Morning Rundown: Pirates complete sweep, winning streak up to six
Pirates win sixth straight going into off day
The Pittsburgh Pirates completed their second straight, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 on Wednesday.
Mitch Keller and Sonny Gray were locked in a pitcher’s duel until the bottom of the seventh, when the offense came alive for the Pirates. They scored four runs, with Tommy Pham driving in two on two hits. Isiah Kiner-Falefa also drove in a pair of runs.
Keller picked up his third win of the season after tossing seven shutout innings. He allowed five hits and a walk while striking out seven. Dennis Santana and Isaac Mattson wrapped up the final two innings of the game.
The Pirates now have a record of 38-50 heading into their second-to-last off day before the All-Star break. Wednesday was also the last home game until after the All-Star break, as they start a nine-game road trip in Seattle on Friday.
They will face Seattle, Kansas City, and Minnesota heading into the All-Star game.
Baseball America updated their top 100 list, and Konnor Griffin made quite the leap. After starting the season as the 57th-ranked prospect, he’s moved all the way to number to in their most recent update.
With Roman Anthony being number one, that means Griffin is set to become the top prospect in the game once Anthony graduates.
It’s been an incredible start to the season for Griffin, who is in High-A after playing 50 games for the Single-A Bradenton Marauders.
Griffin, 19, is hitting .337/.409/.534 this season, with 12 home runs and 37 stolen bases.
Esmerlyn Valdez picked up a pair of hits in his second game at Double-A Altoona, one of which was an RBI double.
The two most recent additions to the Altoona offense, Valdez and Omar Alfonzo, have combined to go 4-14 (.285) with a double, a run scored, two walks, and an RBI.
Bucs on Deck: Pittsburgh Pirates Top 30 Midseason Update
We are past the halfway mark of the 2025 minor league season, and it seems like a perfect time for an update on our Top Prospect list, which has been expanded to 30 players.
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Not only do you gain access to our Top 30 scouting reports and 2025 updates, but also video breakdowns and player features, as well as live reports from my travels to minor league games.
RHP Jack Noble assigned to Bradenton Marauders from FCL Pirates
Top Exit Velocity
Nick Gonzales - PIT - 108.5 mph - Single
Tommy Pham - PIT - 108.3 mph - Single
Nick Solak - IND - 108 mph - Single
Henry Davis - PIT - 107.6 mph - Groundout
Andrew McCutchen - 106.6 mph - Single
Top Pitch Velocity
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 100 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 99.9 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 99.9 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 99.6 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 99.3 mph
Most Whiffs
Po-Yu Chen - ALT - 10
Jarod Bayless - GBO - 9
Peyton Stumbo - GBO - 8
Mitch Keller - PIT - 8
Thomas Harrington - IND - 7
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Indianapolis Indians - 3 vs Louisville Bats - 2
Top Hitter - Ronny Simon: 2-4, HR, RBI, R, BB
Top Pitcher - Thomas Harrington: 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K
Altoona Curve - 8 vs Harrisburg Senators - 5
Top Hitter - Kervin Pichardo: 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR
Top Pitcher - Po-Yu Chen: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 6 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 7 vs Aberdeen IronBirds - 3
Top Hitter - Will Taylor: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI
Top Pitcher - Jarod Bayless: 3 IP, BB, 6 K
Bradenton Marauders - 1 vs Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 2
Top Hitter - Yordany De Los Santos: 1-4, R, SB
Top Pitcher - Clevari Tejada: 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K
Bednar is NL Reliever of the Month. He’s had quite the 180.
Day 1 of REALLY diving into the draft for next week’s content. Already found a few names I like for post round 1
Not getting another pick until 50 is going to make things tricky