Pirates Prospect Watch: Lolo Sanchez HR, Nick Gonzales Continues Strong Spring

The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 on Tuesday afternoon at LECOM Park in Bradenton and a handful of Pirates’ prospects played big roles in the victory.

Outfielder Lolo Sanchez led off the eighth inning with a solo shot to give the Pirates an insurance run. The home run was the first of the spring for the 23-year-old.

Lolo to the boardwalk! 💥 pic.twitter.com/nehYgmmKhd

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) March 7, 2023

Nick Gonzales also provided the Pirates with some insurance in the eighth inning after ripping an RBI-single to left field to put Pittsburgh ahead by the final tally of 7-2. In addition to his RBI-single, Gonzales drew a walk and scored a run.

The 2020 first-round draft pick of the Pirates is now hitting .273 with a .930 OPS on the spring.

Catching prospect Henry Davis walked in his lone plate appearance and came around to score. 2022 draftee Jack Brannigan capitalized on his first plate appearance of the spring by dumping a single the other way.

On the pitching side of things, Pirates’ prospects Carmen Mlodzinski and Cody Bolton each tossed a perfect inning of relief with both picking up a strikeout. Bolton was responsible for finishing the game off in the ninth while Mlodzinski was credited with the win.

Neither Mlodzinski (4.0ip) nor Bolton (2.0ip) has been charged with an earned run so far this spring.

After the game, the Pirates reassigned Davis and Sanchez to minor league camp along with outfield prospect Matt Gorski.