Pittsburgh Pirates Minors: Four All-Stars at Morgantown

The Pittsburgh Pirates might be struggling right now, but they have plenty to be happy about in the minors.  This includes four prospects who have been named all-stars.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Short-Season Advanced baseball team is stationed in Morgantown, West Virginia.  They are a part of the New York Penn League, and while they are below Low-A, this level is higher than the Gulf Coast League.  Typically teams send their recent college draft picks to the New York Penn League.

That is what the Pittsburgh Pirates have always done, and now a few of those recent college draftees have been elected to the New York Penn League All-Star Game.  All in all, the Pittsburgh Pirates have a total of four prospects going to the game, with three of them being 2019 draft picks.

One of those draft prospects is outfielder Blake Sabol.  The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Sabol in the seventh round out of the University of Southern California.  In college, he caught, however, the Bucs are using the 6’4” left-handed hitter in the outfield.  This year for the Black Bears he has slashed .250/.359/.355 in 42 games.  Obviously, his on-base percentage stands out being a strong .359, and he has hit two home runs, three triples, and four doubles.

Relief pitcher Cameron Junker, another late round pick, was also named an All-Star.  The Pittsburgh Pirates 10th round pick out of Notre Dame is closing games for West Virginia.  He has been dominant so far in that role, pitching to a 1.74 ERA in 20.2 innings.  He also has four saves in five opportunities to go along with 34 strikeouts.

The last 2019 draft pick to be selected to the All-Star roster is second round pick Jared Triolo.  The Bucs took the third baseman out of the University of Houston.  He has posted a solid slash line of .269/.344/.430 with 21 walks compared to 30 strikeouts.  Furthermore, he has hit 16 doubles, two home runs, and three triples, which is good for 21 extra-base hits in just 44 games.

The last All-Star is right-handed pitcher Jesus Valles, who was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Venezuela.  The now 21-year-old has been mainly used as a starter, making 10 starts, but also has one relief appearance.  In 54 innings of work, he owns a 3.33 ERA with 29 strikeouts.