Pittsburgh Pirates Minors: Edison Lantigua and Home Runs

The Pittsburgh Pirates minor league teams regular seasons are coming to an end.  Last night there was a cycle for one of their affiliates and plenty of home runs.

Earlier this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates saw their Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, have two players hit for the cycle in one game. Shortstop, and current Pittsburgh Pirates bench player, Kevin Newman and catcher Jacob Stallings were the two hitters.  This was a rare feat that has only happened in modern-day professional baseball.  This is likely the highlight of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in the 2018 year.

However, last night another player in the Pittsburgh Pirates system recorded a cycle. Edison Lantigua, a 21-year-old outfield prospect, hit for it last night.  Lantigua is currently playing for the Short-Seaosn Advanced team the West Virginia Black Bears.  The Black Bears took on the State College Spikes. Of course, the Spikes are a former team that was affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Obviously hitting for the cycle means that Lantigua had a four hit game.  The outfielder was 4-5 with five runs batted in, and two runs scored.  His impressive night started when he led off the second inning with a solo home run.  Then in the top of the third, Latingua added his ninth double on the year, which ended up being a two RBI hit as well.   His next time up was in the fifth and this at-bat led to his only out of the night when he struck out swinging.  The single came in the seventh inning.  Lastly, the triple was hit in the top of the ninth and like the double, it was a two RBI hit as well.

The West Virginia Black Bears had their fair share of home runs last night along with basically every team in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.  The Black Bears had three home runs in the game, of course one being from Edison Latingua.  The other two came from a couple 2018 draft picks.  Michael Gretler, the team’s 10th round pick, had a two run shot.  Also, seventh round pick Brett Kinneman added a two run shot as well.

All around there were a lot of home runs in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor leagues yesterday.  For the West Virginia Power, Lolo Sanchez hit his fourth home run and Rodolfo Castro hit his 12th home run.  Then at the Triple-A level, Jose Osuna hit his ninth home run in the sixth inning of the Indians win.  Meanwhile, Jason Martin hit his fourth home run of his Triple-A career. This is Martin’s 13th home run on the year between Double-A and Triple-A.