Pirates Prospect Watch: Altoona Ends Season in Dramatic Fashion

On Sunday, it was a tale of two cities for the Pittsburgh Pirates Triple-A and Double-A squads. As Double-A Altoona won in extra-innings on their final game of the season, Triple-A Indianapolis was disheartened by another loss. 

For Double-A Altoona, it was tied 3-3 heading into the tenth inning, with Tsung-Che Cheng starting on second base. 

Jackson Glenn hit a deep fly ball to right field, allowing Cheng to advance to third base with one out. Jase Bowen Struck out the next at-bat, and then a passed ball from Akron’s catcher happened. 

Cheng scored easily, and the Curve found themselves up 4-3. Cameron Junker finished his 2.1 innings worth of work in the bottom of the tenth, and the Curve ended the 2023 season on a winning note. 

Indianapolis’ note wasn’t as cheery as Altoona’s, however. 

Roansy Contreras had an awful game, and there were several indicators of his struggles, but none other than his opposing exit velocities on his pitches.

Out of 17 balls put into play, Omaha averaged 93.2 mph in exit velocity. In addition, nine of those balls were fastballs, averaging 96 mph. 

Contreras finished with 4.0 innings pitched, nine hits, six earned runs, no walks, and three strikeouts. It’s something the Pittsburgh Pirates front office does not want to see.

Indianapolis (66-76)

CF Matt Gorski

• Game stats: 1-4, a homer, run scored, and an RBI
• Season stats: .242/.296/.453, 20 homers, two triples, 20 doubles, 21 stolen bases, and 60 RBIs (397 at-bats, or 103 games between Double-A and Triple-A)

SS Nick Gonzales

• Game stats: 3-5, two doubles, two runs scored, and an RBI
• Season stats: .272/.377/.481, 12 homers, six triples, 25 doubles, and 40 RBIs (349 at-bats, or 93 games at Triple-A)

Roansy Contreras struggled, but there were some bright spots to Indianapolis’ dreadful performance. Nick Gonzales hammered two doubles and went 3-5 and Matt Gorski joined the 20-20 club with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases.

Despite these offensive performances, the Indians fell 11-5 and split the six-game series with Omaha. The Indians will finish their season with one more series against Rochester in Indianapolis.

In addition, Gorski has hit three homers, four doubles, and driven in six runs in just ten games with Triple-A Indianapolis.

Altoona (66-68)

RHP Cameron Junker

• Game stats: 2.1 IP, no hits, no runs, one walk, and one strikeout
• Season stats: 4-5, 3.25 ERA, 55.1 IP, 29 walks, and 43 strikeouts in 45 games (one start)

CF Chavez Young

• Game stats: 1-4, a double, and an RBI
• Season stats: .202/.326/.308, five homers, two triples, 13 doubles, 32 stolen bases, and 34 RBIs (302 at-bats, or 102 games played between Double-A and Triple-A)

Cameron Junker picked up Tahnaj Thomas after he allowed two runs to score in the bottom of the eighth allowing Akron to tie the game up.

Jase Bowen and Chavez Young were the only Curve players to register an extra-base hit. In addition, no Curve player had more than one hit in their dramatic 4-3 extra-innings win.

Greensboro (68-61)

Season Over

Bradenton (76-54)

Season Over