Prospect tracker
1 Henry Davis, C, High-A Greensboro: Reached base in 7 of first 8 pro games before suffering a right oblique injury that could keep him out for the year. Has had a strong debut, though: going 8-for-26 (.308) with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. Given the nature of his injury, it would be completely reasonable if the Pirates wanted to exercise caution and shut him down.
2 Quinn Priester, RHP, High-A Greensboro: Can’t have many more starts at High-A. Did allow four runs over five his last time out but the start before that went seven scoreless, striking out 10. Has a 3.08 ERA in 16 starts, with 74 strikeouts against 30 walks in 79.0 innings entering Friday’s start. Allowing four runs in that last start (Aug. 20) preceded a stretch in which Priester had a 2.04 ERA over 10 starts.
3 Oneil Cruz, SS, Class AA Altoona: Had a terrific return, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and 3 RBIs this past Friday in his first action since June 30. Had another three-hit night Tuesday and is hitting .353 in four games since coming back from a right forearm issue. Also recently progressed from DH back to shortstop.
4 Nick Gonzales, 2B, High-A Greensboro: Been a good August for the Pirates’ top pick in ’20. Gonzales has hit .345 in 20 games entering Friday, producing a 1.034 OPS that includes 9 doubles, a triple and 4 home runs. Has also driven in 12 runs. Along with Priester, could be flirting with a promotion.
5 Liover Peguero, SS, High-A Greensboro: Hit his first home since Aug. 1 on Wednesday. Has had a weird August, hitting .239 with a .681 OPS. Has 5 multi-hit games and also 7 without a hit. Overall hitting .256 in 74 games with 14 doubles, 2 triples, 12 home runs and 38 RBIs, plus 19 stolen bases
6 Roansy Contreras, RHP, Class AA Altoona: Went out the same time as Cruz with the same injury. Was optimistically supposed to pitch in real games this week, although he’s not fully back from a right forearm strain. Next weeks appears to be the target.
7 Anthony Solometo, LHP, Florida Complex League: Second-round pick from this summer’s draft has not yet pitched in rookie ball.
8 Bubba Chandler, RHP/SS, Florida Complex League: Chandler, the Pirates’ third-round selection, has endured a rough start at the plate, going just 1-for-11 with 4 strikeouts. Debuted on Aug. 13 and has played shortstop and served as the DH. Has not yet pitched.
9 Tucupita Marcano, INF, Class AAA Indianapolis: Been a rough go for the headliner in the Adam Frazier deal. After a dozen games where he hit .255 with a .739 OPS, Marcano is hitting just .095 with a .327 OPS in his past 12.
10 Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP, High-A Greensboro: While Mlodzinski’s first outing after a month-long absence (shoulder) went fine, the pitcher tossing 2 scoreless innings, his start last Saturday was a rough one: 2 innings, 4 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts and 2 home runs allowed.
Other notables
3B Jackson Glenn (fifth-round, 2021) has enjoyed a terrific debut with Low-A Bradenton, tallying hits in 7 of his first 8 games while hitting .385 overall and producing a 1.015 OPS.
OF Matt Fraizer has 12 extra-base hits in his first 19 games with Class AA Altoona. He’s had multiple hits in 9 of those, and he’s hitting .347 with a .996 OPS for his new team.
High-A Greensboro 3B Jared Triolo hit .359 during his 20-game hitting streak that ended Aug. 18. That streak was the eighth-longest in MiLB this season.
• Class AA Altoona OF Cal Mitchell had 5 hits and 5 RBIs on Tuesday and took a 15-game on-base streak into Friday’s game.
• Low-A Bradenton OF Jack Herman was named the Low-A Southeast League Player of the Week for games played Aug. 16-22. He’s hitting .351 with 3 doubles, a triple, 3 home runs and 10 RBIs over his last 14 games.
• Through last week’s games, the Pirates minor league system had the fifth-best winning percentage (.547) among all organizations, trailing the Rays (.626), Yankees (.616), Mariners (.578) and Red Sox (.569).
• 2B Tsung-Che Cheng is tied for fifth in the Florida Complex League in RBIs (23). He’s sixth in OPS (.889).