Warning: This is an exceedingly long piece which provides a update on how the Pirates minor leaguers performed in the month of April at each of the 4 full season affiliates.
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The month of April is in the books and that means it is time to take a look down at the Pirates farm and see what noteworthy performances have taken place. With over 100 players having either thrown a pitch or swung a bat for the Pirates 4 affiliates this past month it would be impractical to note every performance instead let’s focus on the top prospects and anyone else who happened to have a unique (good or bad) month.
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A: West Virginia Power
The standout in the Pirates lowest level full season affiliate was undoubtedly Stetson Allie. Allie, as I’m sure most of you know, was converted from a pitcher to a position player last season and even though it seemed he wouldn’t be ready for full season ball this season the Pirates somewhat surprisingly started him there to begin the season. Allie has absolutely been crushing the ball at this level belting 8 HR and posting 1.069 OPS in 97 AB. He is a little old for the level but considering his unique path here I think for now that can be essentially ignored. The power Allie has shown has definitely been legit, his raw power is probably top 3 in the Pirates system along with Pedro Alvarez and Josh Bell, but the question is can he continue to make enough contact to keep his raw power useful.
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Allie wasn’t the only hitter to burst out of the gates at the A ball level. Raul Fortunato who due to an injury last season is essentially playing his first season in the United States this year got off to a great start having numbers just slightly behind Allie however he trailed off towards the end of the month and his numbers (.754 OPS) look only average at this point.
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Along with these hot starters the A ball team features some of the Pirates top hitting prospects in Josh Bell, Barrett Barnes, Dilson Herrera, Wyatt Mathisen, Eric Wood and Max Moroff. Barnes didn’t get a chance to play much because of a minor injury he suffered in Spring Training but since his debut he hasn’t exactly been tearing the cover off the ball posting a .556 OPS. He is an advanced college outfielder in his first full season of professional ball so A ball should be something he has little difficulty handling so hopefully he puts up a strong May. Max Moroff had a strong start but tailed off as the month progress although he has shown great plate discipline posting a walk rate near 18%. Wyatt Mathisen is the other top prospect off to a slow start down in A ball. He has had a horrible month of April posting a .464 OPS and striking out three times as often as he has walked.
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The other three top prospects have all had fairly strong months posting solid to great numbers. Dilson Herrera, pegged by many as a potential breakout player, has posted a very solid month. The power hasn’t been there with only a .131 ISO but his overall numbers of a .766 OPS are very for a young 19 year old in full season ball. Much like Herrera, Josh Bell has put together a quiet but solid month. His .791 OPS isn’t eye popping but he has posted a .208 ISO showing he has real power. The problem for Bell has been his plate discipline as he has more than 5 times as many strike outs as walks (27:5). Eric Wood really isn’t a top prospect but it is difficult to know just what to call him. Wood appeared to be drafted in the 6th round last year just to save money for Appel but the Pirates gave him a surprisingly high signing bonus and the now 20 year old has shown plus power ever since joining the Pirates system. He is off to a great start this year with an OPS of .816 and 4 HR and is definitely worth watching at this point.
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On the pitching side of things the standout has been Orlando Castro. Castro fits the mold of the small left handed pitcher with good breaking stuff that was very prominent in the lower levels of the Pirates system just a few short seasons ago. Over 5 starts Castro has posted a good 1.67 ERA and 0.89 WHIP but what makes him the best pitcher at this level is what has been his out of this world control as he has posted a ridiculous 22:1 K:BB ratio. That kind of ratio is just insane and shows just how great his control has been now Castro probably lacks the stuff to be successful at the upper levels but it is still nice to see him pitching so well.
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Two members of the rotation are off to bit of rocky starts. Joely Rodriguez and John Kuchno are not big time prospects but their early season struggles are still disappointing. Rodriguez, who outside of Heredia might be the Pirates top international pitching prospect (that isn’t saying much though), has been hit hard to the tune of a .297 average against. His first 4 starts were all poor but in his last start he did throw 5.1 scoreless innings so perhaps he is turning things around. Kuchno is a player the Pirates went over slot to sign last year when the Appel signing fell through. He isn’t really a starting pitching prospect profiling more as a reliever but the Pirates like to keep their players in the more challenging role as long as possible. Kuchno had a horrible first 2 starts allowing 10 ER over 7.1 IP (12.28 ERA) but his last three starts have been great as he has allowed just 2 ER over 13.2 IP (1.32 ERA). His overall 5.14 ERA shows his numbers haven’t recovered from the rough start but his strong finish provides some hope.
