Prospect tracker

1

Nick Gonzales, 2B, Class AA Altoona: Prepare for some tough injury news in this section. Gonzales was placed on the injured list with a heel injury. The issue does not appear to be a long-term one, but he’ll at least be out a week. He had just started to turn things around, too, with two three-hit games in his past four appearances.

2

Henry Davis, C, Class AA Altoona: Davis’ left hand injury has kept him out of action since May 12. Davis was catching pitches pregame Thursday, though, which is a positive sign, and Davis may get back into games as soon as next week.

3

Oneil Cruz, SS, Class AAA Indianapolis: The Pirates at least dodged a bullet on this one. Cruz had an ankle injury that took him out of the game on May 29, but returned to Indianapolis’ lineup Thursday. Ideally for the Pirates, he will continue his upward trajectory at the plate, where he’s bumped his numbers to .220/.330/.402 thanks to a seven-game hitting streak.

4

Quinn Priester, RHP, Class AA Altoona: Priester still hasn’t pitched this season, but he is now ramping up and expected to join Altoona in the very near future.

5

Liover Peguero, SS, Class AA Altoona: Peguero was hot entering Altoona’s series against Bowie. But he’s gone 2-for-14 in the series, dropping his average to .307. If anything, that shows how good he’s been the rest of the year, leading Altoona in several offensive categories as one of their youngest hitters.

6

Roansy Contreras, RHP, Pirates: Contreras continues to impress in the majors. In his most recent start Sunday, he battled through five innings against the San Diego Padres. He nearly came out unscathed, if not for a two-run homer in the fifth before exiting. Still, opponents in the majors are hitting just .188 against Contreras, which is impressive for anyone, let alone a 22-year-old rookie.

7

Endy Rodriguez, C/OF, High-A Greensboro: Really heating up. Rodriguez has at least a hit in eight of his past 10 games, now slashing .273/.343/.467. If he can continue to swing the bat well, Rodriguez’s numbers could skyrocket in the hitter-friendly ballpark in Greensboro, especially in the power department.

8

Anthony Solometo, LHP, Low-A Bradenton: Solometo’s long awaited debut in affiliated ball came last Friday, when he tossed three scoreless innings for Bradenton, allowing two hits and two walks but striking out three.

9

Bubba Chandler, RHP/SS, FCL Pirates: Chandler, on the other hand, is still waiting for his debut. He at least got to play 11 games in the Florida Complex League last year, hitting .167 with a homer in 11 games. Perhaps Solometo’s call-up bodes well for Chandler, though. 10

Matt Fraizer, OF, Class AA Altoona: Read above. Fraizer has triples in back-to-back games and is showing more consistent flashes of the reliable hitter he was last season..