Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Report – July 6th

West Virginia Black Bears Bullpen

Welcome to our weekly trip around the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system. This is where we give you a look at how each Pirates’ affiliate did during the previous week along with division standings, updates about players who stood out during the previous week, a look at the injury report, and give you a peek at the week ahead.

We will start our weekly recap with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

Next: Indianapolis Indians

Feb 21, 2014; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Alen Hanson (63) poses for a photo at Pirate City. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Triple-A Indianapolis Indians

The Indianapolis Indians went 4-3 over the last week. The Indians continued to stay hot at home by taking two of three from Western Division foe, Columbus Clippers. Then, the Louisville Bats came to Indianapolis to start a three game series, the Bats took the first game but the Indians took the second game. The rubber match of the series is Monday night.

International League West Division standings:

Indianapolis Indians – 50-34

Columbus Clippers – 44-40

Louisville Bats – 41-43

Toledo Mud Hens – 37-46

Players that stood out:

INF Gift Ngoepe was called up from Altoona and has collected four hits, one stolen base and one walk and is now batting .250.

INF Alen Hanson returned from the disabled list and is now hitting .290. Since his return on July 1st, Alen has seven hits, including a home run, two RBIs, two walks, and four stolen bases.

RHP Angel Sanchez picked up two wins this week. He now has three wins since being called up from Altoona. In his two outings, he allowed nine hits, walked two, and had sixteen strikeouts. Angel has been named the International League Pitcher of the week!

1B Corey Hart was sent down by the Pirates to complete a rehab assignment. He has three hits, including two home runs, four RBIs, one walk and five strike outs. He is batting .250 thus far.

RHP Chris Volstad was sent back down by the Pirates. He suffered a loss in his return to the Indians.

OF Jose Tabata was sent down by the Pirates. He is now batting .324 with two hits, three strikeouts and a stolen base since his return.

INF Brent Morel had five hits, one RBI, two walks, and one stolen base and is now batting .251. He still leads the team with eight home runs.

OF Willy Garcia  is currently batting .177 since being called up from Altoona. He had four hits and struck out five times.

OF Jaff Decker only had one hit in the last week and is now batting .281.

C Elias Diaz only saw action in four games. He collected one hit and one walk and his average is now .263 for the year.

RHP Adrian Sampson continues to lead the team with 81 strikeouts. He suffered two losses this week and is now 6-7.

RHP Blake Wood leads the team with 21 saves. 

RHP Radhames Liz picked up the win in Wednesday’s game against Columbus. He went five innings, allowing just three hits, two walks and striking out seven. 

RHP Wilfredo Boscan picked up another win, giving him six for the season. He went 5.2 innings, giving up seven hits, three strikeouts, walking three, and allowing two earned runs.

More from Pirates News

• Pittsburgh Pirates 2023 Outlook: Outfielder Jack Suwinski
• Pittsburgh Pirates Free Agent Target: Outfielder Mitch Haniger
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Looking at Current Bullpen Options for 2023
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Roster Projection Entering December
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Dauri Moreta May Benefit From Dropping His Sinker

INF Pedro Florimon had four hits, including a home run, and two RBIs. He is now batting .239.

C Tony Sanchez  had five hits and his average is now .214 for the season.

OF Keon Broxton had four hits and his average is now .187.

1B John Bowker is now batting .226 after collecting just two hits.

P Brad Lincoln pitched in three games, 2.2 innings and allowed seven hits, four strikeouts and three walks.

Injury Report:

RHP Casey Sadler remains on the Disabled List with a forearm strain.

RHP John Holdzkom was placed on the Disabled List with a right shoulder strain. Co-Editor Tyler Waite explains here.  

LHP Clayton Richard was claimed by the Cubs. More information on this can be found here.

All Star Update:

The International League versus the Pacific Coast League All Star Game will be played on July 15th in Omaha Nebraska. The International League All Star Team will feature Elias Diaz, Blake Wood and Alen Hanson. For more information on these selections and the rest of the International League All Star Team, check out this link.

The All Star Futures game will be played Sunday, July 12th as part of the MLB All Star festivities. Elias Diaz has been selected to play in the game as a member of the World team.

A look at next week:

The Indians remain at home for one more game with the Louisville Bats. Then the Indians head to Louisville for a three game series with the Bats. Then, a weekend visit to Columbus to face the Clippers in a three game series before the All Star Break.

Next, we step down to Double-A Altoona.

