Pittsburgh Pirates: Minor League Roundup April 30th

The Pittsburgh Pirates had four minor league affiliates in action on Sunday. The teams were 3-1 on the day. Here is a recap of the action.

The Indianapolis Indians took on Scranton Wilkes-Barre Sunday. They lost by a score of 7-6. The game went extra innings and was walked off by New York Yankees’ prospect Dustin Fowler. Fowler also hit for the cycle in the game. Drew Hutchison started and continued to struggle. Hutchison gave up 5 earned runs on 8 hits in 5.2 innings. It seems unlikely that he would be the one to get the call up if Pittsburgh Pirates starter Chad Kuhl has to hit the disabled list. Angel Sanchez took the loss. He threw 2.1 innings and gave up 2 earned runs including the walk-off solo shot.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Triple-A affiliate had a strong offensive showing. The Indians collected 12 hits in the game. Jason Rogers was the only member of the Tribe to not get a hit. Austin Meadows was 1-5 in the game, also scoring a run. Shortstop Anderson Feliz was 1-5 with a 3 run home run. Jacob Stallings was 2-4 with 2 runs, 1 RBI, and a walk. Chris Bostick also had 2 hits in 5 at-bats including a double. Bostick is now hitting .337 through his first 21 games this season. The Indians now have a record of 7-15.

Double-A

The Altoona Curve played against the Harrisburg Senators on Sunday. The Pittsburgh Pirates Double-A affiliate defeated the Nationals affiliate by a score of 3-2. Starting for the Curve was Alex McRae. The 2014 draft pick has been the Curve’s ace so far this season, and he once again threw a strong game. The right handed pitched 7 innings and only gave up 2 runs. He earned the win and improved to 3-0 for the season. The last two innings were pitched by reliever Miguel Rosario. In addition to McRae, Rosario is developing into an interesting prospect himself. After his 2 scoreless frames, Rosario now has an ERA of 1.26 for the season.

The Curve were only able to score 3 runs, but they did have 10 hits in the game. Both Kevin Newman and Kevin Kramer were 2-4 in the game. Kramer had his first triple of the season and a RBI. Newman was the base runner that Kramer batted in. Edwin Espinal, who was 1-3 in the game, hit in Kramer for his RBI. The biggest RBI came from Alex McRae himself. The righty pitcher had a solo home run. The Curve improved to 13-9 with the win.

High-A

The Bradenton Marauders took on the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Tampa Bay Rays organization. The Marauders won by a score of 4-2 despite being out-hit by the Stone Crabs. Mitch Keller started for the Pittsburgh Pirates High-A affiliate and had his best game of his season. Keller did not give up any runs over 7 innings. Furthermore, the top pitching prospect fanned 9 hitters while only walking one on the day. This is great news, as Keller started off the year slow. Nonetheless, he has improved each start since his poor debut and pitched closer to how he did last year. Brett Helton threw the last 2 innings and gave up both runs scored by the Stone Crabs.

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The Marauders only had 6 hits and 3 walks in the game, but they made the most of their opportunities. Cole Tucker was 1-3 in the game. Tucker had a RBI and walked as well. Pittsburgh Pirates first round picks Will Craig and Ke’Bryan Hayes both were 0-4. The top performer was Daniel Arribas. Arribas was 2-4 with a double and a triple. In addition to his extra base hits, Arribas also scored 2 runs and had a RBI. The Bradenton Marauders are now 13-11 this season.

Low-A

The West Virginia Power were also victorious Sunday as they defeated the Rome Braves of the Atlanta Braves organization. The Power won by a scored of 8-2. Starting for the Power was rising stud pitching prospect Luis Escobar. Escobar technically had his worst start of the season, but he was still effective. The power righty threw 5 innings and gave up 2 runs. He struck out 4 batters and walked 2 in those 5 frames. This start was a little different than others for Escobar, as he wracked up at least 9 strikeouts in each of his first 4 starts. Still, it is good to see Escobar can pitch well when he is not striking everyone out. Geoff Hartlieb and Matt Frawley each threw 2 scoreless innings in relief of Escobar.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates Low-A affiliate knocked out 10 hits in their 8 run outing. The Power had 3 players have multi-hit games. Arden Pabst was 2-4 with a double, a RBI, and a run scored. The Power’s third baseman, Hunter Owen, was 2-3 with a walk, a triple, and 2 RBIs. 2015 draft pick Ty Moore was 2-5 in the game. Of his 2 hits, one was a double. Additionally, the 12th round pick picked up 2 RBIs giving him 11 for the season. Moore’s batting average is now .377 this year. Lastly, Pittsburgh Pirates 2016 third round pick Stephen Alemais had 1 hit in 5 at-bats. The Power now have 11 wins and 14 losses this year.

*All stats are courtesy of the milb.com and Baseball Reference

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