After a rare Tuesday off-day for the full-season teams, we are back with the normal Wednesday programming. All night games tonight at the upper levels, and the starting pitchers will need to be updated as they become available. The FCL Pirates are off today, but both DSL teams are playing.
YESTERDAY’S RESULTS
Prospect Watch: One Walkoff Win and One Walkoff Loss Among the Rookie Level Teams
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Game Time: 7:05 PM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Jerad Eickhoff (5-3, 4.73)
- Final Line: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO
Notable Performances:
Kevin Newman 1-for-4
Ji-hwan Bae 2-for-4
Travis Swaggerty 1-for-4, HR, RBI
Mason Martin 0-for-3, BB
Rodolfo Castro 1-for-3, BB
Jake Marisnick 0-for-2, BB, HBP
Cal Mitchell 0-for-4
Game Recap:
Jerad Eickhoff had an outstanding outing on Wednesday night, but the Indianapolis players forgot to bring their bats to the park in the 4-1 loss. He went seven innings, allowing one run on four hits, no walks and seven strikeouts, throwing 61 of his 87 pitches for strikes. Aaron Fletcher tossed a scoreless eighth, but Cam Alldred and Cristofer Melendez combined to allow three runs in the ninth. Travis Swaggerty hit a solo homer for the only run, his seventh homer of the season. The Indians had four other hits, all singles, including two by Ji-hwan Bae, who has a .313 average. He is tied for third in the league in batting average.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
Game Time: 5:05 PM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Carmen Mlodzinski (1-4, 4.17)
- Final Line: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
Notable Performances:
Jared Triolo 3-for-5, RBI, SB
Liover Peguero 0-for-3, BB, SB
Connor Scott 1-for-4, 2B
Matt Fraizer 3-for-4, 3B, RBI
Game Recap:
Carmen Mlodzinski had a solid start, helping Altoona to a 6-3 victory on Wednesday. He went five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk, with six strikeouts. He now has a 4.12 ERA in 59 innings, with 63 strikeouts. Bear Bellomy allowed one run over three innings and Tyler Samaniego retired the side in order in the ninth for his fifth save. Aaron Shackelford had the big hit, smacking a three-run homer in the third inning, his 13th home run of the season. Jared Triolo and Matt Fraizer each had three hits, a run scored and an RBI. Triolo picked up his 15th stolen base. Liover Peguero stole his 16th base.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
P2Daily: It’s Greensboro Grasshoppers and Matt Gorski Week on Pirates Prospects
Game Time: 6:30 PM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Garrett Leonard (0-2, 9.96)
- Final Line: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Notable Performances:
Yoyner Fajardo 2-for-4, RBI, BB
Endy Rodriguez 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
Abrahan Gutierrez 0-for-4
Dariel Lopez 1-for-4
Sammy Siani 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
Hudson Head 1-for-2, BB, HBP
Game Recap:
Garrett Leonard got the start for Greensboro, but Sean Sullivan did the bulk of the work in their 8-4 win. Leonard allowed one run over two innings. Sullivan wasn’t sharp, though he did enough for the victory, allowing three runs over five innings on four hits, three walks and three strikeouts. Michell Miliano and Wandi Montout each tossed scoreless innings. The Grasshoppers scored two runs in the second inning on Sammy Siani’s seventh homer. They got RBI singles in the fourth inning by Luke Brown and Yoyner Fajardo, followed by a two-run double by Endy Rodriguez, his 16th double of the season. A Jacob Gonzalez single scored the seventh run, then a ground out by Brown brought in the final run. Fajardo, Rodriguez and Siani each had two hits. Siani scored two runs.
LOW-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Game Time: 6:30 PM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Joelvis Del Rosario (3-2, 3.33)
- Final Line: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
Notable Performances:
Greg Allen 1-for-2
Tsung-Che Cheng 2-for-5
Jase Bowen 3-for-5, HR, 3 RBI
Rodolfo Nolasco 1-for-4, BB
Deivis Nadal 1-for-5, RBI
Maikol Escotto 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Jasiah Dixon 1-for-4
Game Recap:
Joelvis Del Rosario went three innings after a rain delay prior to first pitch, allowing one run on one hit (homer), as the Marauders won 7-2. Bradenton used five pitchers for the final six innings and the only run was unearned. Kevin Disla, Jack Hartman, Yunior Thibo and Dante Mendoza each went one frame, while Mitchell Miller went two innings. Thibo allowed the only hit and the run. Jase Bowen put this game away late with a three-run homer, his ninth home run of the season. Maikol Escotto had two hits, two RBIs and two walks. Wyatt Hendrie had two hits, including his third homer. Tsung-Che Cheng had two hits. Greg Allen played his first rehab game and he went 1-for-2 and he played five innings in the field. Bradenton struck out 14 times and all ten batters they used contributed to the total.
