirates2 lost 8-5 to the Mariners. Adrian Mendez ($355,000) made his sixth start and went 3.2 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits, three walks and six strikeouts. He now has a 4.70 ERA in 23 innings, with 21 strikeouts and a 1.57 WHIP. Axel Rosario allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Johan Montero served up two runs (one earned) in his two innings, followed by a scoreless frame by Enmanuel Mejia.
The Pirates got a two-run homer from Eudys Carrasco, his first home run as a pro. Carlos Arroyo had two hits and two runs scored. His runs scored on a wild pitch and an error. The Pirates scored another run on a throwing error as well, with Eduar Ramirez reaching on an infield hit and Jose Berroa scoring from second base on the throw.
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