Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Big Day for Jase Bowen, Strong Start for Luis Ortiz & More

Strong starts from Luis Ortiz and Po-Yu Chen, a big day for Jase Bowen, and more Pittsburgh Pirates minor league action from Sunday

In need of a victory following recent struggles, the Pittsburgh Pirates top farm club, the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, dispatched of the Memphis Red Birds on Sunday. Following a 6-4 victory, the Indians are now 8-13 on the season.

Luis Ortiz started for Indy and pitched 6 strong innings. Ortiz allowed 2 runs on three hits, a walk, a home run, and two strikeouts. He induced 11 ground ball outs and threw 48 of his 76 pitches for a strike.

So far this season the Pirate rotation has pitched extremely well. However, at some point, they will need to turn to minor league depth. When they do, Ortiz will be that man, especially with Mike Burrows on the shelf. In five starts this season, Ortiz now owns a 2.31 ERA and an 8:20 BB:K ratio in 23.1 innings pitched.

Daniel Zamora and Cody Bolton were the first two relievers to come out of the bullpen after Ortiz's day ended. Zamora allowed a hit, walked a batter, and struck a batter out in a scoreless 7th inning, while Bolton fired a 1-2-3 8th inning. Colin Selby pitched the 9th inning and allowed 2 runs on three hits before getting the game's final out.

Offensively, Miguel Andújar continues to swing a hot bat. Andújar was 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBI. If he continues to hit well, it would not be a surprise to see Andújar get another look in the majors soon. Aaron Shackelford and Malcolm Nuñez both went 1-for-4, while catcher Grant Koch was 1-for-2 with a walk and his 1st Triple-A home run.