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The top two pitching prospects at the level are Clayton Holmes and Tyler Glasnow. Holmes is off to a bit of an uneven start as his 3.91 ERA and .229 average against looks good but his 1.65 WHIP and his 7.4 BB/9 certainly do not. Holmes has an unorthodox delivery which hampers his control and it apparently hasn’t gotten any better yet so he is still a work in progress. On the flip side of things Tyler Glasnow has been great. His sparkling 1.80 ERA and .145 average against tells the story of just how good he has been. He has control issues of his own as his 5.9 BB/9 is way too high but he has been simply dominant against batters.
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In the bullpen the standout has been Pat Ludwig who continues to impress since being drafted by the Pirates as a college senior last season. His 15:6 K:BB ratio and 1.19 WHIP are good enough where he might start getting some attention as a possible sleeper relief prospect. Outside of Ludwig the rest of the bullpen has been unimpressive. Of note Ryan Hafner who could barely throw a strike last season (10.1 BB/9 at A ball last year) has his control problem back down to a more bearable 4.8 BB/9.
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A+: Bradenton Marauders
There have been no real stand out hitters at the A+ level but the best hitter at the level has been Carlos Mesa. At 25 years old Mesa is way too old for the level and probably isn’t much of a prospect at this point but .218 ISO and .904 OPS this outfielder has put up has been impressive. With a couple more strong weeks I could see Mesa making the jump to AA. Right behind Mesa in terms of production is the Pirates top hitting prospect, Gregory Polanco, who has quietly been going about posting strong numbers in April. Polanco isn’t displaying quite the same power as last season as evident by his .133 ISO but he is hitting the ball well, showing good plate discipline (10% K rate) and is showing good speed on the base paths with 9 steals.
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Unlike the A level the A+ level is not loaded with top prospects. Gregory Polanco, who has already been discussed and Alen Hanson are the top two hitting prospects in the Pirates system but behind them the crop quickly gets less interesting. Willy Garcia and Jose Osuna are undoubtedly the next best prospects but after them there is quite a drop off. Polanco is off to a great start but the trio of Hanson, Garcia and Osuna are not. Unlike the other two though Osuna did not perform poorly in April but he didn’t perform great either. His overall OPS is just .702 but over the last 10 games it is .885 so hopefully that is a sign he has turned things on. The general though surrounding Garcia seemed to be that he wasn’t ready for A+ ball but the Pirates sent him there anywhere. The results have been what should have been expected as he has struggled mightily posting a 28:2 K:BB ratio and a .425 OPS.
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Hanson has struggled big time with the glove already committing 13 errors. Now minor league errors aren’t a good way to judge a player’s defense but 13 errors in a month is still a red flag. Hanson also wasn’t hitting at the beginning of the month but he started to hit a little better as the month wore on. His .647 OPS for April is poor but his .810 OPS over the last 10 games gives hope that it was just a rough start. Hanson’s bat should come around but his glove is another question entirely.
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Of note at this level is the catcher Jacob Stallings. Stallings is known for his great defense and ability to throw runners out but over the first few games of the season his bat was very impressive. He quickly cooled down but his .739 OPS still is enough to give hope that he might be able to hit well enough to make the majors as a defense first backup one day. The most surprising thing from Stallings has been his power. He only has 13 hits on the season but 7 of them have gone for extra bases giving him an ISO of .193. Also worth mentioning at this level is the 3rd base situation. Eric Avila started the season as the everyday 3B but a .194 OPS over 36 AB has landed him on the bench. Chris Lashmet, who is off to a good start but showing little power, has been splitting playing time at the position with Benji Gonzalez who was a defense first shortstop prospect who is now filling an organizational utility role.
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On the pitching side of things the Marauders have a few decent looking prospects but no real top ones. The best prospect at the level and the best starter so far this season is Nicholas Kingham. Kingham posted good secondary numbers in A ball last season but had a relatively poor ERA. The same thing is happening again this year. A 3.04 ERA may not look poor but when looking at his other numbers it certainly is. To date Kingham has a 0.94 WHIP and has held opponents to a .210 average but the best numbers are his great 33:4 K:BB ratio. With numbers like that I would have expected a more dominating ERA but don’t let that fool you Kingham has been exceptional so far this season.
