Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Strong Starting Pitching at Each Level & More

Strong starting pitching performances, home runs by Bubba Chandler and Jack Brannigan, and more in Sunday’s Pittsburgh Pirates minor league roundup

Entering the 9th inning on Sunday it appeared the Indianapolis Indians would be on their way to a victory. However, the wheels completely came off the cart in the top of the 9th inning leading to the top farm club of the Pittsburgh Pirates suffering a 5-2 loss to fall to 62-59 on the season.

Mike Burrows only pitched 2 innings for the Indians as the Pittsburgh Pirates brass continues to be careful with his work load, but he was impressive. In 2 scoreless innings pitched, Burrows did not allow a hit, walked a batter and struck out a pair.

Osvaldo Bido followed Burrows, striking out a pair while also walking a pair in 4 scoreless innings pitched. After Nick Mears pitched a scoreless 7th inning and Travis MacGregor struck a batter out in a 1-2-3 8th inning, Indianapolis took a 2-0 lead into the 9th inning.

Noe Toribio was given the ball in the 9th inning and things quickly went south. Toribio allowed 5 runs on a walk, five hits, he hit batter, and recorded just one out. This outing led to Toribio’s ERA at the Triple-A level rising to 6.00. Cam Alldred would come in to get the final two outs of the 9th inning.

Hoy Park bat leadoff for the Indians, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Ji-Hwan Bae, who should be in the majors, was 2-for-4 with a RBI. Diego Castillo went 1-for-4 with a double and a RBI, and third baseman Josh Bissonette also hit a double.

Double-A Altoona failed to hold onto a 9th inning lead as they were walked off by the Bowie Baysox

Entering the 9th inning on Sunday afternoon the Double-A Altoona Curve held a 4-3 lead over the Bowie Baysox. Unfortunately, when the 9th inning was over the Baysox were walking off with a 5-4 victory, dropping the Curve to 59-60 on the season.

Quinn Priester started for Altoona and lasted just 3 innings. Priester allowed 2 runs, only 1 of which was earned due to a Jared Triolo error, on five hits, a walk, a wild pitch, and six strikeouts in his 3 innings on the mound.

Even though Priester only lasted 3 innings he was still impressive. His curveball looked as good as it has all season, contributing to him racing up 11 swings-and-misses in his 3 innings of work. Also, all six of his strikeouts were swinging strikes. Not to keep beating the dead horse, but the Pittsburgh Pirates really should look to get Priester a MLB start or two in September.

Making his first appearance since June 28th, Omar Cruz followed Priester. Cruz allowed a run on two hits and two strikeouts in 2 innings pitched. Jeffrey Passantino allowed a hit, a walk and struck a batter out in 2 scoreless innings pitched. Tahnaj Thomas continued his dominance with a strikeout in a 1-2-3 8th inning, J.C. Flowers then had a rare poor outing allowing a walk-off two-run home run in the 9th inning.

Even though Triolo made a costly error, the third baseman was 1-for-2 at the plate with a walk, a double, and a run scored. Nick Gonzales was 1-for-3 with a walk and a double, Blake Sabol was 1-for-4 and Malcolm Nunez was 1-for-4 with a RBI.

As has often been the case since he was promoted to Double-A, catcher Endy Rodriguez had a huge day at the plate. Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with his 7th double as a member of the Curve, a run scored and three RBI. He also threw out a runner attempting to steal second base, already giving him five runners thrown out in just 11 games behind the dish at Double-A.

Home runs, dominant starting pitching performance carry Bradenton to shutout victory

When a team gets a strong starting pitching performance and hits multiple home runs, it is typically a recipe for success. For the Low-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Bradenton Marauders, that was the case in Sunday’s 4-0 victory. A victory that improved the team’s record on the season to 61-58.

Po-Yu Chen started for the Marauders and turned in one of his best starts of the season. Chen allowed two hits, walked a pair and struck out four in 5 shutout innings pitched. Chen owns a 4.44 ERA on the season, but over the course of his last nine starts Chen’s ERA is just 3.12.

Jack Hartmann followed Chen, striking a batter out in a scoreless inning pitched. After Jake Sweeney allowed a hit and issued a pair of walks to load the bases, Darvin Garcia cleaned the mess up on his way to pitching 2.1 scoreless innings of relief. Luigi Hernandez then got the final out of the game.

Offensively, the Marauders were carried by a trio of home runs. Bubba Chandler served as the team’s designated hitter, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run. This was Chandler’s first home run since being promoted to Low-A.

2022 draft pick Jack Brannigan also got in on the power surge. The slugging third baseman hit a two-run home run, giving him three already since being drafted last month. Brannigan already owns an .811 OPS in 66 plate appearances with the Marauders.

Catcher Henry Davis also hit a blast for the Marauders as he continues his rehab assignment. Tanner Tredaway was 1-for-3, Tres Gonzalez was 1-for-3 with a double and Tsung-Che Cheng was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.