Pirates Prospect Watch: Bins Stays Hot in the Desert

Friday night, the Salt River Rafters traveled to Scottsdale to face the Scorpions. Pittsburgh Pirates prospects Jase Bowen (1B), Jack Brannigan (SS), and Carter Bins (DH) all played for Salt River. 

Salt River aimed to get back to .500 and sought their 11th win of the AFL season. After a clutch run in the top of the ninth, Salt River achieved that and beat the Scorpions 6-5.

In addition, this was only the second time Salt River played all three Pirates position players in the same game. 

Bins

If Salt River was a basketball team, you could give Bins the sixth man of the year. The righty has been excelling in his limited role, and he continued to do that Friday night. 

The Pirates prospect went 2-4 with a double and scored two runs. In addition, Bins’ double in the fourth inning was his fourth of the season. 

Bins now has 12 hits during the AFL season, and half of them have gone for extra-base hits. In addition, Bins has played in only eight games. 

Bowen

Out of the three Pittsburgh Pirates prospects Friday night, Bowen was the only one to pick up an RBI. However, Bowen didn’t pick up a hit. 

Bowen’s RBI was on a groundout in the second inning, where Bins scored. In addition, Bowen went 0-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts. 

The Ohio native now has 16 RBIs in the AFL and is tied for third in that category.

Brannigan

The Notre Dame product struggled Friday night at the plate. Brannigan went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout. In addition, Brannigan flew out to center field in the sixth and grounded out in the ninth. 

Like I’ve been saying, one of the few positives you can take from Brannigan’s time in the AFL is the experience he’s getting at shortstop. 

Brannigan has played in 16 games, and each time, he’s played the shortstop position. In 2023, Brannigan started at shortstop in the Pirates system 24 times (27 games in total). 

It would appear the Pirates want Brannigan at shortstop for the foreseeable future.