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The other starters haven’t been quite as good. Of the other 4 primary starters the two best prospects are Robby Rowland and Adrian Sampson. Rowland hasn’t had a bad start to the year by any means but none of his numbers have been eye popping. His numbers were better before his last start in which he allowed 5 ER in only 4 IP, removing that game from his line he had an April ERA of 3.37 which is quite good. Sampson was drafted by the Pirates last season and after a strong debut in short season ball the Pirates aggressively pushed him to A+ this season. At 21 he isn’t exceptionally young for the level but jumping over A ball was still a fairly aggressive placement. Sampson has struggled some but that is ok considering the placement. The most noticeable thing is the strikeouts he posted last season aren’t there this year as his K/9 is a little under 6 the good news is though that is BB/9 is still a respectable 3.2. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts moving forward.
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The other prospects, Matt Benedict and Eliecer Navarro really aren’t prospects but are filling the final two slots anyway. Benedict was promoted to A+ early last season after dominating A ball but has really gotten hit hard since joining the level. So far this season opponents are batting .311 against and he has an ERA of 4.97. Navarro is another holdover from the days when the Pirates used to collect small left handed pitchers with good breaking stuff but not little else. These players usually posted solid to great numbers in the lower levels where hitters were less disciplined and then struggled when reaching the upper levels. Navarro probably has the second best numbers of the starters at the level so far this season with a 3.70 ERA and a 18:4 K:BB ratio but like Benedict he is just an organizational guy at this point.
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In the bullpen Jhonathan Ramos and Nicholas Kilcrease have posted the strongest numbers so far. Most bullpen pitchers in the lower levels are not really prospects and there are no exceptions here. Ramon is yet another small left handed holdover and Kilcrease also fits that bill except he was drafted instead of signed through the international ranks. Another pitcher Zach Thornton, whom the Pirates acquired for Chris Resop, has looked good although he is fairly old for the level and was expected to start the season in AA. Outside of those the others worth mentioning are Zach Von Rosenberg, who is now pitching solely out of relief and doing poorly and Quinton Miller who is still hanging around and is now showing good control (16:4 K:BB ratio) but doing little else well.
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AA: Altoona Curve
The AA position players group is probably the least interesting group in the Pirates system right now although there are a few names worth watching. The best hitter at this level has been Adalberto Santos followed by Oscar Tejeda but the two have only combined for 35 AB so there isn’t much to talk about there. Of the players with a significant amount of time at the level, Andy Vasquez, has been the top performer. Vasquez I believe is the gray beard of the Pirates minor league system and has been with the organization since 2006. Obviously he isn’t a prospect at this point but just a couple years ago he looked to be on his way out of baseball so the fact he has carved out a niche as a minor league utility player is good to see. Vasquez can play just about anywhere and so far this season he has been doing just that splitting time at 3B, serving as the 4th outfielder and also picking up some time at SS. His .881 OPS is easily the best on the team amongst hitters who have gotten regular playing time.
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Another player who got off to a hot start worth mentioning is Andrew Lambo. Lambo started off on fire even hitting the first cycle in Curve history but he has cooled off considerably posting a .628 OPS over the last 10 games (.807 OPS for the month). This is Lambo’s 5th year at the AA level which ordinarily would mean he wouldn’t be any kind of prospect right now but he is a bit of an unusual case as he is still only 24 years old so he continues to hold to fringe prospect status this season but he needs to get going.
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Now there are no true top prospects at this level but there a bunch of semi interesting ones. Carlos Paulino (catcher) and Gift Ngoepe (shortstop) are both noted for their strong defensive ability and premium positions but so far neither one has done anything to dispel the notion that they can’t hit enough to be productive. Respective OPSs of .531 and .451 for Paulino and Ngoepe just aren’t getting the job done. The Pirates have two upper level 1B prospects in AA in Matt Curry and Alex Dickerson. Since there are two of them here and other players getting time at 1B Dickerson has been playing exclusively RF and Curry has been seeing some time in LF. Neither player has great defense so the position really doesn’t matter it is the bat that must carry them. Curry is off to a decent start with the bat but since he is repeating the level more is expected of him and Dickerson has just been plainly poor with the bat so far. The struggles of these two in AA are a bit concerning.
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Also of note on the position player side is Mel Rojas, Jarek Cunningham and the aforementioned Adalberto Santos. Rojas is a bit of an enigma as he has all the talent in the world but can’t seem to put it together. The Pirates drafted him in the 3rd round of the 2010 draft and he was touted as a potential 5 tool player and over the last few years he has shown that talent but only in short spurts. Overall his performance has been poor and it has been more of the same this season. Rojas started off fairly strong but has now slumped down to a .628 OPS. Cunningham is a lot like Rojas in that he has a lot of talent but can’t put it together. He has flashed some good power for a middle infielder and is quite adapt at 2B but injuries and contact issues have held him back and now he is a borderline prospect.
