Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Report – July 13th

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 2-5 over the last week. The Indians wrapped up their home series with the Louisville Bats Monday with a win. Then the Indians went to Louisville and only came away with one win in the three game series with the Bats. The Indians then headed to Columbus for a three game series with the Clippers. The Clippers swept the Indians.

International League West Division standings:

Indianapolis Indians – 52-39

Columbus Clippers – 50-41

Louisville Bats – 45-47

Toledo Mud Hens – 40-51

Players that stood out:

RHP Wilfredo Boscan was called up by the Pirates Sunday.

INF Gift Ngoepe  collected four hits and two walks and is now batting .258.

INF Alen Hanson kept his average at .290. He had eight hits, one RBI, two walks, and two stolen bases.

RHP Angel Sanchez suffered his first loss since being called up from Altoona. He allowed five hits, walked one, and had five strikeouts.

1B Corey Hart is still with the Indians on a rehab assignment. In fourteen at bats last week, he had just one hit and five strike outs. He is now batting .154.

RHP Chris Volstad suffered a loss while giving up two runs on six hits, three walks and two strikeouts.

OF Jose Tabata saw his average drop to .303 with just three hits, three strikeouts and four walks.

INF Brent Morel had eight hits, including a home run, four RBIs, one walk, and one stolen base and is now batting .262. He leads the team with nine home runs.

OF Willy Garcia  is currently batting .221 since being called up from Altoona. He had six hits, three RBIs and struck out five times.

OF Jaff Decker had three hits, one RBI, three walks and four strikeouts in the last week and is now batting .264.

C Elias Diaz only saw action in four games. He collected three hits, two RBIs, and three strikeouts. His average is now .265 for the year.

RHP Adrian Sampson continues to lead the team with 84 strikeouts. He picked up his seventh win of the season by going seven innings, allowing just five hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

RHP Blake Wood leads the team with 21 saves.

RHP Radhames Liz had a win and a loss. He went a total of eleven innings, allowing eleven hits, three walks, allowed four runs and striking out fifteen.

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INF Pedro Florimon had four hits, one walk and a stolen base. He is now batting .241.

C Tony Sanchez  had one hit, one walk, four strikeouts and his average is now .206 for the season.

OF Keon Broxton had five hits, three walks, a stolen base and five strikeouts. His average is now .197.

1B John Bowker is now batting .221 after collecting three hits, including two home runs, three RBIs, and seven strikeouts.

P Brad Lincoln saw action in three games. He threw 5.1 innings allowing four hits, three runs, two walks and two strikeouts.

Injury Report:

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

RHP John Holdzkom remains on the Disabled List with a right shoulder strain.

1B Hunter Morris was activated from the Disabled List on Sunday.

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 was played Sunday, July 12th as part of the MLB All Star festivities. We told you about Elias Diaz being picked as a member of the World team. He had two at bats and no hits during the game. The US team defeated the World team 10-1.

A look at next week:

The Indians are enjoying the All Star Break. They will resume play Thursday with a four game series with the Mud Hens in Toledo.

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 4-2 over the last week. The Curve dropped the final game of their weekend series in Harrisburg with the Senators on Monday. Then, they picked up two wins in Erie over the SeaWolves. They also had a rain out in Erie. The Curve returned home for a four game series with West Division leading Bowie Baysox. The Curve took the first two games before dropping the third game. The final game of the series is Monday.

Eastern League West Division standings:

Bowie Baysox – 49-39

Altoona Curve – 48-40

Richmond Flying Squirrels – 45-42

Akron RubberDucks – 47-44

Harrisburg Senators – 44-46

Erie SeaWolves – 35-52

Players that stood out:

OF Mel Rojas Jr is hitting .253 since being demoted to the Curve. He collected six hits, three RBIs, three walks, and struck out twice this week.

1B Josh Bell saw his average rise to .312 while collecting five hits, including a home run, one walk, and five RBIs.

