Pittsburgh Pirates: Update on Arizona Fall League Players

The Pittsburgh Pirates currently have seven players competing in the Arizona Fall League. These seven players are part of the Surprise Saguaros roster. Here is some news on how they are performing so far.

Currently representing the Pittsburgh Pirates on the Surprise Saguaros roster are four pitchers, a catcher, and one infielder and outfielder each. The pitchers are Tanner Anderson, Montana DuRapua, Edgar Santana, and Alex McRae. Anderson is the only pitcher who is being used as a starting pitcher. The other three are pitching strictly as relief pitchers.

For Santana and DuRapau this is normal, as they were used as relievers throughout the season. However, for Alex McRae it is not typical. He made 27 starts this year between Bradenton and Altoona. Now this does not suggest that he is transitioning into a reliever. In the Arizona Fall League the teams have a lot of players that they need to get into action. Only one pitcher can start a game, but likely will only go a few innings. In McRae’s first relief appearance he threw three full innings, so he still is being used in extended appearances.

Here are the Pitcher’s Stats so far:

Tanner Anderson: 2 Games, 2 Starts, 6.1 Innings Pitched, 3 Earned Runs (4.26 ERA), 5K/2BB

Montana DuRapau: 2 Games: 1.1 Innings Pitched, 3 Earned Runs (20.25 ERA), 2K/0BB

Edgar Santana: 2 Games, 3.2 Innings Pitched, 0 Earned Runs (0.00 ERA), 5K/0BB

Alex McRae: 2 Games, 4 Innings, 3 Earned Runs (6.75 ERA), 2K/1BB

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On the infield side of things the Pittsburgh Pirates are represented by two prospects. One is catcher Jin-De Jhang and the other is third baseman Connor Joe. Jhang played most of his games for the Double-A Altoona Curve. He appeared in 54 games and batted .298 in those games. The other infielder Connor Joe is most notable for being a Competitive Balance first round pick in the 2014 draft, at #39 overall. He did not appear in any games in 2014 and struggled in 80 games in 2015. However, this year at High-A he put together a solid season batting .277 with a solid on-base percentage of .351. Neither at his point is considered a top 30 prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Here are their stats so far:

Jin-De Jhang: 4 Games Played, 4 Hits in 13 AB’s (.308), 2BB, and a .683 OPS

Connor Joe: 3 games Played, 2 Hits in 11 AB’s (.182 BA), 1 Home-runs, and a .762 OPS

The last player on the Surprise team is outfielder Eric Wood. Eric Wood is a Canadian born player who played at Altoona this year. He mostly played third base, but he is getting time in the outfield now. At Altoona he hit .249 with a .782 OPS. However, the right-handed hitter did provide the Curve with 16 home-runs in 118 games.

Here is how Wood has fared so far this fall:

Eric Wood: 5 Games Played, 9 Hits in 21 AB’s (.429), 4 RBI, and a .907 OPS

Next: Bucs Resign S-Rod?

The interesting thing about the Arizona Fall League roster this year is that the Pittsburgh Pirates do not have any top prospects there. Last year they were represented by top outfield prospect Austin Meadows, and then top catching prospect Reese McGuire. This year they have an assortment of organizational guys. However, as outlined above they all have some positives about their game. This is a great chance for them to continue to develop as prospects and eventually big league players.

Finally, all stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and MILB.com

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The Pittsburgh Pirates currently have seven players competing in the Arizona Fall League. These seven players are part of the Surprise Saguaros roster. Here is some news on how they are performing so far.

Here are the Pitcher’s Stats so far:

More from Rum Bunter

Here are their stats so far:

Here is how Wood has fared so far this fall:

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