Pirates Prospect Watch: Priester, Gonzales Shine For Indianapolis

There sure were a lot of Pittsburgh Pirates’ prospects who had big games in Tuesday night’s action.

Among the prospects who stood out were two of the Pirates’ more notable ones. At Triple-A Indianapolis, Quinn Priester’s strong month of May continued with an impressive seven-inning start. Nick Gonzales, meanwhile, belted a home run as part of a big night at the plate.

Priester and Gonzales weren’t the only higher-end prospects who shined. Here are all the Young Bucs who stood out on Tuesday.

Indianapolis (19-20)

RHP Quinn Priester

• Game stats: 7.0 innings, five hits, one run, one walk, nine strikeouts
• Season stats: 4-3, 4.66 ERA, 20er/38.2ip, 37 hits, 12 walks, 42 strikeouts, eight appearances/eight starts

SS Nick Gonzales

• Game stats: 2 for 5, one home run, one double, three RBIs, two runs
• Season stats: .284/.360/.486, seven doubles, three triples, three home runs, eight RBIs one steal, 28 games

Priester’s dominance and Gonzales’ big night helped Indianapolis cruise to a 9-1 win over the Iowa Cubs.

In addition to those two, another top Pirates’ prospect had an impact. Endy Rodriguez belted his fourth home run of the season. Infielder Vinny Capra drove in three.

Altoona (15-17)

RHP Jared Jones

• Game stats: 4.0 innings, two hits, one run, one walk, seven strikeouts
• Season stats: 0-1, 2.70 ERA, 6er/20.0ip, 16 hits, seven walks, 22 strikeouts, five appearances/five starts

2B Liover Peguero

• Game stats: 3 for 4, one double, one run
• Season stats: .248/.328/.385, 10 doubles, two home runs, 11 RBIs, nine steals, 29 strikeouts

The Curve were walked-off 4-3 by the Bowie Baysox but not before Jones and Peguero turned in strong games.

Pirates prospect Henry Davis belted his ninth home run of the year, a three-run shot to right field.

Greensboro (20-14)

C Wyatt Hendrie

• Game stats: 2 for 3, one home run, one RBI, one run, one walk
• Season stats: .176/.300/.471, two doubles, one home run, one RBI, five games

LF Tres Gonzalez

• Game stats: 1 for 4, one home run, two RBIs, one run
• Season stats: .333/.370/.500, one double, two home runs, 10 RBIs, six steals, 11 games

Hendrie and Gonzalez’s contributions weren’t enough as Greensboro was defeated 6-4 by the Asheville Tourists.

In addition to those two, Pirates prospect Tsung-Che Cheng also went deep for the Grasshoppers. In his first game back from injury, right-hander Braxton Ashcraft three three scoreless innings.

Bradenton (20-14)

CF Shalin Polanco

• Game stats: 4 for 5, one home run, one double, one RBI, one run
• Season stats: .196/.321/.402, four doubles, five home runs, 13 RBIs, two steals, 24 games

C Geovanny Planchart

• Game stats: 1 for 3, one home run, four RBIs, one run, one sac fly
• Season stats: .210/.241/.296, four doubles, one home run, 14 RBIs, one steal, 24 games

Down nine runs entering the eighth inning, the Marauders’ rally attempt came up just short in their 12-10 loss to the Clearwater. Polanco and Planchart were among the Pirates’ prospects trying to lead the charge.

2022 first-rounder Termarr Johnson went 2 for 4 with two runs scored in the contest.