Morning Report: Hitting Leaders Around the Farm System

It’s time to take a look at the hitting leaders throughout the system for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I split it up into full-season and short-season, using a minimum of two plate appearances per team game for slash line stats (avg, OBP, slugging, OPS). A few examples below have guys who played for both Morgantown and Greensboro. In those instances, I included them in the full-season stats only. Stats are though games played on Friday night.

AVG

1. Jake Elmore, Indianapolis – .344
2. Ji-Hwan Bae, Greensboro – .302
3. Robbie Glendinning, Brad/Alt – .298
4. Hunter Owen, Alt/Indy – .288
5. Fabricio Macias, Greensboro – .283

OBP

1. Jake Elmore, Indianapolis – .407
2. Ji-Hwan Bae, Greensboro – .386
3. Robbie Glendinning, Brad/Alt – .368
4. Hunter Owen, Alt/Indy – .367
5. Mason Martin, Greens/Brad – .364

SLUGGING

1. Mason Martin, Greens/Brad – .558
2. Hunter Owen, Alt/Indy – .553
3. Robbie Glendinning, Brad/Alt – .488
4. Jake Elmore, Indianapolis – .475
5. Rodolfo Castro, Greens/Brad – .464

OPS

1. Mason Martin, Greens/Brad – .922
2. Hunter Owen, Alt/Indy – .920
3. Jake Elmore, Indianapolis – .882
4. Robbie Glendinning, Brad/Alt – .856
5. Will Craig, Indianapolis – .781

RUNS

1. Mason Martin, Greens/Brad – 77
2.  Chris Sharpe, Brad/Alt – 67
3. Travis Swaggerty, Brad – 63
4. Will Craig, Indianapolis – 60
5. Jared Oliva, Altoona – 59

HITS

1. Fabricio Macias, Greensboro – 111
2. Will Craig, Indianapolis – 105
3. Jared Oliva, Altoona & Robbie Glendinning, Brad/Alt & Mason Martin, Greens/Brad – 103

DOUBLES

1. Ke’Bryan Hayes, Indianapolis & Kevin Kramer, Indianapolis – 27
2. Mason Martin, Greens/Brad & Logan Hill, Alt/Indy & Chris Sharpe, Brad/Alt – 26

TRIPLES

1. 1. Lolo Sanchez, Greens/Brad – 7
   2. Jared Oliva, Altoona – 5
   3. Dylan Busby, Bradenton & Trayvon Robinson, Indianapolis – 4

Numerous tied at three

HOMERS

1. Mason Martin, Greens/Brad – 29
2. Will Craig, Indianapolis – 21
3. Rodolfo Castro, Greens/Brad – 19
4. Hunter Owen, Altoona/Indy – 19
5. Dylan Busby, Bradenton – 18

RBI

1. Mason Martin, Greens/Brad – 106
2. Rodolfo Castro, Greens/Brad – 65
3. Fabricio Macias, Greensboro – 64
4. Will Craig, Indianapolis – 63
5. Calvin Mitchell, Bradenton – 59

SB

1. Jared Oliva, Altoona – 32
2. Lolo Sanchez, Greens/Brad – 30
3. Ji-Hwan Bae, Greensboro – 25
4. Travis Swaggerty, Bradenton & Kyle Mottice, Greens/Morgan – 19

BB

1. Mason Martin, Greens/Brad – 66
2. Connor Kaiser, Greensboro – 50
3. Travis Swaggerty, Bradenton – 48
4. Mitchell Tolman, Altoona – 44
5. Brett Kinneman, Greens/Morgan & Bligh Madris, Altoona – 43

SO

1. Dylan Busby, Bradenton – 138
2. Mason Martin, Greens/Brad – 137
3. Lucas Tancas, Bradenton – 127
4. Calvin Mitchell, Bradenton – 125
5. Will Craig, Indianapolis – 122