RK: DSL PIRATES BLACK
Game Time: 11:00 AM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Luis Joseph (1-1, 1.93)
- Final Line: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
Notable Performances:
Angel Rodriguez 0-for-4, BB
Ewry Espinal 0-for-3, 2 BB
Robert De Paula 0-for-4
Rodolfo De La Cruz 2-for-4, RBI, BB
Eduardo Oviedo 2-for-5, 2B, RBI
Wesley Zapata 1-for-4, BB
Game Recap:
Starter Luis Joseph has been pitching well this year in limited time, but he had a rough time in this game, allowing two runs in two frames on two hits and three walks. His ERA went from 1.93 to 4.05 in this game. Eduardo Zapata pitched his second game since returning from a spring injury. He pitched a scoreless inning, giving up 1.2 innings with no hits, runs or strikeouts, with three walks. Victor Cabreja picked up the slack with four innings of work, allowing a run, while striking out five batters. Luis Gonzalez finished out the 8-3 win with two scoreless frames.
The Pirates scored their first run on a wild pitch in the fourth that made it a 2-1 game. A ground out by Richard Ramirez tied the game. Rodolfo De La Cruz singled in a run in the fifth. With a 3-3 tie in the sixth, Ramirez made it 4-3 with a sacrifice fly. An error and a wild pitch each scored runs. Eduardo Oviedo hit his fourth double in the seventh inning, making it 7-3. Daje Morales walked with the bases loaded to make it 8-3. Oviedo’s double was the only extra-base hit for the Pirates, who went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
RK: DSL PIRATES GOLD
Game Time: 11:00 AM
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Keneth Quintanilla (0-0, 3.18)
- Final Line: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Notable Performances:
John Zorrilla 0-for-3
Carlos Tirado 0-for-4
Axiel Plaz 3-for-5, RBI
Gustavo Armas 0-for-3, RBI
Eddy Rodriguez 0-for-4
Game Recap:
Starter Keneth Quintanilla gave up one run over 3.2 innings on three hits, two walks and four strikeouts. He now has a 3.00 ERA in 15 innings, with 17 strikeouts. Dermis Ordonez allowed three runs in 1.2 innings due to wildness. He walked three, hit one and threw two wild pitches. Darlin Diaz followed Ordonez and allowed an unearned run in 1.2 innings. Luis Faringthon tossed two scoreless in the 5-4 loss.
Roinny Aguiar got injured in the first inning while stealing his seventh base of the season, following a walk. He was replaced by a pinch-runner. Axiel Plaz had three hits, including a double, to give him a .439 average. The Pirates scored first on a Plaz single, followed by a bases loaded HBP to Gustavo Armas. An error gave them a 3-0 lead, but they didn’t score again until an Isaias Dipre single made it 4-4 in the seventh.
How was Peguro’s walk not the lead here?!
Del Rosario taken out after throwing fewer than 40 pitches. Hopefully they are just monitoring workload.
Steven Brault sighting, pitching in relief against the Indians as I write this.
Is Hank hurt again? Haven’t seen him in the lineup lately
Red Sox really liked last year’s college bats. Hickey, McDonough, just realized Kavadas on Greensville, and they had just promoted Binelas (Tanks teammate, they acquired from Brewers) to AA.
I was ready to write off Mlodzinski as a reliever, but this new sinker-less Mlod is something else.
Ditching the sinker so far seems to have been a solid decision by Mlod. Aside from a 3-pitch sequence following the single where none of the three were near the zone, one going to backstop, he was mostly spotting his fastball where he wanted. Getting swings and misses at top of the zone, then setting up foul tip K on what looked like a changeup to the final batter of the inning.
Got a bit of an update on Tony Blanco Jr, the second biggest prospect signed on January 15th this year (40+ home run potential according to multiple sources). He is still rehabbing a spring injury, but he’s getting close to getting back on the field. I know the DSL season is short (60 games) and more than 1/3 of it is over already, but he should be back before it ends.
John-I know you have answered this question before so I apologize for asking, but could you do a quick review of what DSL competition is comparable to in US baseball? How would it compare with high school baseball and the various levels of college ball, and summer wooden bat leagues? Thanks.
My best guess would be like high school all-star games. You have really skilled players, but there’s still going to be some sloppy play as they learn the game. That’s just an average, but within that average, you get some very raw 16 year old players with tools and some 20-year-old roster fillers, who are much more advanced, but they have limited upside. So not everyone would be as good yet as a star high school player, but some would be better
As someone who has watched both top HS and DSL games in person, I’d say they’re similar in that both have some players who are a cut above the rest.
I’ve never watched a Perfect Game tournament, but I kinda doubt some of the DSL guys would make those All-Star teams that play here in the USA.
Posted in yesterday’s Prospect Watch, but here it is again since there’s a full slate today.
Also of note, I didn’t update it after Pipeline decided to release a completely updated Top 100.
It’s a pretty loaded week overall. At least one Top 100 prospect at each level that a Pirates affiliate will face. Unfortunately Brennen Davis (back surgery) for Cubs, and Espino (knee) for Guardians, are down with long term injuries at the moment. Akron has four total (counting Espino) Top 100 prospects. The Top 30 and Top 100 rankings are a little out of whack, as Gavin Williams alone has had a pretty significant rise in rankings over course of the season.