Pirates Prospects Players of the Week 8/9
Connor Wietgrefe continues his success in Triple-A, while Jack Brannigan added his second grand slam of the season.
Connor Wietgrefe was the Pirates Prospects Pitcher of the Week this past week, after throwing another gem in Indianapolis.
Wietgrefe allowed one run in six innings, while striking out six batters. It was the sixth start in a row that the lefty went five or more innings with two or fewer earned runs. He’s also struck out at least four in each of those outings. Since being promoted to Indianapolis at the end of June, Wietgrefe has a 2.61 ERA in 48.1 innings across eight starts.
I wrote about Wietgrefe this weekend as having one of the best changeups in the Pirates’ minor league system. So far in Triple-A, Wietgrefe is getting a 42.6% whiff rate on the changeup, 32% on the slider, and is only allowing an 87.5 MPH average exit velocity on his fastball. He’s looking like a future option for the Pirates’ rotation.
Jack Brannigan was the Player of the Week. The shortstop went 7-for-19 with a home run, a double, and eight runs batted in. The run production was in large part to a grand slam hit last Tuesday, which was his second grand slam of the season. Brannigan knocked in six runs that day, then capped off the weekend with two multi-hit days.
The 25-year-old shows good defense on the left side of the infield, projecting better as a third baseman, but getting his time at shortstop. He’s split this season between Altoona and Indianapolis, showing a low average with contact issues at each level, but a .320 OBP due to high walk rates. His power hasn’t been as frequent in Triple-A, and will need to increase to give him a shot at reaching the Majors as more than a depth option.
Individual Level Standouts
Indianapolis swept the weekly winners. Here were the top performers at the other levels throughout the Pirates’ minor league system.
Altoona Pitcher: Joshua Loeschorn
Stats: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Loeschorn made two appearances this week, going three shutout innings each outing. He’s been a long reliever all season, usually working 2-3 inning appearances. The 2022 20th round pick has been on a run lately, with a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings over his last ten appearances. He has a 0.96 WHIP during that time.
Altoona Batter: Lonnie White Jr.
Stats: 10-for-19, 6 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB
This is the third week in a row that White has been the Player of the Week for Altoona. The outfielder is batting .408/.483/.803 with eight home runs over his last 30 days. He’s continuing a breakout season that has seen him hit 23 home runs across two levels, including 16 with Altoona. He has been the best hitter in Altoona this year, with a .964 OPS across 286 plate appearances.
Greensboro Pitcher: Jack Anker
Stats: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 0 HR
Anker has been picking up some strikeouts lately. He has only made eight starts with Greensboro, and has a 26.3% strikeout rate in 38.1 innings during that span. This follows a spike at the end of his time with Bradenton, when he struck out 13 in 10 innings over his last two appearances. Anker has struggled with the long ball with Greensboro. He’s given up nine home runs. Five have come across four different games at home, with at least one homer in every home game. He allowed four homers on the road in a single game at the end of July, but has bounced back from that with this latest outing.
Greensboro Batter: Edward Florentino
Stats: 7-for-29, 2 R, 4 2B, HR, 7 RBI, SB
Florentino has some of the best raw power in the system, but hasn’t consistently been applying that in games this season. He only has one homer in his last ten games, with that home run coming this week. He does have five doubles during that span, with four of them coming this week. He had an extra base hit in five of six games this past week on the road, while knocking in seven runs.
Bradenton Pitcher: Dariel Francia
Stats: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 0 HR
I wrote about Francia over the weekend as having one of the best changeups in the lower levels. He picked up seven strikeouts in 3.1 shutout innings this past week, which was a season-high. The right-handed reliever has a 4.26 ERA in 31.2 innings with Bradenton this season. Control has been an issue, with a 22.9% walk rate. He strikes out 24.8%, allowed a .183 average against, and gets a 63.6% whiff rate on his changeup.
Bradenton Batter: Nick Cimillo
Stats: 3-for-6, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, SB, BB
Cimillo was rehabbing for Bradenton, after missing a little over a week with Indianapolis. He picked up hits in both games, including a home run on Sunday. Cimillo has some of the best raw power in the system, and is a 26-year-old who should be returning to Triple-A this week. It’s good to see that he’s healthy with the latest rehab work.
DSL Pirates Pitcher: Justino Francisco
Stats: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Francisco is in his second season in the DSL. He has a combined 1.75 ERA in 25.2 innings, with a .182 average against. The 19-year-old hadn’t allowed an earned run until the last three outings. Some of that was unlucky, with four runs on six walks and hits over the previous two appearances. He gave up one run this week in four innings, while striking out four.
DSL Pirates Batter: Dionis Leyba
Stats: 2-for-13, 2 R, HR, 6 RBI, 3 SB, 3 BB
The Pirates signed Leyba to a six-figure deal in January. He only had two hits this week, but one was his third homer of the season. He also added three stolen bases. Leyba is only batting .173/.302/.333 in 96 plate appearances this season. He shows some pop in his bat, speed, and the ability to get on base, but has some contact issues early in his career.
One More Report
I’m not a big fan of hitters who rely on contact skills for their value. That’s a profile which is difficult to carry into the Majors for success.
Mitch Jebb is starting to look like a possible exception.
Drafted for his speed and contact abilities in the second round in 2023, Jebb is now in Triple-A, where the contact-heavy approach starts to get tested at a level that begins to indicate potential MLB success. Jebb only has 87 plate appearances this season, due to missing time with an injury, but he’s hitting .351/.437/.608 in that time.
He has four home runs, which he hit early in his return. He only has 11 home runs throughout his career of 1341 plate appearances. I don’t think he’s suddenly becoming a power hitter, though the homers are a reminder that he has some pop in his bat. Usually that’s in the form of extra-base hits. He has three doubles and two triples so far in his limited season in Triple-A.
What I like the most are his plate patience results. He’s only struck out 17.2% of the time in Triple-A, with a 12.6% walk rate. He leads Pirates’ Triple-A hitters with a 91.3% contact rate in the zone, and ranks top five on the team in overall contact. His exit velocity isn’t bad at 88.3 MPH, and his 10.2 degree launch angle helps to lead to his 28.8% line drive rate.
The Pirates liked Jebb for these contact skills in 2023, and he’s now starting to show them against the highest level of competition in the minors. It’s a small sample of 87 plate appearances, but he’s consistent, picking up hits in 14 of his 18 starts in Triple-A this season.
I don’t like a contact-heavy approach, but Jebb is doing it at a level and with underlying metrics that make him impossible to ignore.
Until the next time I go live…
-Tim Williams