SHORT-SEASON

AVG

1. Randy Romero, DSL – .393
2. Alexander Mojica, DSL – .372
3. Jauri Custodio, DSL – .328
4. Francisco Acuna, Bristol – .325
5. Yoyner Fajardo, GCL/Bristol – .319

OBP

1. Alexander Mojica, DSL – .487
2. Randy Romero, DSL – .433
3. Dariel Lopez, DSL – .408
4. Jesus Valdez, Bristol – .394
5. Jommer Hernandez, DSL – .391

SLUGGING

1. Alexander Mojica, DSL – .609
2. Randy Romero, DSL – .536
3. Dariel Lopez, DSL – .493
4. Francisco Acuna, Bristol – .483
5. Jauri Custodio, DSL – .461

OPS

1. Alexander Mojica, DSL – 1.096
2. Randy Romero, DSL – .969
3. Dariel Lopez, DSL – .900
4. Francisco Acuna, Bristol – .867
5. Jauri Custodio, DSL – .824

RUNS

1. Randy Romero, DSL – 44
2. Deivis Nadal, DSL – 38
3. Dariel Lopez, DSL & Rodolfo Nolasco, DSL – 36
4. Jauri Custodio, DSL – 35

HITS

1. Randy Romero, DSL – 72
2. Jauri Custodio, DSL – 59
3. Alexander Mojica, DSL – 56
4. Juan Jerez, DSL & Darwin Baez – 52

DOUBLES

1. Francisco Acuna, Bristol – 14
2. Alexander Mojica, DSL & Darwin Baez, DSL – 13
3. Randy Romero, DSL & Juan Jerez, DSL – 12

TRIPLES

1. Randy Romero, DSL & Juan Jerez, DSL & Sergio Campana, DSL & Osvaldo Gavilan, DSL – 5

HOMERS

1. Alexander Mojica, DSL – 8
2. Rodolfo Nolasco, DSL & Shendrik Apostel, DSL & Aaron Shackelford, Bristol – 5

Numerous tied at four
RBI

1. Alexander Mojica, DSL – 39
2. Jauri Custodio, DSL & Juan Jerez, DSL & Darwin Baez, DSL – 33
3. Randy Romero, DSL – 32

SB

1. Randy Romero, DSL – 30
2. Yoyner Fajardo, GCL/Bristol – 16
3. Sergio Campana, DSL – 15
4. Rayber Romero, DSL – 13
5. Eliazer Montero, DSL & Omar Matos, DSL – 11

BB

1. Alexander Mojica, DSL – 33
2. Jhan Polanco, DSL – 26
3. Deivis Nadal, DSL – 24
4. Jose Berroa, DSL – 23
5. Blake Sabol, Morgantown – 22

SO

1. Luis Tejeda, DSL – 45
2. Aaron Shackelford, Bristol – 43
3. Juan Jerez, DSL – 41
4. Orlando Chivilli, DSL – 40
5. Blake Sabol, Morgantown – 37

Admittedly, the DSL players are heavily favored when it comes to counting stats because they have played about 20 more games than the other short-season teams. The average-based stats (avg/slugging/OBP/OPS) don’t favor them because it’s based on plate appearances per team game. They have just been that good this season that they still dominated those categories.

I also know some of the numbers don’t line up correctly with their placement on the lists, but the “numbered list” option on here isn’t the best when players are tied for certain spots. Basically it won’t allow you to skip numbers. Randy Romero ranks fifth in RBIs obviously, but it says third. It’s a great option 99% of the time, but not when there’s a tie for a spot.

PLAYOFF PUSH

Indianapolis has 23 games left. They trail by 8.5 games in the division and 7.5 games in the wild card.

Altoona has 22 games left. They trail by 13 in the division.

Bradenton has 22 games left. They trail by eight games in the division.

Greensboro has 23 games left. They trail by 3.5 in the division and they are tied for the second best record, which could possibly get them a playoff spot.

Morgantown has 22 games left. They trail by two games in the division and one game in the wild card spot.

