Pirates Prospect Watch: Lonnie White Jr. Heating Up With Bradenton

The Pittsburgh Pirates made outfielder Lonnie White Jr. the 64th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. It took them $1.5M to pry White away from his commitment to play football at Penn State.

White has always been considered a high-upside prospect, but the 20-year-old has battled injuries and hasn’t been able to stay on the field as much as he would have liked. Wednesday’s game was only his 46th since being drafted.

Speaking of Wednesday’s game, White produced at the plate for the Bradenton Marauders, continuing a stretch of strong play.

After hitting a homer and a double, White is currently on a five-game hitting streak and has four extra-base hits in his last two games.

In addition to White, here are the Pirates’ prospects and minor leaguers who stood out on Wednesday.

Indianapolis (49-54)

RF Miguel Andújar

• Game stats: 2 for 4, one double
• Season stats: .362/.421/.582, 25 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 76 RBIs, four steals, 79 games

RHP Yohan Ramirez

• Game stats: 1.2 innings, no hits, no runs, no walks, four strikeouts
• Season stats: 1-0, 1.08 ERA, 2er/16.2ip, 11 hits, six walks, 27 strikeouts, 13 appearances/one start

Andújar continues to hit and Ramirez was dominant out of the pen, but Indianapolis fell 6-0 to the Gwinnett Stripers.

Andre Jackson was used as an opener and threw a 1-2-3 first inning and struck 0ut a batter.

Altoona (45-49)

DH Chavez Young

• Game stats: 1 for 2, one walk
• Season stats: .215/.311/.262, two doubles, one home run, five RBIs, eight steals, 35 games

LHP Anthony Solometo

• Game stats: 5.0 innings, seven hits, three runs, one walk, three strikeouts
• Season stats: 2-3, 3.48 ERA, 13er/33.2ip, 32 hits, seven walks, 36 strikeouts, seven appearances/seven starts

Not a ton to highlight for Altoona, who was blanked 7-0 by the Richmond Flying Squirrels 7-0, though Young reached twice and Solometo pitched reasonably well.

Pirates prospect Tsung-Che Cheng went 1 for 4 and now has a 10-game hitting streak dating back to July 22.

Greensboro (50-45)

RHP Joshua Loeschorn

• Game stats: 3.0 innings, no hits, no runs, no walks, four strikeouts
• Season stats: 1-0, 3.52 ERA, 3er/7.2ip, seven hits, one walk, nine strikeouts, three appearances/one start

SS Maikol Escotto

• Game stats: 1 for 3, one home run, one RBI, one run
• Season stats: .209/.267/.351, 10 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 35 RBIs, eight steals, 76 games

Loeschorn tossed three perfect innings and Escotto homered for Greensboro in their 4-2 win over the Ashville Tourists.

Pirates prospect Nick Cimillo, who was recently promoted to Greensboro, went 1 for 3 with a double and drove in a pair of runs.

Bradenton (57-40)

CF Lonnie White Jr.

• Game stats: 2 for 4, one home run, one double, one RBI, one run
• Season stats: .250/.402/.453, two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 12 RBIs, four steals, 18 games

RHP Owen Sharts

• Game stats: 2.1 innings, three hits, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts
• Season stats: 1-0, 6.35 ERA, 16er/22.2ip, 25 hits, 15 walks, 19 strikeouts, 15 appearances

White’s big game combined with strong relief from Sharts propelled the Marauders to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Tarpons.

Pirates prospect Luis Peralta made the start for Bradenton and worked around three hits and three walks in 3.2 scoreless innings and racked up six strikeouts.