Pittsburgh Pirates: Prospect Roundup 8/11-8/17

Prospects Of The Week

Kevin Krause: 4 games, 16 plate appearances, .400/.438/.533, 190 wRC+

Jose Osuna: 6 games, 23 plate appearances, .348/.348/.522, 151 wRC+

Kevin Kramer: 6 games, 27 plate appearances, .320/.333/.440, 120 wRC+

We do not have Kevin Krause ranked, but the catcher/right fielder for West Virginia has had a solid season, and produced a great week. On the year he is hitting .290/.395/.411 with a .390 wOBA and 147 wRC+. The thing that has really stood out for the 23 year old from Stony Brook University, is his ability to draw walks and limit strikeouts. In his 148 plate appearances, Krause has a walk rate of 13.5 percent and a strikeout rate of 9.5 percent. Down 5-4 going to the ninth, Krause led off the inning with a knock, leading to a four run ninth inning, and giving the Bears an 8-5 victory. Starting off that innings and his overall great week is why he is one of the prospects of the week. 

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Jose Osuna, our number 27 prospect, produced a great week for the Triple A Indianapolis Indians. His prospect of the week comes from his strong numbers, despite not drawing a walk and striking out 13 percent of the time, but also from a big moment in game. Entering the fourth innings, the Indians trailed 1-0, but with two on and one out, Jose Osuna delivered. His three run home run off of Chris Leroux proved to be enough, as the Indians won 3-2.

Our number 22 prospect Kevin Kramer had a great week. The 2015 second round pick from UCLA produced 11 runs, seven being RBIs and four being runs scored. Kramer was responsible for a run, either scoring himself, driving one in, or both, in five of the six games, and in the game he did not produce a run, he went 2-5. Kramer’s solid week, and solid season as a whole, places him as one of the three prospects of the week.

The minor league season is entering its final stretch.  With that we have a really good sample size of the prospects numbers and can fully judge how they are performing this year. The big thing to look for now is the level they are playing at. We have already seen Taillon reach the majors and lose his prospect status, Waddell and Newman move up to AA, and Meadows and Osuna moved to AAA. We also have seen Josh Bell and Steven Brault reach the majors, but only to be optioned back down. Look for other prospects to start getting moved up from their current level, especially with minor league seasons ending and minor league playoffs starting.

*Numbers from fangraphs and numbers entering game action on Wednesday, August 17