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Santos is essentially the opposite of the other two. Coming out of college he wasn’t seen as any sort of high talent player but all he has done since starting his professional career is hit. Now like Cunningham injuries have held him back some and a logjam in AAA this season forced Santos back to AA. Santos an outfielder who can also play 2B was asked to learn a new position this season, 3B, and so far he seems to be adjusting ok. Santos doesn’t play great defense and has little power so his future is as a utility player so learning as many positions as possible is what he is going to have to do to have a shot at making the majors. He started the year off strong but then got injured and missed two weeks. He is now back and his 1.145 OPS shows he is ready for AAA as soon as a spot becomes available.
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On the pitching side of things the story going into the season was Jameson Taillon and while he has been good someone else has stole the show. Stolmy Pimentel who was acquired in the Joel Hanrahan trade has been nothing short of remarkable to date. He has shown a slight control problem with 4.2 BB/9 but outside of that he has been near perfect. Pimentel has a 0.30 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, 8.3 K/9 and an average against of .179. Quite simply he has just been unbelievable in AA and is showing his stuff is ready for a promotion which considering this is his last option year will probably be coming rather soon.
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As for Taillon, the top pitching prospect on the Curve, he too has pitched very well posting a 3.03 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Taillon started off the month with 3 great starts but his last two were a bit shaky which is why his ERA is as high as it is (not that it is really that high). Taillon has been showing good command with more than a strike out an inning and a bearable 3.3 BB/9. The other true pitching prospect in the AA rotation is Casey Sadler. Sadler has flown under the radar and is probably best suited for the bullpen but he too is having a very good start to the year. His 2.79 ERA is actually better than Taillon’s and his WHIP of 1.24 isn’t far away. When starting Sadler isn’t dominant on the mound as evident by his 5.3 K/9 but he makes up for with great control as evident by his 2.2 BB/9. Sadler is a sleeper prospect to watch this season.
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The rest of the rotation was originally supposed to be made up of Tyler Waldron and Brandon Cumpton but things don’t always go as planned. Waldron got injured after 3 starts and Cumpton got promoted to AAA to fill a hole after only 2 starts. The starts they have missed were made up by the rehabbing Liriano and Morton and also David Bromberg. Neither Waldron nor Cumpton are much of a prospect, although Cumpton pitched fairly well in AA last season and deserved to be in AAA to start this season, and both struggled in their handful of starts. Bromberg, who has 3 poor relief outings, has actually pitched respectably well while starting. He is however just organizational depth.
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As for the bullpen Jeff Inman a once fairly highly regarded prospect who has constantly been fighting injuries is off to a great start and may be regaining some of his lost prospect status. In 12 innings he has a 1.08 WHIP and has struck out 11 while walking only 3. Other than Inman no one else really stands out in terms of numbers or prospect status. Jason Townsend once looked like he might develop into a decent relief prospect and he has decent numbers right now but the problem is he has lost velocity and lost his strike out ability. The rest of the bullpen is made up of organizational guys and maybe 1 or 2 borderline prospects none of whom have pitched particularly well thus far.
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AAA: Indianapolis Indians
At the AAA level the makeup of the roster usually has less to do with actual prospects than it does with depth for the major league team. There are of course a few prospects sprinkled on the roster but for the most part the team is filled with players who have major league experience and who would be ready to step up and help the major league team if needed. The Pirates roster this season is no exception as the position players are almost devoid of prospects.
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The Pirates have a handful of players who posted good numbers in the month of April making it difficult to pick a best player. In the infield Josh Harrison, Ivan De Jesus and Jordy Mercer all posted OPSs in excess of .830. None of them hit for much power but all supported a good average (.330 or higher). De Jesus has played only sparingly having been pushed out of the lineup by the rehabbing Brandon Inge and Harrison doesn’t have a lot of playing time as he was in the majors for a good portion of the month. This trio isn’t exciting in terms of future potential as none of them project to be much more than bench players in the majors but the fact they are hitting well shows the Pirates have some capable infield depth and that was in question at the beginning of the season.
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Looking into the outfield Alex Presley and Brett Carroll both had very strong months. Again their strong months were not supported by power or even great on base skills but rather a high batting average. At this point in their careers Carroll is really just AAA depth who will probably only be called up in emergencies and Presley is probably a borderline 4th outfielder who’s best asset off the bench is his speed and ability to play all 3 outfield positions. Presley has already been up in the majors for a brief stint and I imagine he’ll be back again at some point.