INF Adam Frazier had eight hits, three RBIs, and two walks. He is now saw his average drop to .368.

2B Max Moroff saw his average remain at .319. He collected eight hits, three RBIs, one walk and eight strikeouts.

OF Stetson Allie had one hit, two RBI’s, four walks, eight strikeouts and saw his average drop to .198.

3B Dan Gamache had seven hits, one RBI, three walks and is hitting .311.

C Jacob Stallings had three hits and one strikeout while lowering his average to .288.

INF Jose Osuna had five hits, four RBIs, one walk and eight strikeouts. He is now batting .295.

RHP Jason Creasy continues to lead the team with eight wins. He had a no decision this week while going just three innings and allowing six hits and five runs.

RHP Chad Kuhl picked up his seventh win of the season. He went six innings, allowing eight hits, zero runs, 0ne walk and two strikeouts. He leads the team with 65 Ks.

RHP Tyler Glasnow picked up his third win while striking out seven in six innings and allowing just one hit.

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 was played Sunday, July 12th as part of the MLB All Star festivities. As we told you, Josh Bell had been selected to play in the game as a member of the US team. Josh went one for two with a two run homer as the US beat the World 10-1.

A look at next week:

The Curve are finishing up their series with West Division leader, Bowie Baysox on Monday. The All-Star break will take part of the week. Once the All-Star Break is over, The Curve will head to Richmond on Thursday to play five games in four days with the Flying Squirrels.

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

Next: Fly South to Bradenton

Mar 12, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; The field is made ready for play before a spring training baseball game at McKechnie Field. The Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Advanced A Bradenton Marauders

The Bradenton Marauders went 2-5 over the past week. On Monday, they finished a three game sweep of the Jupiter Hammerheads. Then, the Marauders returned homed  and were swept by the Palm Beach Cardinals in a three game series. Then, they headed to Daytona to face the Tortugas. The Marauders lost the first two games before picking up a win in the third game of the four game series.

As the Marauders begin the second half of the season, the standings are reset. The Charlotte Stone Crabs were the first half division winner. The second half division winner will face the Stone Crabs in the playoffs. If the Stone Crabs win the second half, then the team with the second best overall record will advance to face the Stone Crabs. 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.

Florida State League South Division Standings:

Fort Myers Miracle – 12-6 (50-38)

Palm Beach Cardinals – 12-6 (44-44)

Bradenton Marauders – 10-8 (42-46)

St. Lucie Mets – 10-8 (45-43)

Charlotte Stone Crabs – 7-11 (52-36)

Jupiter Hammerheads – 5-13 (40-48)

Players that stood out:

OF Harold Ramirez leads the way for the Marauders with a .356 average. He collected three hits and a stolen base in just one game this past week. He was then placed on the Temporary Inactive List so he can play for Team Colombia in the Pan-Am Games in Toronto.

OF Austin Meadows saw his average climb to .296 after getting eleven hits, two RBIs, two stolen bases, and one walks.

INF Jacoby Jones had six hits, two RBIs and nine strikeouts and is now batting .257.

C Reese McGuire had four hits and one RBI and kept his average at .263.

LHP Cody Dickson leads the team with seven wins.

RHP Frank Duncan  leads the team with 71 strikeouts.

RHP Brett McKinney still leads the team with nine saves.

A look at next week: The Marauders will finish up the four-game series in Daytona with the Tortugas on Monday. They are off on Tuesday. Then, they will return home to host the Lakeland Flying Tigers in a four-game series. Then, Sunday they began a three game series at the Palm Beach Cardinals.

We dig deep and head for the hills as we take a look at the Class-A West Virginia Power.

Next: Feel the Power

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 5-3 over the last week. They completed a five-game series with the Delmarva Shorebirds with the Power taking four of five from the Shorebirds. Then, they took three of five in Greensboro over the Grasshoppers.

