Prospect tracker
1 Nick Gonzales, 2B, High-A Greensboro: The ebbs and flows of Gonzales’ season continue. Average dropped to .259 on August 7th, then he hit two homers on Aug. 8 with five RBIs, and is currently on a fivegame hitting streak. Slashing .273/.353/.483 this season.
2 Quinn Priester, RHP, High-A Greensboro: Pretty much rock solid over the last since the beginning of June. In his last nine starts, totaling 46 innings, he has a 2.35 ERA, 41 strikeouts to 20 walks, and opponents are hitting just .189 against him.
3 Oneil Cruz, SS, Class AA Altoona: Has not played since June 30 thanks to right forearm soreness. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Cruz has now started taking full swings in the batting cage, and the Pirates hope he will move out to taking batting practice outside by the end of this week.
4 Liover Peguero, SS, High-A Greensboro: Caught a big power streak at the end of July, hitting home runs in four straight games from July 29-Aug. 1. Has since cooled down, though, and hasn’t played since Aug. 8, though he is not currently on the injured list.
5 Hudson Head, OF, Low-A Bradenton: The on-base percentage, which has been high all season, is still sitting at .370, but that number has steadily depreciated this season. Granted, .370 is still quite high, and his .398 slugging percentage gives him an OPS just short of .800, but there is certainly some room for growth in his body of work.
6 Tahnaj Thomas, RHP, High-A Greensboro: PThomas has been hit a little more since returning from a long break, allowing four or more hits three times in his last four starts. That still isn’t all that bad of a stat for him, but he had allowed four hits or more just once the entire rest of the season. The good news is the walks are still way down, as he’s issued just two free passes in 17 1/3 innings over his last four starts.
7 Tucupita Marcano, INF, Class AAA Indianapolis: Another solid week for Marcano. He hit his first home run in the Pirates’ organization last Saturday, Aug. 7. His numbers aren’t gob smacking, but he has maintained a .263/.364/.420 slash line in Class AAA this season, which will certainly play.
8 Brennan Malone, RHP, GCL Pirates: Malone has finally gotten back on the mound, starting in the Florida Complex League twice in the last week. His first outing was terrible. He lasted just 1/3 of an inning, giving up three earned runs on one hit and three walks. His second was much better. He lasted two innings, allowed no walks, two hits and one run, and struck out three.
9 Travis Swaggerty, OF, Class AAA Indianapolis: Will be out for the remainder of the season after undergoing right shoulder surgery in May.
10 Cody Bolton, RHP, Class AA Altoona: Will not pitch this season after undergoing right knee surgery at the beginning of the season.