Bristol has 17 games left. They trail by four in the division and they’re two out of the second playoff spot.

GCL Pirates have 18 games left. They trail by 12.5 in the division.

DSL Pirates1 have been eliminated from the playoffs.

DSL Pirates2 have clinched a playoff spot

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 3-1 to the St Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. They will send out Steven Brault in the series finale this afternoon. He missed a full month with a left shoulder strain, returning five days ago to give up two runs over 5.1 innings. Brault faced St Louis twice early in the season, allowing a total of seven runs over 5.1 innings in one spot start and one relief appearance. The Cardinals will counter with 30-year-old right-hander Miles Mikolas, who has a 3.94 ERA in 132.1 innings, with 97 strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP. He faced the Pirates back on July 25th and gave up three runs over six innings. That was ten days after he pitched a complete game shutout against them in St Louis. This will be his fifth start versus the Pirates this year.

The minor league schedule includes the return of Dario Agrazal to Indianapolis after eight Major League starts. He posted a 4.29 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP for the Pirates, though his last three starts saw him give up 13 runs in 14 innings. Altoona is sending out Pedro Vasquez, who has his last start shortened to two innings due to a rain delay. He gave up two earned runs in each of his previous three outings, though he only pitched a total of 12 innings in those games. Bradenton has a doubleheader today after a rain out yesterday. In game one, they will send out Osvaldo Bido for his third start in High-A. He debuted with two runs over seven innings, then threw 7.1 innings without an earned run. No starter has been listed for the second game.

Morgantown will send out Braxton Ashcraft for his tenth start. He has allowed four runs over 11 innings in his last two starts combined. Ashcraft has walked three batters in each of his last three outings. He is holding the opposition to a .231 BAA. Bristol has Dante Mendoza on the mound. He hasn’t pitched longer than four innings in any of his first seven starts, topping out at four in six of those performances. He has a 75 pitch limit for each game. Greensboro doesn’t have a starter listed, but it should be Steven Jennings getting the start. The GCL and DSL Pirates1/2 have off on Sundays.

MLB: Pittsburgh (48-68) @ Cardinals (60-55) 2:15 PM
Probable starter: Steven Brault (4.09 ERA, 59:33 SO/BB, 66.0 IP)

AAA: Indianapolis (58-59) @ Durham (66-52) 5:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Dario Agrazal (4.25 ERA, 43:11 SO/BB, 55.0 IP)

AA: Altoona (59-59) vs Reading (70-48) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Pedro Vasquez (2.77 ERA, 75:19 SO/BB, 94.1 IP)

High-A: Bradenton (63-52) vs Dunedin (66-48) 1:00 PM DH (season preview)
Probable starter: Osvaldo Bido (1.26 ERA, 6:5 SO/BB, 14.1 IP) and TBD

Low-A: Greensboro (70-46) vs Asheville (55-63) 4:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Steven Jennings (5.14 ERA, 92:35 SO/BB, 105.0 IP)

Short-Season A: Morgantown (29-24) vs Auburn (20-33) 4:05 PM  (season preview)
Probable starter: Braxton Ashcraft (5.68 ERA, 34:18 SO/BB, 44.1 IP)

Rookie: Bristol (24-26) vs Bluefield (25-25) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Dante Mendoza (7.22 ERA, 30:10 SO/BB, 28.2 IP)

GCL: Pirates (12-26) vs Braves (13-22) 12:00 PM 8/12 (season preview)

DSL: Pirates1 (28-32) vs Indians/Brewers (13-43) 10:30 AM 8/12 (season preview)

DSL: Pirates2 (49-11) vs Royals2 (26-34) 10:30 AM 8/12 (season preview)

HIGHLIGHTS

From Altoona on Friday, I normally wouldn’t have went with these because of low quality camera feed, but there was nothing else available. Here’s the 100th hit of the season from Bligh Madris

Darnell Sweeney drove in the only run of the night, scoring Mitchell Tolman from first on this double

CLUTCH.@_SweeneySwag smacks a two-out double to score @MitchellTolman for the game's first run.#FullSteamAhead

Domingo Robles finishes off his seven shutout innings with a strikeout

Struttin' after seven shutout frames

7 IP | 7 H | 0 R | 1 BB | 3 SO for Domingo Robles pic.twitter.com/fJHwyZ3VLt

— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) August 10, 2019

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

8/10: Mariano Dotel assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.

