Pirates Prospect Watch: Endy Rodriguez Homers But Exits Early

Endy Rodriguez, one of the top Pittsburgh Pirates’ prospects, exited the game early for Triple-A Indianapolis after appearing to injure himself on a throw from behind the plate to second base.

Before he left the game, Rodriguez hit his third home run of the year, but the concern now is with the 22-year-old’s health.

Rodriguez has started to heat up at the plate after a shaky start, and has been projected to reach the big leagues at some point this season.

While the Rodriguez news has generated most of the buzz in regards to the Pirates’ farm system, the other three affiliates were victorious on Thursday. There were some notable prospects with big games in the three wins.

Here are some of the Pirates’ prospects who stood out.

Indianapolis (7-11)

C Endy Rodriguez

• Game stats: 1 for 3, one home run, one RBI, one run
• Season stats: .263/.333/.456, one triple, three home runs, 10 RBIs, 14 games

LF Ryan Vilade

• Game stats: 2 for 4
• Season stats: .375/.412/.375, four games

Prior to leaving game, Rodriguez’s homer was the lone run the Indians scored in their 7-1 loss to the Memphis Redbirds. Pirates’ prospect Ryan Vilade recorded a pair of hits.

Right-hander Cody Bolton pitched a scoreless inning of relief and struck out the side.

Altoona (5-7)

RHP Jared Jones

• Game stats: 5.0 innings, seven hits, one earned run, no walks, five strikeouts
• Season stats: 0-1, 2.63 ERA, 4er/13.2ip, 12 hits, six walks, 14 strikeouts, three appearances/three starts

C Henry Davis

• Game stats: 1 for 3, one double, one walk
• Season stats: .231/.412/.462, one double, one triple, two home runs, seven RBIs, three steals, 11 games

Jones pitched well on the mound as the Curve edged out the Bowie Baysox 2-1. In addition to calling a good game behind the plate, Davis enjoyed a nice game with the bat in his hands as well.

Pirates’ prospect Travis MacGregor improved to 2-0 with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. Liover Peguero drove in a run for the Curve.

Greensboro (9-3)

CF Jase Bowen

• Game stats: 4 for 6, five RBIs, two runs, one steal
• Season stats: .349/.417/.605, two doubles, three home runs, 15 RBIs, three steals, 10 games

RF Sammy Siani

• Game stats: 3 for 5, two doubles, three RBIs, two runs
• Season stats: .267/.333/.333, two doubles, five RBIs, five steals, eight games

It was an offensive outburst for the Grasshoppers in their 16-6 win over the Greenville Drive. Everyone in the starting lineup had at least one hit. In addition to Bowen and Siani, Tsung-Che Cheng, Ernny Ordonez, Jackson Glenn and Luis Hernandez all had multiple hits.

Pirates’ prospect Bubba Chandler allowed two runs in five innings and struck out six in the start.

Bradenton (8-4)

RHP Alessandro Eroclani

• Game stats: 4.0 innings, one hit, no runs, four walks, four strikeouts
• Season stats: 0-1, 8.10 ERA, 6er/6.2ip, six hits, seven walks, five strikeouts, two appearances/two starts

RHP Joshua Loeschorn

• Game stats: 3.0 innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, four strikeouts
• Season stats: 1-1, 8.44 ERA, 5er/5.1ip, six hits, one walk, seven strikeouts, three appearances

Eroclani, Loeschorn and Pirates prospect Yunior Thibo combined to shutout the Daytona Tortugas in Bradenton’s 2-0 win.

Outfielder Shalin Polanco improved his season OPS to .800 after reaching base twice. Fellow outfielder Enmanuel Terrero was also on base twice, scored a run and stole two bags.