Pittsburgh Pirates: Minor League roundup May 5th

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Pirates dealt with a rain delay last night.  The minor league affiliates had some issues with rain as well.  Only two of the four teams got to play Friday.

The Bradenton Marauders had a 4-0 victory over the Dunedin Blue Jays.  Mitch Keller got the start and obviously had a good one.  The Pittsburgh Pirates top pitching prospect threw 7 shutout innings and only allowed 2 hits.  Furthermore, Keller punched out 9 batters and did not walk a single Blue Jay.  This makes back to back dominant starts for the righty, as he went 7 innings and struck out 9 in his previous one as well.  Following Keller was Rum Bunter’s  #30 prospect Jake Brentz.  Brentz also threw 2 scoreless innings and struck out 3 in those innings. The hard-thrower now has an ERA of 0.82.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Single-A affiliate made the most of their 7 hits Friday.  The team was able to scratch out 4 runs in total.  Catcher Christian Kelley had 3 of the hits for the Marauders.  Of his 3 hits, 1 was a 2 run home run.  Former 3rd round pick Casey Hughston also added 2 hits, one being a triple.  Cole Tucker and Will Craig were both 0-2, but both worked 2 bases on balls respectively.  Tucker kept up his ridiculous stolen base total by swiping 4 more bags tonight giving him 22 on his 27 game season.  The Marauders are now 17-12 for the year.

More from Rum Bunter

Low-A

The West Virginia Power had a big offensive night Friday as they won 12-6.  Starting for the Pittsburgh Pirates Low-A affiliate was Oddy Nunez.  The Power only threw Nunez 4 innings, however, he was solid in those innings.  Nunez did not give up any runs, hits, or walks, and he struck out 4.  After Nunez came Blake Cederlind, the Pittsburgh Pirates 5th round pick from 2016.  Cederlind struggled compared to Nunez.  The big righty gave up 4 earned runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 2 innings.  Following Cederlind was Geoff Hartlieb for 1 scoreless inning.  Hartlieb struck out 2 and now has an ERA of 0.71 for the season.  The last pitcher for the Power was Matt Eckelman.  Eckelman gave up 2 runs, with only 1 being earned, in the final 2 innings.

Next: Bell's Defense is Improved

The Pittsburgh Pirates Low-A affiliate has had a mixed offensive output this season.  They have either been really bad or really good.  Last night, they were once again really good.  They collected 16 hits and piled up 12 runs.  The offensive leader was Stephen Alemais, who is one of the Pittsburgh Pirates top 30 prospects.  He was 3-4 in the game with a solo home run.   Clark Eagan, another 2016 draft pick was also 3-4 with a home run.  Every player except 1 had a hit in the West Virginia lineup.  The Power now have 11 wins and 12 losses on the season.

Schedule