8/9: Braeden Ogle activated from Bradenton injured list.

8/9: Pirates release Eduardo Vera. Cam Vieaux sent to Altoona.

8/9: Kyle Mottice activated from Greensboro injured list. Victor Ngoepe sent to Morgantown.

8/9: Tom Koehler assigned to Morgantown on rehab

8/8 Robbie Glendinning placed on Altoona injured list. Bralin Jackson activated from Altoona injured list.

8/8: Max Kranick placed on Bradenton injured list.

8/7: Pirates sign Luis Joseph.

8/7: Eric Wood activated from temporary inactive list.

8/6: Steven Brault activated from injured list. Richard Rodriguez activated from paternity list. Dario Agrazal and Yefry Ramirez optioned to Indianapolis.

8/6: Tom Koehler assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab

8/6: Pirates release Joseivin Medina

8/5: Pirates sign Omar Alonzo and Juan Fuentes.

8/5: Yoyner Fajardo promoted to Bristol. Fernando Villegas promoted to Morgantown.

8/5: Clay Holmes assigned to Altoona on rehab.

8/4: Blake Weiman placed on Indianapolis injured list.

8/4: Pirates release Jung Ho Kang

8/3: Pirates claim Yacksel Rios.

8/3: Richard Rodriguez placed on paternity list. Pirates recall Parker Markel.

8/2: Pirates Designate Jung-Ho Kang for assignment. Recall Pablo Reyes. Activate Erik Gonzalez from injured list.

8/2: Nick Mears activated from Bradenton injured list. Ryan Valdes placed on Bradenton injured list.

8/1: Blake Weiman activated from Indianapolis injured list.

8/1: Austin Coley placed on Altoona injured list.

7/31: Pirates trade Corey Dickerson to Phillies for a player to be named later and international bonus slot money.

7/30: Oneil Cruz promoted to Altoona. Jerrick Suiter activated from injured list. Bralin Jackson placed on injured list. Gift Ngoepe released.

7/30: Pirates recall Geoff Hartlieb and Yefry Ramirez. Montana DuRapau and Alex McRae optioned to Indianapolis.

7/30: Elvis Escobar assigned to Morgantown on rehab.

7/30: Daniel Amaral activated from Bradenton injured list.

THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY

Four former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including a player who held a Major League record for 33 years. Starting with outfielder Woody Jensen, who spent his entire nine-year Major League career with the Pirates from 1931 until 1939. He played 738 games with the team, and in 1936 he had 696 at-bats, which stood as an MLB record until the Pirates Matty Alou had two more at-bats during the 1969 season. Jensen had trouble cracking the outfield for the Pirates early in his career because the team had three Hall of Famers at one point, Paul and Lloyd Waner, as well as Freddie Lindstrom. Jensen hit .285 during his career and struck out just 100 times in 2,869 plate appearances.

Others players born on this date include:

Al Pedrique, 1987-88 shortstop. It took him nine years to make the majors after he signed. He hit .301 for the Pirates in 1987. then struggled the next year and was released after the season.

Dorn Taylor, pitcher in 1987 and 1989. The Pirates signed him as a non-drafted free agent, one of those rare success stories from that route. He made the Opening Day roster in 1989.

Walter Barbare, 1919-20 infielder. Prior to the 1921 season, he was part of a famous trade that involved two future Hall of Famers, with the Pirates getting back shortstop Rabbit Maranville from Boston(Braves) and Billy Southworth going to other way, along with cash and another player. At the time, it was considered a blockbuster deal.