- Bolton was peeking through the door of the Pirates Top 10 prospect list last season, and could have stepped right in, but experienced a setback after only nine starts. The 6th round pick from 2017 (Tracy HS, CA) suffered forearm tightness and was eventually shutdown. Bolton was beginning to roll at LoA West Virginia over his first 6 starts. The 6′ 3″ 185 lb projectable right-hander registered a 3-0 record, with a 1.03 ERA in 26.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 BB, 25 K and .198 opposing batting average. Bolton’s command and control looks promising with his 6 strikeouts and zero walks over 5 innings last night. With a solid 3 pitch-mix that includes a low 90’s fastball ( tops at 94 mph), which Bolton throws with deception and above-average slider and changeup. Though the Pirates have only seen a snippet from Bolton over the last two seasons (70 IP), they aggressively assigned the 20-year old to HiA Bradenton. He passed his first test last night and should be an arm to follow over the next couple months.
TOP AL UTR PITCHING PERFORMANCE
RHP Garrett Hill (LoA West Michigan – Detroit) 23 years old 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K- As a 26th round pick in 2018, Hill looked impressive last evening, tossing five scoreless innings to grind-out a 1-0 win over the Lansing Lugnuts. The 6′ 3″ 185 lb right-hander spent two seasons in Junior College, before transferring to San Diego St. In that one season with the Aztec’s, Hill became their ace and finished the season as the Mountain West’s Co-Pitcher of the Year. Recovered from Tommy John surgery while at Santa Rosa JC in 2016, Hill went 7-3 with a 3.91 ERA and 72 K’s over 78 innings with the Aztecs in 2018. He made the his pro debut with the GCL Tigers and posted a notable 4.60 K/BB ratio. Hill throws with a low-effort delivery with a low 90’s fastball and out-pitch changeup.
LoA Mentions – Starters RHP Cobi Johnson (LoA Lansing – Toronto) 23 years old 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K LHP Ramon Perez (LoA Fort Wayne – San Diego) 19 years old 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K RHP Jonathan Bowlan (LoA Lexington – Kansas City) 22 years old 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, Win 1-0 LHP Manuel Rodriguez (LoA Clinton – Miami) 22 years old 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
HiA Mentions – Starters RHP Turner Larkins (HiA Dunedin – Toronto) 23 years old 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, Win 1-0 RHP Peter Solomon (HiA Fayetteville – Houston) 22 years old 4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 11 K RHP Cole Stapler (HiA Visalia – Arizona) 24 years old 5 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, Loss 0-1
National League – Relief LHP Victor Gonzalez (HiA Rancho Cucamonga – Los Angeles Dodgers) 23 years old 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
- Gonzalez with a second mention already.
Under The Radar Minors 