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Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Minute – October 19th

By Justin Frazee |

In this edition of the Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Minute, we will give you a look at a few more postseason awards, give you a quick look at Winter and Fall Ball and a few notable links that may be of interest to you.

First, Baseball America handed out another Minor League Award.

Baseball America awarded Elias Diaz the 2015 Captain’s Catcher Award. This award is given to the best defensive catcher in Minor League Baseball. Diaz caught 14 of 46 stealing this season. He appears to be locked in as the starting catcher for the Indianapolis Indians in 2016 unless something happens with Francisco Cervelli or Chris Stewart.

Second, 2015 MiLBY Voting.

Please take a few minutes to vote for the 2015 MiLBY’s. The Pittsburgh Pirates are up for the Best Farm System. Tyler Glasnow is up for the Best Starting Pitcher award. In the Picture of the Year category, You will find a picture of Elias Diaz dumping Ice on Josh Bell after he hit a walk off single in his Indianapolis Indian debut.

Third, The Pirates have several players playing Fall/Winter Ball.

We told you last week about the players from the Pirates organization that are playing in the Arizona Fall League, Venezuela Winter Ball and Mexico Winter Ball.

The Dominican League is just getting underway and the Pittsburgh Pirates are represented on several teams.:

INF Alen Hanson is playing for Toros del Este. Hanson has seen action in two games and has one hit.

OF Mel Rojas Jr is playing for Tigres del Licey. Rojas homered in his first game of the season.

RHP Josh Wall, OF Willy Garcia and INF Edwin Espinal are playing for Aguilas Cibaenas.

SS Gustavo Nunez is playing for Estrellas de Oriente. Nunez has played in two games and has two hits.

C Wilkin Castillo is playing for Leones del Escogido.

In the Venezuela League the Pirates have several players:

INF/OF Elvis Escobar and RHP Jhondaniel Medina are playing for Cardenales de Lara. Escobar is batting .167 after five games with just one hit. Medina has seen action in two games and suffered a loss.

LHP Zack Dodson and OF Gorkys Hernandez are playing for Caribes de Anzoategui. Hernandez is batting .342 with 13 hits, two RBIs and four walks in the first ten games. Dodson has started two games and picked up wins in both outings. After thirteen innings of work, Dodson has a 0.69 ERA and struck out 11 batters.

Catcher Francisco Diaz, INF Jose Osuna and OF Junior Sosa are playing for Bravos de Margarita. Diaz hasn’t had a hit yet but only has three at bats. Osuna is batting .286 with eight hits after eight games. Sosa is batting .111 after five games with only one hit and an RBI.

RHP A.J. Morris is playing for Navegantes del Magallanes. Morris has seen action in three games. He suffered a loss and has a 4.15 ERA with six walks and six strikeouts.

RHP Wilfredo Boscan and RHP Julio Vivas are playing for Aguilas de Zulia. Vivas saw action in four games and currently has a 2.25 ERA. Boscan hasn’t seen any action yet.

More from Pirates Prospects

In the Mexican League, the Pirates have several players:

Catcher Sebastian Valle is playing for Caneros de los Mochis. Valle is batting .276 with eight hits, three RBIs, one walk and five strikeouts after six games.

RHP Felipe Gonzalez, RHP Luis Heredia, 1B Carlos Munoz and OF Harold Ramirez  are playing for Venados de Mazatlan. Munoz has four hits, including a home run, a triple, a double, six walks and five strikeouts after seven games. Ramirez has a home run and nine strikeouts after eight games. Gonzales has seen action in five games while Heredia has just two appearances.

3B Dan Gamache is playing for Naranjeros de Hermosillo. He went one for four with a walk in his first game.

The Arizona Fall League got underway this past week. The players from the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system will be playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs. These players will join other minor league players from the Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. The Pitchers from the Pirates organization on the roster are LHP Steven Brault from the Altoona Curve, LHP Cody Dickson from the Bradenton Marauders, RHP Tyler Eppler from the Altoona Curve and RHP Brett McKinney of the Altoona Curve. The only catcher from the Pirates organization is Reese McGuire from the Bradenton Marauders. The only infielder is Adam Frazier of the Altoona Curve. The only outfielder is Austin Meadows. Meadows spent time with the Bradenton Maruaders and the Altoona Curve this past season.

Just a few notable Pirates from the Arizona Fall League so far:

INF Adam Frazier continues to hit the ball well. He had three hits in his first game including two triples.

C Reese McGuire has a double and two walks after his first game.

OF Austin Meadows has played in three games and is still looking for his first hit. He does have two RBIs.

LHP Cody Dickson has seen one inning of action so far and struck out one and walked one.

RHP Tyler Eppler has gone two innings and allowed four runs on five hits and two walks while suffering a loss.

RHP Brett McKinney has gone one inning and allowed three runs on three hits including two home runs.

This has been the Minor League Minute for October 19th. Keep watching for these posts throughout the offseason for the Minor League affiliates.

Next: Projecting Non-Tender Candidates for Pirates

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