Pittsburgh Pirates Top Prospects: Final Season Stat Lines

Here are the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league prospects final stat lines for the 2017 season.  While many prospects had successful stat lines this season, some struggled.

1. Austin Meadows

The Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect appeared in 72 games for Triple-A Indianapolis this season. He posted a slash line of .250/.311/..359.  The outfielder also hit four home runs, stole 11 bases, and 50 strikeouts to 24 walks. The outfielder struggled to stay on the field and his numbers were a reflection of it.

      2. Mitch Keller

Keller started the year in High-A where he pitched to a 3.14 ERA along with a record of 6-3.  He made 15 starts for the Marauders and threw 77.1 innings. He also recorded 64 strikeouts while walking 20 batters.  The top pitching prospect was promoted to Double-A for his final six starts.  He was even better in Double-A, finishing the regular season with a record of 2-2 and a 3.12 ERA.  In the 34.2 innings that Keller pitched, he posted 45 strikeouts while only walking 11.

      3.Kevin Newman

The former first round pick split time between Double-A and Triple-A this season.  In Double-A his slash line was a mediocre .259/.310/.359.  However, in his 82 Double-A games he did have 24 extra base hits.  Furthermore, he only struck out 40 times and walked 24 times.  Newman was promoted to Triple-A for the second half of the season where he put up a slightly better line.  On the year in Indy, he hit .283/.314/.373 with 13 extra base hits.  In his 40 Triple-A games he swiped seven bags, and kept his strikeout rate consistent to where he was Double-A with only taking a seat 22 times while walking seven times.

      4. Will Craig

For some odd reason, Will Craig spent the year at High-A Bradenton.  He played in 123 games for the Marauders and compiled 458 at-bats.  He put up a really strong slash line of .271/.373/.371.  While he did provide the Marauders with 61 RBIs and 62 walks, he also struck out 106 times.

      5.Shane Baz

The Pittsburgh Pirates top draft pick from 2017, Baz got off to a bit of an up and down professional début.  Pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates Gulf Coast affiliate, Baz claimed a record of 0-3 in 10 starts, however, he was not eligible for a win in any of the starts, as he only pitched a max of three innings.  In his 10 starts, Baz compiled just 23.2 innings and 19 strikeouts.

Next: Extension for Huntington

The biggest disappointment is obviously Austin Meadows’ numbers.  Coming into the season, Meadows was considered one of the top prospects in baseball.  However, due to nagging injuries he had trouble finding consistent stretches at the Triple-A level.  Hopefully, for the Pittsburgh Pirates sake, he is able to find more consistency next season.  Meanwhile, Mitch Keller showed why he is the Pittsburgh Pirates top pitching prospect by not only pitching well at High-A, but putting up even stronger numbers at Double-A.  Check back in the next day or two for prospects 6-10.

*All stats are courtesy of Baseball Reference