Minor league top performers: Edward Florentino takes home Player of the Week honors
Florentino and other top performers in the Pirates' system last week
Another week in the books in the minors, and all four minor league affiliates are at the top, or are de facto at the top of their respective divisions (Bradenton is second, but really first since Lakeland already locked up a playoff spot).
It was a rare ‘off week’ for Konnor Griffin, who still managed to score six runs, hit a double, a home run, and steal three bases despite hitting .217 in six games.
That opened up things quite a bit on the hitting side, with the lower levels still seeing some impressive offensive performances throughout the season.
Esmerlyn Valdez and Omar Alfonzo, two of the top hitting prospects in the system, made their Double-A debuts last week. Alfonzo hit a pair of home runs and a double. Valdez struggled but didn’t look outmatched at any point.
Here are three hitters and pitchers to have strong performances over the past week:
Top Hitters
An honorable mention for Javier Rivas, who had a decent week, but most of the damage was done on Sunday. Four of his six hits and two-thirds of the ones that went for extra bases were on the last day of the week.
Darell Morel
Last Week: .471/.526/.824, 5 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 2/2 SB
This Season: .297/.438/.563, 20 R, 6 2B, 4 3B, HR, 11 RBI, 15 BB, 20 K, 12/14 SB
There was a lot of hype heading into the season for Morel, who was made available again after having the Dodgers pull their offer to focus on signing Roki Sasaki. After a rough start to the season, the 17-year-old Morel is showing why he received a large bonus from the Pirates.
In just a week, he hit four extra base hits, batted nearly .500, and swiped an extra two bases. He had a hit in every game he played last week, including a pair of triples on July 5th.
Edward Florentino
Last Week: .348/.400/.870, 6 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 3/3 SB
This Season: .326/.414/.625, 30 R, 12 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 21 BB, 36 K, 12/14 SB
Florentino kicked the week off with a bang, recording three hits on Tuesday, including a double and his first home run at the level.
He ended it with another, hitting a pair of home runs. In total, he had six extra-base hits and added three more stolen bases to his total. Florentino had a rough 0-4 with three strikeout day, but showed the ability to adjust, going 4-13 with each hit going for extra bases.
Florentino is 18 years old.
Yordany De los Santos
Last Week: .320/.333/.583, 3 R, 2B, 7 RBI, BB, 5 K, 6/7 SB
This Season: .252/.316/.415, 35 R, 8 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 35 RBI, 26 BB, 88 K, 30/39 SB
De los Santos collected eight more hits on the week, stealing six bases and driving in another seven. He had a four-hit game on the 4th of July, including a double, and then followed that up with a three-hit contest the next day.
With the six stolen bases, he also crossed the 30 stolen base plateau for the second straight season.
Top Pitchers
Another honorable mention, this time to Reinold Navarro. He only pitched three innings, but didn’t allow a hit or walk, and struck out 80% of the batters he faced (hit one guy).
Not bad for an 18-year-old. Also, not to mention the fastball metrics were lighting up like a Christmas tree.
Khristian Curtis
Last Week: 1/1, 1-0, 6 IP, 10 K
This Season: 3-4, 4.70 ERA, 61.1 IP, 57 H, 31 BB, 73 K
The most dominating performance of the week by any Pirates’ player, Curtis pitched two-thirds of the perfect game tossed by the Greensboro Grasshoppers against the Aberdeen IronBirds.
Curtis has been undone by his control many times this season, but he had everything working for him on that night, tossing six perfect innings and striking out 10, which is a career-high for him.
Hunter Barco
Last Week: 1/1, 6 IP, H, 3 BB, 7 K
This Season: 3-1, 1.85 ERA, 67.1 IP, 36 H, 28 BB, 81 K
Barco’s dominant stretch continues, as he tossed another six shutout innings while striking out seven on Saturday. The walks are still a little present, but he’s been as unhittable as ever. Barco finished strong, striking out the last batter he faced with a 94.8 mph swinging strike fastball.
Carlos Castillo
Last Week:1/1, 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (0 ER), BB, 7 K
This Season: 1-3, 4.32 ERA, 58.1 IP, 53 H, 21 BB, 46 K
While he doesn’t miss bats in general, Castillo had one of his better performances of his career, striking out seven through five innings pitched against Fort Myers, allowing two unearned runs.
His slider was working for him, the pitch that has the best chance to be above-average for him. He got whiffs on 4 out of the seven swings hitters took against it.
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The Morel business is getting kinda funny. The Dodgers lost him to get Sasaki, who hasn't pitched in two months, has an ERA of 4.72 with only a couple fewer walks than Ks, and has seen his stuff drop off. And BA, which for months had him plastered all over their opening web page, now has him headlining their list of "fallers" in prospect rankings.
Jack is in KC