Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Strong Start for Quinn Priester & More
2019 first-round pick Quinn Priester turned in his best start yet at Double-A and more in Sunday’s Pittsburgh Pirates minor league roundup
Triple-A Indianapolis picked up the lone shutout victory among Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates on Sunday afternoon. Defeating the Iowa Cubs 2-0, the Indians improved to 40-42 on the season.
Zach Matson served as an opener for the Indians, walking a batter, striking out a pair and allowing a pair of hits in 2 scoreless innings pitched. Noe Toribio followed with his best outing yet since being promoted to Triple-A, allowing a hit and striking out a pair in 4 innings pitched. Most importantly, Toribio, who has struggled with control, did not walk a batter and threw 25 of 48 pitches (58%) for strikes.
Cam Alldred continued his strong work at Triple-A with 2 scoreless innings of his own. Alldred struck out a pair, retiring all six batters he faced. He continues to push for another opportunity in the majors. Cam Vieaux then finished the game off with a strikeout in a scoreless 9th inning, to pick up the save.
The big blow for the Indy offense came when catcher Carter Bins hit his 5th Triple-A home run. His solo shot came in the 2nd inning, giving the Indians a 1-0 lead. Cal Mitchell was 1-for-3 with the other Indy run scored, and Travis Swaggerty was also 1-for-3. These were the only three hits of the day for the Indians.
Quinn Priester’s best Double-A start yet leads to the Curve to victory
Few pitching prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system are more highly regarded than Quinn Priester. Sunday afternoon the 21-year-old righty turned in his best start yet in four starts for the Double-A Altoona Curve.
Leading the way to a 11-1 victory that improved the Curve to 41-40 on the season. Priester pitched 5 shutout innings. He allowed 4 hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 6. Priester now owns a 2.18 ERA to go with 18 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched in four Double-A starts.
Priester continues to impress since debuting at the Double-A level. While his fastball could still use some more run and movement, the fact of the matter is he has been getting batters out and generating swings-and-misses. As Noah wrote about earlier this week, Priester could be in line for a September debut.
Nick Dombkowski was first up in relief of Priester. Dombkowski allowed the lone Akron RubberDucks run of the game when he walked a batter and allowed a pair of hits in the 6th inning. Tahnaj Thomas then struck out a pair in 2 scoreless, hitless innings of relief as he continues his recent hot stretch and appears to blossoming into a promising relief pitching prospect. Bear Bellomy pitched a scoreless 9th inning, picking up a strikeout.
For the Altoona offense utility man Andres Alvarez continued his strong season. Alvarez started in left field going 2-for-4 with two walks, two runs scored, his 12th home run of the season and his 10th double. He now owns an .891 OPS at Altoona and could earn a promotion to Triple-A soon.
Third baseman Jared Triolo went 1-for-3, walking twice, scoring a run, driving in a pair and hitting his 1st triple of the season. Catcher Blake Sabol went 3-for-5 with his 9th home run of the season, a walk and four RBI. Center fielder Matt Fraizer was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, a run scored and his 14th double of the season. Claudio Finol and Fabricio Macias each drove in a run as well.
Only one Single-A game gets played in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system on Sunday
Sunday afternoon High-A Greensboro had their game cancelled due to inclement weather. This left the Grasshoppers without a game, and Low-A Bradenton as the lone Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates playing on Sunday.
The Marauders survived a late inning rally by the Lakeland Flying Tigers in a 7-6 victory on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Marauders are now 39-41 on the season as they try to push to get back to .500 on the season.
Continuing he rehab assignment, outfielder Greg Allen was 1-for-3 with a walk at the top of the Marauder lineup. Second baseman Tsung-Che Cheng was 1-for-4 with his 5th triple of the season, a RBI and two runs scored.
Left fielder Rodolfo Nolasco hit his 13th double of the season in a 2-for-3 performance, driving in three runs, scoring twice and drawing a walk. It was also a big game for shortstop Maikol Escotto who went 3-for-5 with his 3rd double, driving in a run.
Luis Peralta started for the Marauders and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings. Carlos Lomeli was net up and struggled. In 2.2 innings pitched, Lomeli allowed three runs on four hits and a home run. Wilkin Ramos then pitched a scoreless inning while recording a strikeout.
Cristian Charle and Yoelvis Reyes were the final two relievers used by the Marauders. Charle allowed a run on a pair of hits, a walk and a strikeout in 2 innings pitched. While Reyes allowed a run in the 9th, he also struck a batter out on his way to picking up the save.