Pirates Minor League Report: 3 Players Promoted to Triple-A
The Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting a trio of prospects from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Right-hander Khristian Curtis, left-hander Jaden Woods and catcher Derek Berg have all been bumped a level and are now one more promotion away from reaching the big leagues.
Of the three, Curtis, who is Pittsburgh’s No. 21 prospect on MLB Pipeline, is the most notable. The 24-year-old made 12 starts this season with Altoona and went 0-7 with a 4.73 ERA. Despite those marks, Curtis has a 1.84 ERA over his last three starts, and he’s pitched better than his surface-level stats indicate.
Woods, who was a seventh-round pick of the Pirates in 2023, made 17 appearances out of the bullpen for the Curve and went 3-2 with a 3.16 ERA. In 25.2 innings, he allowed 18 hits, walked 12 and struck out 38.
Berg, a 10th round pick out of Army two years ago, is having a breakout season. In 34 games with Altoona, he slashed .294/.355/.500 with six doubles, a triple, six home runs and 21 RBI.
Here are some other notable updates from the minor leagues.
Triple-A Indianapolis
Second baseman Termarr Johnson might finally be starting to break out of his season-long slump. Over his last nine games, the soon-to-be 22-year-old is hitting .265 with a double, two home runs (his first two of the year) and five RBI.
Outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez, who was briefly up with the Pirates last month, has reach base safely in 20 straight games with Indianapolis and is batting .271 with a 1.024 OPS, seven home runs and 17 RBI during that stretch.
Right-handed pitching prospect Antwone Kelly, who is considered one of the better arms in the organization, is pushing for a spot with the Pirates. Over his last three appearances (one start), Kelly has tossed 10.1-scoreless innings.
Double-A Altoona
Ever since he was promoted to the Curve, outfielder Lonnie White Jr. has consistently performed well. He’s reached base safely in each of his last 12 games and is batting .304 with three doubles, one triple, two home runs and eight RBI during the streak.
Left-hander Connor Wietgrefe covered the first five innings of Altoona’s one-hit shutout against New Hampshire on Sunday. Alessandro Ercolani (two innings) and Derek Diamond (two innings) covered the final four frames without allowing a hit or issuing a walk. It was Altoona’s first game since at least 2005 with one or fewer hits allowed and zero walks issued.
High-A Greensboro
Greensboro’s offense continues to rake. They’ve scored at least 11 runs in three of their last five games and have totaled 31 runs combined between their last two games.
Third baseman Murf Gray ranks ranks first in the South Atlantic League in home runs (eight), third in slugging (.727) and OPS (1.140), second in total bases (48) and is tied for fifth in hitting (.333) since making his High-A debut on May 19. Gray is batting .400 with four homers during his current seven-game hitting streak.
Yordany De Los Santos is riding a 13-game on-base streak and is batting .328 with four doubles, five home runs, 16 RBI and 12 steals during that stretch.
Top pitching prospect Seth Hernandez allowed three runs in five innings in his fourth start with Greensboro on Wednesday. The right-hander struck out eight batters and now has 24 with the Grasshoppers, which are the third-most in the South Atlantic League since making his debut on May 15.
Low-A Bradenton
Left-hander Reinold Navarro has been rolling of late. In his last seven appearances, Navarro is 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.
Levi Sterling, who the Pirates took with the 37th pick in 2024, matched a career-high nine strikeouts in five innings against Jupiter on Friday. Over his last three starts, the right-hander has a 1.69 ERA.
More about:Pirates