Pirates Prospect Watch: Castillo Stays Hot, Rodriguez Does It Again

A day after three of the four Pittsburgh Pirates’ top affiliates earned a win, only the Altoona Curve were victorious on Sunday.

Some Pirates’ prospects who stood out include Endy Rodriguez and Blake Sabol, who hit two of Double-A Altoona’s four home runs. At Triple-A Indianapolis, Diego Castillo continued to push for a recall to the Pirates’ 26-man roster.

Which other Pirates prospects stood out on Sunday? Let’s take a look.

Indianapolis Indians

INF Diego Castillo

• Game: 2 for 3 with a home run, a double, an RBI, a run and walk
• Season: .315/.375/.471, two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs, one steal, 13 games

OF Cal Mitchell

• Game: 1 for 4 with an RBI
• Season: .323/.375/.503, 14 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 38 RBIs, seven steals, 51 games

It was a rough day for the Indians, who fell to the Memphis Redbirds 11-2. Castillo continued his hot stretch with two extra-base hits, including a home run. Mitchell drove in the Indians’ other run with an RBI-single.

Altoona Curve

C Endy Rodriguez

• Game: 2 for 4 with a home run, an RBI and two runs
• Season: .316/.409/.684, one double, two home runs, four RBIs, one steal, five games

C/DH Blake Sabol

• Game: 2 for 4 with a home run, a double, an RBI and a run
• Season: .270/.340/.470, 19 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs, 54 RBIs, nine steals, 89 games

Rodriguez continued his hot start since his promotion to Altoona, and Sabol was a key contributor in the 6-1 Curve victory over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

Pirates’ prospects Jared Triolo and Francisco Alvarez also went deep for Altoona. Luis Ortiz tossed four strong innings with five strikeouts in the start.

Greensboro Grasshoppers

RHP Ricky DeVito

• Game: 3.0 innings, two hits, no runs, one walk, three strikeouts
• Season: 3-4, 5.40 ERA, 55 innings, 50 hits, 70 strikeouts, 37 walks, 31 games/three starts

RHP Cameron Junker

• Game: 2.0 innings, two hits, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts
• Season: 4-2, 3.83 ERA, 40 innings, 31 hits, 53 strikeouts, 19 walks, 36 games/one start

The Grasshoppers were shut out by the Jersey Shore BlueClaws 4-0, but both DeVito and Junker turned in quality appearances on the mound.

Bradenton Marauders

OF Tres Gonzalez

• Games:  2 for 4
• Season: .300/.364/.300, 3 for 10, one RBI, three games

RHP Darvin Garcia

• Game: 1.2 innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, one strikeouts
• Season: 3-3, 5.40 ERA, 36.2 innings, 34 hits, 37 strikeouts, 19 walks, 25 appearances

Not much to take away from the Marauders’ 7-1 loss at the hands of the Palm Beach Cardinals. Gonzalez, a 2022 draftee, led Bradenton with a pair of hits, and Garcia had a nice appearance out of the bullpen.