Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Josh Bell homers as U.S Defeats World 10-1

The U.S. defeated the World 10-1 in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on Sunday and the Pittsburgh Pirates had two players participate in the game, one on each team’s roster. Both Josh Bell and Elias Diaz got to play a handful of innings in the decisive U.S. victory and showed why they continue to move up in the organization.

Bell started at first base for the U.S and in the bottom half of the third inning went down swinging. In the bottom of the fourth inning, this time batting from the left side of the plate, Bell launched a two run home run to right center field to pad the lead for the U.S.

It was great to be able to see Bell take swings from both sides of the plate. Bell was strong defensively as well, handling all of the throws from the infielders. During the fourth inning he also made a fairly difficult pick on a throw from third base, an encouraging sign since he is still learning the position.

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Diaz came into the game in the sixth inning to take over the catching duties for the World team. He did not record a hit in either of his at-bats, flying out to left field in the seventh and then grounded out to second in the ninth inning.None of the U.S. baserunners decided to test the arm of Diaz during his time behind the plate, so unfortunately that aspect of his game was not on display Sunday. Perhaps the U.S. team knew of his prowess when it comes to catching would be base stealers.

Since both managers were attempting to get as many players as possible into the game, neither of the Pirates representatives played more than about half of the game. But Bell especially showed why he is ranked so highly not only in the Pittsburgh organization but in baseball in general. Both Diaz and Bell could be impact players for the Pirates in the near future. Diaz is in Triple-A Indianapolis while Bell is in Double-A Altoona, so Diaz could potentially see MLB action this year if an injury were to happen to either of the catchers on the big league roster. Both of these names should be remembered even by casual fans because they could be knocking at the door very soon.

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