Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Recapping Halloween Day in the Arizona Fall League

In Halloween Day's Arizona Fall League action, a Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitching prospect fired a scoreless inning while a struggling infield prospect had another hitless day at the plate

On Halloween night, only two Pittsburgh Pirates prospects played for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League. It was a good night for one player, and a poor night for the other in an 8-7 loss for the Rafters. Following their loss against the Mesa Solar Sox, the Rafters are now back under .500 on the season at 12-13.

Lefty J.C. Flowers pitched the 5th inning for the Rafters. Flowers needed just 11 pitches to navigate the 5th inning, throwing 6 of them for a strike. Flowers pitched a scoreless, hitless inning, walking a batter and recording a strikeout.

Following a sluggish start, Flowers is starting to put together a strong AFL season. Flowers now owns a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings pitched. He's allowed 6 hits, walked 10 batters, struck out 9, and has allowed just a single home run.

As for the other Pirate prospect who appeared in the game, his AFL season is trending in the opposite direction. Jack Brannigan once again started at shortstop, and once again Brannigan struggled at the plate.

The right-handed hitting slugger was 0-for-4 with a walk and strikeout. In 79 plate appearances in the AFL, Brannigan is now hitting .154 with a .614 OPS. He's drawn 9 walks, struck out 27 times, and has just 6 extra base hits.

For the remainder of the AFL season it will be worth watching to see if Brannigan can begin to bounce back at the plate. He had a great minor league season and appeared ready to shoot up prospect boards, but following that up with struggles in the AFL is not what Brannigan or the Pirates wanted to see.