Indianapolis (full team stats)
The Indians just put Josh Harrison on the disabled list with a pulled groin. Harrison, who you might remember as “the only guy from the Tom Gorzelanny trade to not tear his labrum” had been off to a great start this year, hitting .375/.426/.571. Alex Presley is also still swinging a hot bat at .341/.398/.524, though the club apparently thinks Xavier Paul is a better option for the big league bench than he is, which doesn’t speak very well for him at all. In the “they might be prospects” category, Chase D’Arnaud is only hitting .224, but his OBP is pretty solid (considering the average) at .330. Andrew Lambo is still having a miserable time at the plate, hitting .200/.263/.329. Gorkys Hernandez is back in Gorkys Hernandez territory at .259/.333/.328. In the “other guys that might eventually be Pirates” category, Pedro Ciriaco is now 8-for-68 and has only drawn one walk on top of that. Matt Hague is showing a decent average but not much power so far (.284 average but only .395 SLG). Jason Jaramillo is hitting the ball pretty well, with an .819 OPS since his demotion.
On the pitching side of things, Rudy Owens has been dinged for ten runs in his last two starts. His start against Norfolk last night was particularly bad, giving up six runs and two homers in 5 2/3 innings. His peripherals still look great, though (17 Ks, 5 BB in 24 innings), so for now I’ll just hope this is a little bump in the road for him. Justin Wilson has a very good 2.25 ERA through his first four starts and 24 innings, though he’s walked more hitters (10) and given up more home runs (4) than Owens has. He took a while to adjust both in Advanced-A and Double-A as he’s been pretty aggressively promoted, though, so it’s good to see him off to a strong start with Indy. Brad Lincoln is sort of hard to figure out. He’s made four starts, pitched 21 1/3 innings, struck out 19 hitters, walked just two, and has a 1.13 WHIP, but somehow his ERA is 7.17. He’s given up a few homers, but that ERA should start to come down pretty quickly. Tony Watson, Danny Moskos, and Tim Wood have all been strong in the bullpen thus far.
Altoona (full team stats)
Starling Marte is still carving up the Eastern League to the tune of .354/.393/.494. Brock Holt is also getting on base like crazy, hitting .329/.411/.392. Tony Sanchez has a great 7:10 K:BB rate that gives him a .406 OBP despite a .268 average, but he’s only slugging .329 so far. Jeremy Farrell’s also clubbing the ball, hitting .319/.380/.528 with 10 extra base hits.
On the pitching side of things, Jeff Locke is proving that there’s no reason for him to be in Double-A right now with 26 strikeouts and four walks in 20 2/3 innings. His 4.35 ERA isn’t great, but with Sean Gallagher and Brian Burres and Garrett Olson making starts in Indianapolis, it has to be time to move Locke up soon. Bryan Morris’s 3.14 ERA looks nice, but his 9 strikeouts and 9 walks in 14 1/3 innings is a bit worrisome. Tim Alderson’s averaging more than a strikeout an inning in the bullpen, but he’s also walking quite a few hitters. Obviously something’s happening with him. Aaron Pribanic is also off to a great start with a 1.89 ERA in four games/three starts/19 innings. He’s a sinkerballer, so his low strikeout total isn’t as worrisome.
Bradenton (full team stats)
The big news here is that Jarek Cunningham is killing the ball. He’s hitting .284/.346/.676. That ridiculous slugging percentag is due to nine doubles, a triple, and six homers in his first 74 at-bats. He won’t be 22 until Christmas day, so he’s not terribly old for the level. Robbie Grossman is also making strides at the plate, with 21 walks and 18 strikeouts in 75 ABs (would it kill MiLB.com to list plate appearances?). That gives him a .439 OBP, though he’s still not showing much power. Evan Chambers has a ridiculous .206/.369/.281 split right now. Aaron Baker is still hitting well with a .329/.359/.507 line.
On the pitching side of things, Kyle McPherson is off to a ridiculous start. In 29 2/3 innings, he’s got 26 strikeouts and just one walk and one homer allowed, which is good for a 2.12 ERA. He’s already 23 (24 in November), so even though it’s early the Pirates should be thinking about getting him to Altoona in the near future. Brett Lorin is also pitching fairly well and a bit old for the level (he turned 24 in March), which is part of the problem that clogging up the Triple-A roster with guys like Burres and Gallagher, which leaves Morris and Locke in Double-A, which leaves McPherson and Lorin in Advanced-A. I’m really interested to see how this all plays out over the summer, because guys like Lorin and McPherson would be pretty decent sleeper-prospects if they show they can perform at a more age-appropriate level.
West Virginia (full team stats)
The biggest news here is that Jameson Taillon made his minor league debut on Wednesday against Bryce Harper and Haegerstown, but he only made it through two innings before the game was postponed by rain. Zack Von Rosenberg has kept missing bats — after whiffing nine in five innings in his first start he struck out eight in 8 2/3 over the next two — but he’s giving up some runs, too, allowing ten total in his last two starts. Colton Cain (14 strikeouts, four walks, no homers, 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3), Zack Dodson (16 strikeouts, seven walks, no homers, 4.50 ERA in 18), and Zac Fuesser (18 strikeouts, five walks, no homers, 1.69 ERA in 16 innings) are pitching fairly well, too. Brooks Pounders is working mostly in long relief, pitching 10 innings in 5 bullpen appearances with 15 Ks, one walk, and a 2.70 ERA. Trent Stevenson’s working out of the pen as well with 11 1/3 innings in five appearances and 6 Ks, one walk, and a 4.76 ERA. The amount of young pitching talent on this roster is kind of mind-boggling.
On the offensive side of things, Matt Curry is out of his mind right now with a .418/.512/.791 line that includes seven doubles, three triples, and four homers. Kawika Emsley-Pai, the D’Backs tenth round pick last year that they had already released, is off to a strong start at the plate hitting .375/.464/.458, though he’s only played in eight games. Justin Howard (.972 OPS, 10 extra base hits) is also killing the ball. Gift Ngoepe has a shocking .500 slugging percentage, including two homers, three doubles, and a triple (he had 13 doubles, five triples, and one homer for State College last year), through 15 games.
