Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Henry Davis Continues to Dominate & More

Henry Davis continues to dominate Double-A pitching, a big night at the plate for Jase Bowen, and more Pittsburgh Pirates minor league action

It was busy night in the minor leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This included a lopsided loss agaisnt the St. Paul Saints for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. Following their 11-3 loss, the Indians are now 15-18 on the season.

Caleb Smith started for Indianapolis and struggled yet again. The veteran lefty allowed 8 runs on seven hits, four walks, three strikeouts, a home run, and he hit a batter in 3.2 innings pitched. Smith's ERA this season is now 8.78.

Hunter Stratton followed Smith, striking out a pair and allowing three hits in 1.1 scoreless innings pitched. Eli Villalobos struck a batter out in a 1-2-3 6th inning. Yerry De Los Santos continued his season long struggles, allowing a run in the 7th inning raising his ERA to 8.25. John O'Reilly pitched the 8th inning, allowing 2 runs on a home run.

Indy's offense did a strong impersonation of their parent club going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 runners on base. Nick Gonzales was 1-for-4 with a walk and a double, Endy Rodriguez was 1-for-5 with a double, and Ryan Vilade was 0-for-4 with a walk. Cal Mitchell, Jared Triolo, and Aaron Shackelford each had a base hit as well. As a team, Indy drew eight walks.

Henry Davis performance not enough as Curve allow 7 runs in the 12th inning

2021 no. 1 overall pick Henry Davis was truly the story for Double-A Altoona on Tuesday. Unfortunately, his dominant performance at the plate was not enough for the Curve as they allowed 7 runs in the top of the 12th inning in a 12-6 loss agaisnt the Akron RubberDucks. With the loss, the Curve are now 13-13 on the season.

Starting behind the dish, Davis went 3-for-4 with his 7th and 8th home runs of the season. Davis also hit a double, drew a walk, and, of course, was hit by a pitch as he drove in a pair and scored twice. Davis is now hitting for a .316/.464/.711 at Double-A. This performance also came with Pirate general manager Ben Cherington in attendance. With the Pirate offense in desperate need of a jumpstart and Austin Hedges unable to hit water if he jumped off the Clemente Bridge, it's time for Davis to earn his first major league promotion.

The only other Curve batter to have a big night at the plate was right fielder Matt Gorski. Gorski was 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored, and a RBI. Altoona had just three hits in 12 innings from their other seven hitters.

Justin Meis started for Altoona. Meis allowed 4 runs, 3 earned, on five hits, two walks, and two strikeouts in 4 innings pitched. Oliver Garcia and Cam Junker each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Juan Minaya then pitched 1.1 scoreless innings and lefty Tyler Samaniego fired 1.2 scoreless innings. After Noe Toribio pitched a scoreless 11th inning, the good bullpen work ended.

Tahnaj Thomas took the ball in the 12th inning and, well, he got shelled. The righty allowed 7 runs on five hits and a home run. Thomas, who entered the season as a prospect who appeared to be in position to join the MLB bullpen this season, now has a 9.00 ERA this season.

Big early innings carries Greensboro to victory

High-A Greensboro saw their offense coming out firing on Tuesday night. Scoring 7 runs through the first 3 innings of the game gave the Grasshoppers a 7-3 lead. This led to a 7-5 victory for Grasshoppers to improve to 17-11 on the season.

Tsung-Che Cheng walked to start the bottom of the 1st inning, Jackson Glenn doubled, Tres Gonzalez singled, and the Grasshopper offense was off and running. Jase Bowen then emptied the bases with a 3-run double.

Cheng continued his strong gmae and start to the season by doubling in a run in the 2nd inning. Bowen launched a 2-run home run in the 3rd inning. His 6th home run of the season gave him RBI numbers four and five on the night, making it 6-3. Wyatt Hendrie doubled home a run later in the inning to make it 7-3.

Valentin Linarez started for Greensboro and allowed 3 runs on five hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and a home run in 3 innings pitched. Grant Ford followed with 3 innings of his own, allowing 2 runs on two hits, a walk, and three strikeouts.

Michell Miliano was handed the ball looking to protect a 7-5 lead in the 7th inning. Miliano pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, stirking out a apir while allowing two hits and walking three. Will Kobos got the final out of hte 8th inning and pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning. Retiring all four batters he faced, Kobos struck out three.