Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Offenses Explode, Mike Burrows Shoves

It was a successful Saturday for the minor league affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the teams went 3-1 while scoring a combined 33 runs

Saturday saw offenses explode across the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Well, outside of the major league level were the Bucs were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2. For their minor league affiliates, however, it was largely a successful night.

At the Triple-A level the Indianapolis Indias improved to 3-2 on the season with a 7-1 victory over the Omaha Storm Chasers. One night after collecting a walk off hit for the Indians, Travis Swaggerty was 2-for-5 with a double. Rodolfo Castro was 2-for-3 with a walk and a RBI, while Ji-Hwan Bae was 3-for-3 with a walk as both players continued their strong starts to the season.

In his return to Triple-A outfielder Bligh Madris was 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, and he drove in a run. Believe it or not, the player who turned the most heads was shortstop Oneil Cruz. The top Pirate position player prospect drew a walk and collected 2 RBI on a double that he hit 116 MPH. Yes, 116 MPH. Get that man to the majors.

One notable pitching performance for the Indians came from Cody Bolton. After pitching 2.2 scoreless innings as a starter earlier in the week, Bolton struck out a batter in a scoreless inning of relief. It could be as a reliever or as a starter, but either way we should see Bolton in Pittsburgh at some point this season.

The Double-A Altoona Curve improved to 1-1 on the season with a 9-1 victory over the Harrisburg Senators. Second baseman Nick Gonzales was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, 2 RBI and his first home run of the season. His double play partner Liover Peguero was 2-for-4 with a double and 4 RBI. Outfielder Jack Suwinski also hit his first home run of the season.

Gonzales and Peguero are not only two of the Pittsburgh Pirates best prospects, but two of the best prospects in all of baseball at their positions. They should make for a fun double play duo with the Pirates for a long time.

Starting pitcher Mike Burrows turned in a strong start in his Double-A debut. In 4 scoreless innings pitched Burrows allowed 2 hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 4. Burrows is a spin rate darling who has limitless potential as a starting pitcher. The 22-year-old could be in line to reach at least Triple-A, if not the majors this season.

Another interesting nugget from the Altoona pitching staff was righty Tahnaj Thomas. A former top 100 starting pitching prospects, Thomas pitched the 9th inning out of the Curve bullpen. He retired all three batters he faced while picking up a strikeout. In the long-term Thomas’s highest potential is as a potentially dominant late inning reliever. Saturday may have been a glimpse into the future for Thomas.

High-A Greensboro were the lone losers among Pirate minor league affiliates on Saturday. The Grasshoppers fell to the Rome Braves 5-4 to fall to 0-2 on the season. Reliever Logan Hofmann was the pitching highlight of the night for the Grasshoppers, allowing 3 hits, walking a batter, and striking out 3 in 2.2 scoreless innings pitched. Hofmann has a bright future ahead of him as a reliever. Lefty Tyler Samaniego also pitched 1.1 scoreless innings of relief. Like Hofmann, Samaniego could be a big part of the Pirate bullpen in the future.

Starting at second base Endy Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a RBI. Rodriguez continues to bounce around the field as the Pittsburgh Pirates look to turn him into a more versatile player to get his bat in the lineup after the audition of Henry Davis with top pick in last summer’s draft. Speaking of Davis, he was 1-for-4 with a walk and a RBI.

Picking up a 12-4 victory over the Dunedin Blue Jays the Low-A Bradenton Marauders improved to 1-1 on the season. Po-Yu Chen started for the Marauders, limiting the Blue Jays to 1 run on a hit, a walk and 4 strikeouts in 4 innings pitched.

At the top of the lineup center fielder Sergio Campana was 1-for-5 with a walk and shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng went 2-for-5 with a double and a walk. First baseman Jase Bowen was 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs and 5 RBI. Third baseman Juan Jerez also hit a home run while driving in 3 runs.