Pirates Prospects Players of the Week 8/2
Ronny Simon is getting called up to Pittsburgh after being the top hitter in the Pirates' minor league system last week. Altoona's Matt Ager was the top pitcher with six solid innings.
Ronny Simon is getting called up to the Pirates, according to Alex Stumpf.
This comes after Simon was the Pirates Prospects Player of the Week for the week ending August 2nd.
The utility player went 7-for-14 with a home run, two stolen bases, and eight RBIs last week. One of those RBIs was a game winning hit for Indianapolis on Sunday, which is the same game Simon homered.
After claiming him off waivers last June, the Pirates brought Simon back on a minor league deal just days after he became a free agent. Simon has been impressive this season for Indianapolis, batting .330/.419/.470 with seven homers and 33 stolen bases. He ranks third in the entire organization for steals. He also excels at hitting left-handers, with a 1.021 OPS against this season, versus an .805 against right-handers. Simon has reached base at a .460 rate against lefties in Triple-A.
Matt Ager was the Pitcher of the Week last week.
The Altoona right-hander pitched six innings with one run allowed on eight hits. He struck out five and didn’t allow a walk. This was one of the better performances by Ager at the Double-A level, after getting a promotion earlier this season.
The Pirates drafted Ager in the sixth round in 2024. He spent his first pro season in Bradenton last year, with a 4.86 ERA and control problems that led to a 50:47 K/BB in 76 innings. His numbers with Greensboro at the start of the season are inflated by one bad outing, leading to a 4.67 ERA in 17.1 innings. He saw a drastic reduction in walks, with a 24:5 K/BB during his brief time in High-A.
Ager was given an early push to Double-A, and while his 4.73 ERA continues the career-trend of less than stellar overall results, he’s continued limiting walks, which is a positive sign for his development. The 22-year-old should finish out the season for Altoona.
Individual Level Standouts
Here were the standouts at every level last week.
Indianapolis Pitcher: Brandon Neeck
Stats: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
Neeck was a minor league Rule 5 pick this past offseason, which is usually an indicator of upper-level depth. He’s pitched well in the bullpen for both Altoona and Indianapolis. This past week he made two appearances, allowing one run in 3.2 innings. He sits 93 MPH with his fastball, and has a sweeper that generates a 53.7% whiff rate. His control is a problem, with a 19.6% walk rate in Triple-A and a 14.3% rate in Altoona, but he strikes out a lot of batters and rarely gives up hits.
Altoona Batter: Lonnie White Jr.
Stats: 9-for-21, 6 R, 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB
White continued his breakout season last week, hitting three more home runs, including two in the same game last Tuesday. He now has 22 home runs this season between Greensboro and Altoona, with 15 of those coming in Altoona. His previous high was 14 in a single season. White also has 18 combined stolen bases, putting him two away from his first 20-20 season. He’s batting .282/.376/.555 in 263 plate appearances with Altoona this year.
Greensboro Pitcher: Bryan Mena
Stats: 9.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 2 HR
Mena is another minor league Rule 5 pick from this past season. The 21-year-old has spent most of the year in the Greensboro rotation, while also making a few long-relief appearances. This past week he did a bit of both, allowing two runs in six innings in a start on Tuesday, then throwing three shutout innings to finish off the week. He has a 5.01 ERA in 82.2 innings this season.
Greensboro Batter: Tony Blanco Jr.
Stats: 5-for-19, 4 R, 2B, 4 HR, 6 RBI
This past week was Blanco’s first full week back from an injury that sidelined him for a month. He picked up where he left off, hitting four home runs. He also picked up where he left off with the home runs being the only offensive contribution. Blanco has a .239/.312/.549 line in 237 plate appearances for Greensboro this season. His home runs this past week came at home, but he has more homers on the road. He has some of the best raw power in the lower levels, but his hit tool lags the power, and produces a 29.5% strikeout rate.
Bradenton Pitcher: Chris Devenski
Stats: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Devenski pitched in two rehab appearances with the Marauders last week, throwing a shutout inning with a walk and a hit in the first appearance, followed by two perfect innings in his second run. He has since been moved to Indianapolis, where he will continue his rehab work. The recent additions to the MLB bullpen will make him a Triple-A depth option when he returns from injury, so he’s now at the level he’ll be pitching at when his rehab is finished.
Bradenton Batter: Cristian Jauregui
Stats: 3-for-15, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB
Jauregui hit his fourth homer of the year for Bradenton this past week, a ninth inning shot in a game where the Marauders were down 6-3. He was signed by the Pirates as an international free agent in 2023, and is batting .220/.324/.316 with 13 stolen bases during his first season in a full-season league. Strikeouts are a problem, with a 29.5% rate, but he has a 9% walk rate and shows off some speed when he gets on base.
DSL Pirates Pitcher: Jabes Martinez
Stats: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
The Pirates signed Martinez in 2025, but he only pitched two-thirds of an inning during his rookie season. He’s thrown 19.2 innings this year with a 4.58 ERA. He’s got control problems, leading to more walks than strikeouts. He also rarely gives up hits, with a .127 average against. Last week he had more strikeouts than walks, and limited hits across three innings of work.
DSL Pirates Batter: Jesus Lizardo
Stats: 8-for-13, 2 R, 2 2B, 3B, 7 RBI, 3 BB
Lizardo was signed by the Pirates in 2024 and is in his third DSL season. He’s having much better results than his first two years. After a .521 OPS in 2024 and a .615 in 2025, he’s put up a .333/.500/.522 line in 93 plate appearances this season. His power has spiked in the form of extra base hits, and his 24.7% walk rate has led to him getting on base in half of his plate appearances. He should move up to the FCL next season.
One More Report
With one month remaining in the minor league season, you have to wonder if Jared Jones will get promoted to Altoona by the end of the season.
The Pirates drafted the other Jared Jones out of LSU in the 9th round of the 2025 draft. He’s hitting .325/.425/.545 this year for Greensboro, with 14 home runs and nine doubles.
Jones has missed some development time, with a month in the injured list in June. He hasn’t stopped hitting since his return. He has a 1.021 OPS over the last month, with four home runs. All four of those home runs came last week, with two in the same game on Wednesday.
A 6’ 5”, 246 pound first baseman, Jones has shown power, the ability to hit for average, and the ability to get on base. He walks at a 14.7% rate. He also strikes out 29.7% of the time, but that might be a byproduct of the power approach, and hasn’t impacted him much at the current level.
The obligatory disclaimer about Greensboro being a hitter’s park comes into play, but Jones is an interesting outlier. While he has more home runs at home (6 vs 4), he’s actually a better hitter on the road. Jones is batting .362/.460/.543 away from Greensboro, versus .290/.398/.490 at home.
It’s difficult to get a read on any college hitter before they get to Double-A. That higher level exposure is necessary to evaluate a bat-first prospect like Jones, who is in his age 23 season. His real evaluation will be next season, when he gets a full year at the higher level. A late season promotion could give him a preview that he can apply to his offseason work.
Until the next time I go live…
-Tim Williams