Morning Rundown: MiLB Preview - Week Ending 4/21/24
Fresh week with a fresh list of opposing prospects
Indianapolis Indians: 6-9
Last week: 1-5
Opponent: St. Paul (Twins)
Team OPS: .681
OPS Rank: 19th of 20
Team ERA: 4.50
ERA Rank: 7th of 20
Quick Overview:
The Indianapolis Indians had a rough week against a quality Detroit Tigers affiliate squad. This week, they take on the Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate, St. Paul Saints.
Brooks Lee—the 8th overall selection in the 2022 draft—would be the Saints’ headliner, but he’s currently on the IL after experiencing back spasms during spring training. Next in line would be RHP Davis Festa, who cracked Fangraphs’s pre-season Top 100 list.
Simeon Woods Richardson was considered a Top 100 prospect a few years back but saw his stock drop after struggling in the upper minors. He has seen his velocity tick back up into the 90s after sitting in the high 80s most of 2023 and even made a spot start with the Twins this past Saturday, covering six innings with one earned run.
A fun note is that the Saints also have former Pirates farmhand Yoyner Fajardo rostered.
Brooks Lee (7-Day IL) | SS | 2
MLB Top 100: #18
Baseball America Top 100: #34
Fangraphs Top 100: #40
ESPN Top 100: #28
Davis Festa | RHP | 5
Fangraphs Top 100: #95
Matt Canterino (60-Day IL) | RHP | 13
Yunior Severino | RHP | 23
Simeon Woods Richardson | RHP | 24
Altoona Curve: 4-4
Last week: 3-2
Opponent: Bowie (Orioles)
Team OPS: .752
OPS Rank: 5th of 12
Team ERA: 5.18
ERA Rank: 8th of 12
Quick Overview:
The Altoona Curve had an interesting 3-2 week that saw two games rained out, making up one game in a doubleheader. Two wins began with them getting blown out, only for the offense to storm back and claim a victory. The Curve faced a prospect-loaded offense against the Harrisburg Senators, and his week is no different facing the Baltimore Orioles affiliate Bowie Baysox.
Somehow, the Orioles just keep churning out quality-hitting lineups in the upper minors, and this week keeps it going. Starting off with quickly rising prospect Samuel Basallo, a 19-year-old catcher who is a consensus top 100 prospect, a couple of other names that might ring a bell are Dylan Beavers and Jud Fabian, two 2022 drafted college bats.
The Baysox also have one of their own former Pirates prospects, LHP Trey McGough. He’s entering his first full season since Tommy John surgery and has thrown five scoreless innings in three appearances, with six strikeouts and only one hit and one walk allowed.
Samuel Basallo | C/1B | 2
MLB Top 100: #17
Baseball America Top 100: #10
Fangraphs Top 100: #7
ESPN Top 100: #26
Dylan Beavers | OF | 7
Seth Johnson | RHP | 10
Jud Fabian | OF | 12
Max Wagner (7-Day IL) | 3B/2B | 14
Trace Bright | RHP | 16
John Rhodes | OF | 23
Alex Pham | RHP | 24
Frederick Bencosme | SS | 27
Billy Cook | OF/2B | 30
Greensboro Grasshoppers: 6-3
Last Week: 4-2
Opponent: Hickory (Rangers)
Team OPS: .466
OPS Rank: 12th of 12
Team ERA: 3.72
ERA Rank: 9th of 12
Quick Overview:
Greensboro Grasshoppers had one of the Pirates affiliate’s best weeks, and it wasn’t due to what you’d normally expect. Grasshopper starters combined to allow only four earned runs across 22.1 IP. This week’s Grasshoppers’ opponent, the Hickory Crawdads, a Texas Rangers affiliate, are last in the South Atlantic League in team OPS.
The top Crawdad prospect is Sebastian Walcott, a consensus Top 100 pick. On the pitching side is 2022 fourth-round pick Brock Porter, a prep RHP. Kumar Rocker is also listed on the Crawdads, but’ll be out for the year after Tommy John surgery.
Early season results can easily skew perception, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Hoppers rotation can continue their dominating stretch while in the Greensboro hitter haven or if the Crawdads roster has a breakout week.
Sebastian Walcott | SS | 3
MLB Top 100: #66
Baseball America Top 100: #52
Fangraphs Top 100: 89
ESPN Top 100: #42
Brock Porter | RHP | 4
MLB Top 100: #81
Kumar Rocker (60-Day IL) | RHP | 6
Anthony Gutierrez | OF | 7
Cameron Cauley | SS/2B | 13
Yeison Morrobel | OF | 15
Aidan Curry | RHP | 19
Mitch Bratt | LHP | 20
Joseph Montalvo | RHP | 27
Bradenton Marauders: 1-8
Last Week: 0-6
Opponent: Daytona (Reds)
Team OPS: .660
OPS Rank: 5th of 10th
Team ERA: 3.38
ERA Rank: 4th of 10
Quick Overview:
The Bradenton Marauders had a difficult first full week in the Florida State League, dropping all six contests to the Lakeland Flying Tigers. At least in terms of top 30 prospect talent, the Marauders will see a bit of a drop-off this week against Cincinnati Reds’ affiliate Daytona Tortugas.
The Tortugas have only five of the Reds’ top 30 prospects, and of those five, only two are in the top 10. Ricardo Cabrera (9th—2022 signing) and Alfredo Duno (10th—2023 signing) are two top-dollar International free-agent signings from the previous two classes. As of Monday, Duno was added to the backend of Baseball America’s top 100 list after a couple graduations.
Ricardo Cabrera | SS/3B | 9
Alfredo Duno | C | 10
Baseball America Top 100: #99
Carlos Sanchez | 3B/SS | 26
Esmith Pineda | OF | 28
Adam Serwinowski | LHP | 30
Check out our latest Podcast episode, where Nola and I talk about the previous week in the Pirates system, and look ahead to an exciting slate of games.
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Why would kumar rocker be out for the year, he had TJ surgery last May
Hard not to like the setup we have at AAA. SP's Skenes, Priester, and Lauer getting prepped for MLB, and guys like Mlodzinski, Nicolas, Hernandez, Ryan, and Alldred in the BP. Franzua (Japan) getting to Close? The hitters of Nunez, Bae, Gonzales, Peguero, Celestino, and Smith-Njigba are MLB quality, and the Catching tandem is VG, also.
AA is also very strong with SP's Chandler, Solometo, Sullivan, Ashcraft and solid RP's in Junker, Linarez, Yean, Meis, and Dombkowski. Many of the position players are placeholders at best. If we are looking to solidify pitchers and players moving into MLB, I would exchange the infield of Altoona with the infield at Greensboro - Cheng, Pichardo, Glenn, and Dixon from AA to A+ and Brannigan, Johnson, Jebb, and McAdoo from A+ to AA.
Only watched the highlights or lowlights of the Pirate game last night. Seemed like a strong showing that went bad quickly. Old adage in baseball about trying to hide someone defensively - the ball will always find them! I like the bat and the glove of Connor Joe at 1B, but he leaves a lot to be desired as a RF. Edward Olivares is a RF with speed and a strong arm who has been hitting well for the Pirates, but he was sitting on the bench. Joe did not lose the game for the Pirates, but why that move to put him in RF? We also tried to get too much from a SP who seemed to have reached his limit and placement of his pitches. We have too many young and strong relievers to allow that to happen.