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 – 13-5 (50-37)

Lakewood BlueClaws – 10-8 (43-43)

Delmarva Shorebirds – 9-9 (42-44)

Hagerstown Suns – 9-9 (44-42)

Kannapolis Intimidators – 9-9 (44-43)

Hickory Crawdads – 8-10 (52-34)

Greensboro Grasshoppers – 5-13 (34-53)

Players that stood out:

OF Michael Suchy saw his average slip to .265 while collecting four hits, three RBIs, and seven strikeouts.

INF Jerrick Suiter raised his average to .318 while collecting eleven hits (five were in Sunday’s Game), one home run, six RBIs (five in Sunday’s Game), and one walks.

OF Elvis Escobar saw his average climb to .289. He had nine hits including a home run, four RBIs, three walks and one strikeout.

SS Cole Tucker raised his average to .292 while collecting eight hits and five strikeouts.

INF Connor Joe saw his average climb to .243 after collecting six hits, two RBIs and seven walks.

INF Chase Simpson had four hits, five walks and two RBIs. He is now batting .254.

INF Jordan Luplow saw his average remain steady at .237 after collecting four hits, including a homerun,  three RBIs, three walks and a stolen base

RHP Austin Coley leads the team with ten wins and 76 strikeouts.

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

A look at next week:

The Power are off on Monday. They start a week long home stand on Tuesday. They start with a three game series with the Hagerstown Suns. Then they have a four game series with the Lexington Legends.

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 4-2. They picked up a win in the final game of the series with the Batavia Muckdogs. Then the Black Bears headed to Lowell to face the Spinners. After dropping game one, the Black Bears won the next two. Then they continued their road trip in Vermont. The Black Bears won game one and lost the second. The final game of the series and road trip will be Monday night in Vermont.

For more on the Black Bears, You can find series recaps for the series with the Batavia Muckdogs and the series at the Lowell Spinners.

New York-Penn League Pinckney Division:

Williamsport Crosscutters – 17-5

State College Spikes – 10-12

West Virginia Black Bears – 10-12

Auburn Doubledays – 8-13

Mahoning Valley Scrappers – 7-15

Batavia Muckdogs – 6-15

Players that stood out:

OF Logan Hill is currently hitting .333 with an OPS of .896. He had eight hits, including two home runs, nine RBIs, four walks, six strikeouts and a stolen base.

OF Ty Moore is currently hitting .333 with an OPS of .991. He had three hits, two walks, two strikeouts and a stolen base.

OF Alexis Bastardo is currently hitting .333 with an OPS of .852. He had four hits, one RBI, one walk and one strikeout in two appearances.

C Daniel Arribas is currently hitting .308 with an OPS of .799. He had five hits, one RBI, one walk, and three strikeouts.

1B Albert Baur is currently hitting .284. He had six hits, three RBIs, three strikeouts and a stolen base.

3B Kevin Kramer is currently hitting .217. He had four hits, one RBI, one walk, and two strikeouts.

SS Kevin Newman is currently hitting .158 . He had one hit, one RBI, two walks and one strikeout.

2B Mitchell Tolman is currently hitting .246 with seven hits, three RBIs, four walks, and four strikeouts.

RHP Dario Agrazal leads the team with two wins and twenty six innings pitched.

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

LHP Andy Otamendi leads the team with two saves.

RHP Nick Hibbing leads the team with a 0.00 ERA. He has thrown 10.0 innings.

RHP JT Brubaker and RHP Bret Helton have each suffered three losses thus far this season but both pitchers picked up their first wins this past week at Lowell.

A Look At Next Week:

The Black Bears wrap up the series and road trip on Monday at Vermont. They enjoy an off day on Tuesday. Then, they begin a three game series at home with the State College Spikes. After that series, they will hit the road for four games in three days with the Auburn Doubledays.

Rookie Ball is next with the Bristol Pirates!

Next: Last Stop, Rookie Ball