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Behind the plate the Pirates have Tony Sanchez who is really the only true position player at the level. Sanchez started the year off kind of slow but over the last few weeks has been hitting the ball rather well and receiving compliments on how far he has come as far as game calling. His .817 OPS for April with a .172 ISO is a step in the right direction for this tarnished prospect. Sanchez might one day develop into a very capable starting catcher but right now he is a great 3rd catcher to have around. Also handling some of the catching duties have been Brian Jeroloman, who currently has the highest OPS on the team at .919 but of course that comes in only 11 AB.
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On the disappointing side of the ledger Felix Pie and Jerry Sands have gotten off to rough starts and Sands was even suspended a game for getting in a minor confrontation with a fan. Both players posted OPSs in the low .400s in the month of April and were played poorly consistently throughout the month. On the positive side for Pie he has shown good speed on the bases stealing 7 bases in 9 tries. Sands has no such positive and has easily been the most disappointing player in the foursome acquired for Joel Hanrahan this offseason.
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The pitching side of things in AAA is a bit different than the hitting. There are quite a few legitimate prospects part of the AAA staff. Gerrit Cole is undoubtedly the best prospect on the Indians and he has been pitching fairly well albeit with control issues. The whole Indians team has been pitching (and hitting) very well so far and the team is off to one of its best starts ever.
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Due to injuries both at AAA and in the majors the Indians have had 9 different pitchers start a game. The only one with an ERA above 3.50 is Kyle McPherson who in 2 starts posted a 19.29 ERA and has been on the DL the rest of the month. The only three pitchers taking semi regular turns in the rotation have been Gerrit Cole, Andy Oliver and Kris Johnson. As previously mentioned Cole has some very good numbers but his 5.8 BB/9 is preventing them from being great numbers. Oliver started off the year as the bests tarter on the team but in his 3rd and 5th starts he got rocked for 11 ER in 9.1 IP (10.61 ERA). In his other 4 starts he has allowed just 1 ER in 23 IP (0.39 ERA). He too has struggled with control with a 5.3 BB/9. Johnson has a nice and shiny 1.99 ERA but he too is having control problems with 4.0 BB/9 and to top off it off he really isn’t getting any strike outs with a K rate of only 6.7. It seems likely his numbers will begin to slip.
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Brandon Cumpton who started the year in AA has pitched consistently in the rotation since joining AAA. He struggled in AA but has been excellent in AAA posting a 0.98 WHIP and 13:5 K:BB in 18.1 innings. Picking up the rest of the starts have mainly been Brooks Brown and Kyle Waldrop (although Phil Irwin does have one). Brown made 2 starts pitching 8 total innings and didn’t allow a run and Waldrop made 2 starts pitching 12.2 innings allowing only 4 runs. Brown has also pitched primarily in relief and has done a good job there as well (Waldrop has only 3.1 innings of relief and no runs allowed). In his one start Irwin allowed 4 hits and 1 run over 6 innings.
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The bullpen in AAA has seen outings by 13 different players but only 4 players have had more than 5 outings out of the bullpen. That quartette includes Victor Black, Duke Welker, Ryan Reid and Mike Zagurski. Reid and Zagurski are at this point in their careers depth relievers who will be called up to the major leagues only if a few others ahead of them on the depth chart struggle. Reid has thrown 15 innings and been excellent posting a 17:4 K:BB ratio and a 0.93 WHIP. Zagurski a left hander has been almost as good with a 17:3 K:BB ratio and a 1.06 WHIP over 11.1 IP. Both of these two pitchers look like they should be able to handle a middle relief role in the majors should the need arise.
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At the backend of the AAA bullpen has been Black and Welker both of whom are currently on the 40 man roster and both of whom are late inning reliever prospects. Black is thought to have the higher upside of the duo and has been splitting closing duties with Bryan Morris (who has been used sparingly because of being called up to the majors twice). He has been excellent so far with 24 K in 15.1 innings and is holding opponents to an average of .170. For every bit as good as these relievers have been Duke Welker has easily been the best among them. In 13 innings so far this season he has yet to allow a run and in fact has allowed just 2 hits holding opponents to a microscopic .053 average. Welker doesn’t quite have the strike out rates of Black but it is difficult to ding him too much for an 11.8 K/9. The only thing that has even been a slight problem is his walks but at 3.5 BB/9 one can’t be too critical about it.
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The month of April, with the exception of the last two days and the Dodgers series, brought with it a lot of positives for the Pirates in the major leagues. The results down in the minors like they always are were a mix bag but overall I think it was a very successful month for the organization on all levels. Many prospects are playing well and a few under the radar guys have stepped up and put their names on the map. There are of course a few players struggling and hopefully they will get it straightened out in May but all in all April was a good month to be a Pirates fan both at the top level and down below.