Next: Watch Out For the Curve

Sep 17, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates minor league outfielder Josh Bell (35) of the Altoona Curve in attendance as he was named the Pirates Minor Player of the Year before the Pirates host the Boston Red Sox at PNC Park. The Pirates won 9-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Double-A Altoona Curve

The Altoona Curve went 2-5 over the last week. The Curve dropped the final game of their weekend series in Harrisburg with the Senators on Monday. Then, they collected one win and two losses in Trenton while facing the East Division leading Thunder. The Indians then returned home to face the Harrisburg Senators. The Indians dropped the first game but rebounded with a win in the second game of the series.

Eastern League West Division standings:

Bowie Baysox – 47-34

Altoona Curve – 44-38

Richmond Flying Squirrels – 42-38

Akron RubberDucks – 43-40

Harrisburg Senators – 40-43

Erie SeaWolves – 32-49

Players that stood out:

OF Mel Rojas Jr is hitting .221 since being demoted to the Curve. He collected three hits, two RBIs, walked twice, and struck out nine times this week.

1B Josh Bell saw his average drop over the past week to .311 while collecting five hits, two walks, and two RBIs. 

INF Adam Frazier had thirteen hits, two RBIs, and two walks. He is now batting a team leading .386.

2B Max Moroff saw his average climb slightly to .319. He collected ten hits, two RBIs, six walks, and a stolen base.

OF Stetson Allie had five hits, including two home runs, five walks and saw his average remain at .206. He also struck out eight times.

C Jacob Stallings had one hit and six strikeouts while lowering his average to .289.

INF Jose Osuna had seven hits and one walk and is batting .301.

RHP Jason Creasy continues to lead the team with eight wins. He picked up a loss this week while going four innings and allowing eight hits and seven runs.

RHP Chad Kuhl had a no decision and a win this week. He went 11.2 innings, allowing thirteen hits, three runs, three walks and seven strikeouts. He leads the team with 63 Ks.

RHP Tyler Glasnow rejoined the Curve and made two starts. Both starts resulted in a no decision. Tyler struck out fifteen over the two starts while allowing just three runs and eight hits.

All-Star Game:

The Eastern League All Star Game will be played on July 15th in Portland, Maine. The Western Division All Star Team will feature Josh Bell, Adam Frazier, Max Moroff, Jason Creasy and Dan Gamache. For more information on these selections, check out this link.

The All Star Futures game will be played Sunday, July 12th as part of the MLB All Star festivities. Josh Bell has been selected to play in the game as a member of the US team.

A look at next week:

The Curve are finishing up their series with the Harrisburg Senators on Monday. Then, they will head to Erie for a three-game series against the SeaWolves. They finish up the week by returning home for a four game, Friday through Monday, series with the West Division leader, Bowie Baysox.

We now heat up as we head south for a look at the Advanced A Bradenton Marauders.

Next: Fly South to Bradenton

Oct 15, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; The lights are out during a power outage during game three of the American League Championship Series baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Class-A West Virginia Power

The West Virginia Power went 4-2 over the last week. They completed a five-game sweep of the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Monday. Then, they earned a split in the four game series in Kannapolis with the Intimidators. The Power then returned home to face the Delmarva Shorebirds, The Power took game one but Sunday’s game was was suspended by rain.

As they begin the second half of the season, the standings are reset. The Hickory Crawdads were the first half division winner. The second half division winner will face the Crawdads in the playoffs. If the Crawdads win the second half, then the team with the second best overall record will advance to face the Crawdads. More information on the playoff procedures can be found here. We will provide you the second half standings along with the overall standings in parenthesis.

South Atlantic League North Division Standings: 

West Virginia Power – 8-2 (45-34)

Delmarva Shorebirds – 6-4 (39-39)

Hickory Crawdads – 6-5 (50-29)

Lakewood BlueClaws – 5-6 (38-41)

Hagerstown Suns – 5-6 (40-39)

Kannapolis Intimidators – 4-7 (39-41)

Greensboro Grasshoppers – 2-9 (31-49)

Players that stood out:

OF Michael Suchy raised his average to .280 while collecting eight hits, ten RBIs, two walks, and a stolen base.

INF Jerrick Suiter dropped his average to .306 while collecting four hits, three RBIs, and two walks.

OF Elvis Escobar saw his average drop to .284. He had three hits and two RBIs.

SS Cole Tucker saw his hitting streak end. He also raised his average to .289 while collecting seven hits, two stolen bases and one walk.

