Last week we had a prospect status update article for the Pittsburgh Pirates, which covered anyone with MLB experience this year who still qualified as a prospect. All that means is that they haven’t surpassed 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 30 appearances for relievers in the majors. We did that article as a replacement for the top 30 updates that we used to give in the nightly Prospect Watch articles way back in 2019 when minor league baseball was a thing. Below you will find the updates for all of the eligible players over the last week. We will also have another update after the season ends on Sunday (probably posted next Monday morning). Check the link up top for the original article, which has season updates for all of the players eligible at the time.
The list this week is still 12 players long, but it’s not the same 12 players. Nik Turley is no longer eligible because he made his 31st (and 32nd) appearance over the weekend. Blake Cederlind was called up for the first time, so he joins the list. The players are broken up into hitters and pitchers, listed alphabetically.
Hitters
Anthony Alford – DNP (Out for the season)
Will Craig – DNP (In Altoona at the Alternate Training Site) Craig would probably be the next man up if the Pirates needed a player, other than a catcher, in which case Andrew Susac would be used. Craig is 0-for-4 in two games, his first shot in the big leagues.
Phillip Evans – DNP (Out for the season)
Ke’Bryan Hayes – He’s the #1 prospect in the system right now and he has only solidified that spot with his all-around play. Hayes will hold that top spot until he loses his prospect status next year, probably somewhere around the 10th-12th game of the season. He went 6-for-20 with two walks and a HBP since the last update. He’s batting .310/.385/.603 in 65 plate appearances (58 at-bats) through 17 games this season.
Jason Martin – Martin was added to the active roster for Friday’s doubleheader and he went 0-for-2 in one game, pinch-ran in the other. He was the 29th man for the day, so he was optioned back to Altoona. However, when Kevin Newman got hurt on Saturday night, Martin rejoined the Pirates. He did not play on Sunday. He’s 0-for-9 with two walks and two runs scored this year. He has a total of 45 MLB at-bats, so he will be prospect eligible for quite some time.
Pitchers
JT Brubaker – Brubaker came into the week with 30.1 innings pitched this year. He pitched on Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds and he allowed one run on five hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He has a 4.79 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP and a 36:14 SO/BB ratio in 35.2 innings. Brubaker starts tonight and could possibly start the final game of the season, which would put him very close to losing his prospect status going into the 2021 season.
Nick Burdi – DNP (Out for the season)
Blake Cederlind – Cederlind (pictured above) pitched twice this past week, his first shot at the majors. He retired all six batters he faced. The fastball looked great, sitting 98-99 MPH and he was throwing it for quality strikes. The few off-speed pitches he threw looked like what we saw last year, BUT it wasn’t enough to make a true judgment and you gives guys some slack in their big league debut. We should see him at least twice over this final week, giving us a better look at the off-speed to see if some improvements have been made.
Miguel Del Pozo – DNP (In Altoona)
Nick Mears – DNP (In Altoona)
Cody Ponce – Ponce didn’t play this week, but he is with the Pirates on their taxi squad, so we could see him pitch during this final week. He has done well in three spot starts and two relief appearances, with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 17 innings.
Brandon Waddell – DNP (In Altoona)
