Pittsburgh Pirates: Vince Velasquez Close to Returning, Other Minor League Notes

Following a strong rehab outing on Saturday Vince Velasquez appears to be close to returning to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Henry Davis hits another home run, and other minor league notes

Falling to the Iowa Cubs 2-1 in game one of ther Saturday doubleheader, the Triple-A Indianapolis saw Vince Velasquez toe the rubber in a rehab outing. After a strong outing, it appears Velasquez is close to returning to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Velasquez allowed four hits, issued a walk, and struck out two in 4.2 scoreless innings pitched. He htrew 42 of 63 pitches for strikes and was able to work in all of his pitches. Assuming there are not setbacks, Velasquez should be in position to return to the Pirate starting rotation next weekend in Seattle.

Even though the Pirate starting rotation has the best ERA of any starting rotation in baseball since April11th with an ERA under 3.00. That said, getting Vleasquez back should still be a big boost for the Pirates. Prior to his injury, Velasquez was having a career year posting a 3.06 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 8.8% walk rate, and a 23.6% strikeout rate through his first seven starts of the season.

Game two of the doubleheader saw Indy fall to Iowa 1-0. After being swept, the Indians are now 20-23 on the season. Between the two games Canaan Smith-Njigba was 1-for-5 with a double and a walk. Endy Rodriguez and Nick Goznales were both 0-for-3, Cal Mitchell was 2-for-6 with a walk, and Jared Triolo was 1-for-2 with a walk and a double.

J.C. Flowers issued a walk and allowed a base hit in a scoreless 1st inning of game two while working as an opener. Fellow lefty Caleb Smith followed Flowers, allowing a run on six hits, no walks, and four strikeouts in 6 innings pitched.

Other notes

The High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers fell to 20-18 on the season with a 9-7 loss agaisnt the Asheville Tourists. Jackson Glenn was 3-for-4 with his 6th home run of the season, a walk, three RBI, and two runs scored. Jase Bowen also went deep, his 8th home run of the season, as he drove in three.

For the Low-A Bradenton Marauders, righty J.P. Massey continues to pitch extremely well. He allowed just one hit, while issuing one walk and striking out five in 6 scoreless innings pitched. Massey now owns a 2.76 ERA and a 14:40 BB:K ratio in 29.1 innings pitched this season.

A 3-run 8th inning carried the Marauders to a 3-1 victory, improving to 21-17 on the season. Jesus Castillo singled to start the inning, Termarr Johnson drew one of his three walks on the day, and Rodolfo Nolasco walked to load the bases. A one-out double by Javier Rivas emptied the bases, making the score 3-1 Marauders.