INF Connor Joe saw his average drop slightly to .226 after collecting two hits and three walks.

INF Chase Simpson had four hits, including a home run, one walk and three RBIs. He is now batting .255.

INF Jordan Luplow saw his average drop to .236 after collecting six hits, two RBIs, and five walks.

RHP Austin Coley leads the team with ten wins and 67 strikeouts.

RHP Nick Neumann leads the team with eleven saves on the season.

A look at next week:

The Power will finish up their four-game series with the Delmarva Shorebirds with the completion of Sunday’s game on Monday as part of a double header & then wrap up the series on Tuesday. Then, they will head to Greensboro for a five game series with the Grasshoppers.

Next, we look at the newest member of the farm system with the Short-Season A West Virginia Black Bears.

Next: West Virginia Black Bears

Cooper, the proud mascot of the West Virginia Black Bears

Short-Season A West Virginia Black Bears

The West Virginia Black Bears finished the week by going 2-5. They split the final two games of the series with the Hudson Valley Renegades  Then, they dropped two of three in State College to the Spikes. They dropped the first two games of the series with the Batavia Muckdogs over the weekend.

Please be sure to check out my interview with Pirates First Round Draft Pick Kevin Newman and Co-Editor Jason Rollison’s interview with Kevin Kramer. You can also find series recaps for the Hudson Valley series and State College series.

New York-Penn League Pinckney Division:

Williamsport Crosscutters – 13-3

Auburn Doubledays – 7-9

State College Spikes – 7-9

West Virginia Black Bears – 6-10

Mahoning Valley Scrappers – 5-11

Batavia Muckdogs – 5-11

Players that stood out:

OF Ty Moore is currently hitting .377 with an OPS of 1.025. He had ten hits, two RBIs, three walks, and three strikeouts.

OF Logan Hill is currently hitting .320 with an OPS of .904. He had six hits, three RBIs, three walks, and two strikeouts.

C Daniel Arribas is currently hitting .326 with an OPS of .893. He had six hits, two RBIs, three walks, and four strikeouts.

1B Albert Baur is currently hitting .317. He had seven hits, two RBIs and five strikeouts.

3B Kevin Kramer is currently hitting .200. He had four hits, three RBIs, four walks, and three strikeouts.

SS Kevin Newman is currently hitting .205 . He had three hits and one strikeout.

2B Mitchell Tolman is currently hitting .184 with three hits, one RBI, three walks, and five strikeouts.

LHP Hector Garcia, RHP Dario Agrazal, RHP Eric Karch, RHP Dovydas Neverauskas, LHP Andy Otamendi and RHP Eric Dorsch lead the team with one win a piece.  Agrazal has thrown the most innings with sixteen.

RHP Jonathan Minier leads the team with twenty-one strikeouts.

RHP JT Brubaker has suffered three losses thus far this season.

Injury Report

SS Kevin Newman fouled a ball off his foot on Thursday night and hasn’t played since. Todd Murray from the Dominion Post in Morgantown, WV gave an update on his status:

Clash of the Caps:

The Black Bears are in the top 15 of MiLB’s Clash of the Caps. For more on the contest, click here.

A Look At Next Week:

The Black Bears continue hosting the Batavia Muckdogs on Monday. Then, they begin a six game road trip starting in Lowell to face the Spinners on Wednesday, July 8th for a three-game series. This series will be followed by a trip to Vermont to take on the Lake Monsters.

Rookie Ball is next with the Bristol Pirates!

Next: Last Stop, Rookie Ball

Feb 13, 2014; Bradenton, FL, USA; A freshly painted logo adorns at wall at Pirate City before the Pittsburgh Pirates first spring training workout. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie Bristol Pirates

The Bristol Pirates began their season on June 23rd. The Pirates suffered a three game sweep in Elizabethton to the Twins. Then, they had four straight rain outs with the Johnson City Cardinals.

Appalachian League West:

Greeneville Astros – 7-5

Elizabethton Twins – 6-5

Kingsport Mets – 6-7

Johnson City Cardinals – 4-5

Bristol Pirates – 3-6

A Look at Next Week:

The Bristol Pirates will face Johnson City on Monday and a doubleheader on Tuesday. Then, they will host the East Division leading Burlington Royals in a three game series. The Pirates will then head to Kingsport for one game before the Mets come to Bristol for a three game series.

This has been the Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Report for July 6th. Make sure to check back next Monday for our weekly trip around the Pirates’ minor league system!

Next: Pirates Improve to 13 Games over .500