ALTOONA, Pa. -- To the surprise of many, Neal Huntington traded the Pirates' top outfield prospect, Austin Meadows, to land Chris Archer at the non-waiver deadline.
It was an unprecedented move considering Huntington's reluctance to trade prospects, but he explained to reporters afterward that he was able to make the move because of the club's outfield depth in the minor leagues, including both players acquired in the offseason trades of Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen.
While Jason Martin has already been promoted to Triple-A, Bryan Reynolds, who was acquired from the Giants in exchange for McCutchen, has also emerged as an intriguing prospect in the club's system.
"The organization liked him enough to get him in a trade," Altoona manager Michael Ryan said of Reynolds. "He's shown how good of a player he really is."
Reynolds, a switch-hitter, batted .364 over a 14-game stretch from July 19 to August 2 for Double-A Altoona and is currently hitting .277 this season, despite missing nearly seven weeks due to a broken hamate bone. After hitting .125 in his first six games off the disabled list, Reynolds has shown no ill effects of his injury.
Hitting has always been a strong suit for Reynolds, who came into his first season with the Pirates organization hitting .312 for his career in the minor leagues. Reynolds also hit .312 with 10 home runs, nine triples, and 63 RBIs with the Giants' High-A affiliate last season. But he's also been outstanding defensively in center field and can play all three spots like Meadows.
"I don't think we talk about him enough defensively. He's really good in the outfield and has got a cannon for an arm," Ryan said. "He's a complete player, a switch-hitter who can hit from both sides and got some power."
Reynolds, a second-round pick in 2016, is ranked the Pirates' No. 9 prospect by MLB Pipeline, posting a .794 OPS with 15 doubles and a career-low ground ball to fly ball ratio. Martin, who is also 22, was acquired as part of the Cole trade and has batted .261 with a .755 OPS, three home runs and 15 RBIs in 32 games since being promoted to Triple-A. He had a .915 OPS in 68 games for the Curve and, like Reynolds, can provide power, speed and sound defense.
With Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Corey Dickerson all under contract through next season, Huntington parted with Meadows, a 23-year-old top prospect who was once expected to replace McCutchen as the Pirates' center fielder and face of the franchise. And although it was a hit to the club's depth, there are several high-upside prospects in the system.
It's not just those two players giving the organization depth, it's several players who've either been drafted by the Pirates or acquired via trades and free agency who have garnered the confidence of the front office for the future:
- Travis Swaggerty, the Pirates' first-round selection in this year's draft, is currently slashing .282/.354/.470 in 30 games with the short-season West Virginia Black Bears. The Pirates liked Swaggerty's skill set enough to take him with the 10th pick and sign him to a $4.4 million signing bonus.
- Calvin Mitchell, a second round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, sits at second on the Low-A West Virginia Power in batting average while slashing .285/.354/.432. Mitchell has also played quality defense for the Power with a .977 fielding percentage.
- Lolo Sanchez signed with Pittsburgh as a minor league free agent in 2015, and over the course of his three years with the Pirates organization has hit .248/.336/.337. That slash line might not look impressive, but he's just 19 years old, which means he's still got a long way to go with maturing and filling out his 5-foot-11, 168 pound frame.
“We’ve given up players of significance in these trades, but because of the job our amateur scouting department has done, our player development group has done, our professional scouting department has done through trades, through minor acquisitions, through significant acquisitions, we like the depth of our system," Huntington said in his news conference shortly after acquiring Archer. "We felt like because of our depth we were able to make two significant moves, not just the one significant move, and retain players we believe can help us next year and into the future continue to be a winning team.”
INDIANAPOLIS (AAA)
• Mitch Keller, the Pirates' top prospect, pitched six innings Thursday — his longest start since being promoted to Triple-A — and allowed four runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Keller, a second-round pick in 2014, has a 7.99 ERA, 1.90 WHIP and 30 strikeouts to 14 walks in 5 starts, 23 2/3 innings, for Indianapolis.
• J.T. Brubaker, a sixth-round draft pick in 2015, has an 0.82 ERA over his last three starts, allowing only two runs in 22 innings. He pitched a career-high eight shutout innings with six strikeouts Saturday at Toledo. The right-hander had 29 strikeouts to five walks in six starts during July.
ALTOONA (AA)
• First baseman Will Craig drove in five more runs this week and now has an Eastern League-best 88 in 103 games. Craig, a first-round pick in 2016, has hit 18 home runs with a .794 OPS, including an .824 OPS in July.
• Shortstop Cole Tucker had only five hits over his last 10 games, dropping his season slash line to .250/.319/.341. Tucker, 22, has 28 stolen bases and 30 RBIs, but he's also struck out 89 times in 104 games.
• Right-hander Luis Escobar had his worst start since being promoted to Double-A last month. Escobar, who represented the Pirates in the Futures Game last season, allowed five earned runs on three hits with five walks Saturday. Escobar's held opponents to a .197 average and has posted a 1.33 WHIP in four starts since joining Altoona.
BRADENTION (High-A)
• Outfielder Jared Oliva, a seventh-round pick last year, had 11 hits over his past 10 games and is now slashing .283/.360/.445 in 95 games this season. Oliva's hit 23 doubles, nine home runs and has driven in 46 during his first season with the Marauders.
• Mitchell Tolman, a second baseman suspended 50 games to start the season, is batting .258 with a .736 OPS and six stolen bases in 46 games. Tolman appeared in three games for the Curve last season; however, he was assigned to Bradenton upon returning from suspension.
• James Marvel, a right-handed starting pitcher drafted in the 36th round in 2015, has a team-high 96 strikeouts in 126 1/3 innings for the Marauders. Marvel has made 20 starts and opponents are batting .266 against him this season.
WEST VIRGINIA (Low-A)
• Oneil Cruz had 12 hits, including three home runs, over his last 10 games for the West Virginia Power. Cruz, 19, is batting .294/.349/.504 with 14 home runs and 59 RBIs in 99 games this season. The 6-foot-7 shortstop is ranked the Pirates' fifth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline.
• Catcher Deon Stafford, a fifth-round draft pick last June, hit a two-run homer Saturday and is now batting .258 with a .731 OPS, six home runs and 33 RBIs in 69 games.
• Max Kranick, an 11th-round pick in 2016 and a native of Archbald, Pa., pitched six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts Friday and has not allowed a run in his last 12 innings. The right-hander has a 1.15 WHIP and 58 strikeouts to 14 walks in 13 starts this season.
OTHERS
• Right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft, the Pirates' second-round pick, made his professional debut with the GCL Pirates Tuesday, allowing two runs on two hits in two innings. Ashcraft, 18, is 6-foot-5 and completed his senior season at Robinson High School in Waco, Texas.
• Ji-Hwan Bae, the South Korean 19-year-old shortstop signed in February, is batting .297/.384/.383 with 12 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 26 games for the GCL Pirates.
