Pirates trio leads top prospect performers Saturday

April 2nd, 2017

A trio of Pirates prospects shined in Pittsburgh's 6-4 loss to the Blue Jays at Olympic Stadium in Montreal on Saturday. (Pirates' No. 2, No. 9 overall), Josh Bell (Pirates' No. 3, No. 27 overall) and Cole Tucker (Pirates' No. 7) each had a hit in the Bucs' Spring Training finale.
Meadows singled to finish Grapefruit League play with a .333 batting average (15-for-45), two home runs and nine RBIs. The 21-year-old outfielder, whom the Pirates selected in the first round of the 2013 Draft, hit .311/.365/.611 with six home runs in 45 games for Double-A Altoona in 2016 before being promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis. There, he slashed .214/.297/.460 with six homers in 37 games.
Bell, 24, had a rough spring but ended it on a high note, lining an RBI single in the fourth. He finished with a .116 batting average in 43 at-bats. He made his Major League debut last season, slashing .273/.368/.406 with three home runs in 45 games for Pittsburgh.
Pirates' Top 30 Prospects
Tucker, a 20-year-old shortstop, was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Selected by the Pirates in the first round of the 2014 Draft, he hit .242/.311/.327 in 80 games between Class A West Virginia and Class A Advanced Bradenton last season.
The day after it was announced he had earned a spot in the Pirates' rotation, right-hander (Pirates' No. 1, No. 8 overall) surrendered three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out five in three innings. The 23-year-old finished the spring with a 6.23 ERA in six appearances (three starts). He struck out 28 in 17 1/3 innings.

Other top prospect performances on Saturday
(Red Sox's No. 1, No. 1 overall) capped his strong spring with a 2-for-2 performance in Boston's 4-4 tie with the Nationals at Max Bishop Stadium. With a double and a walk, the projected starting left fielder for the Red Sox finished Grapefruit League play batting .344 with three home runs in 61 at-bats.
(Blue Jays' No. 5) went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Toronto's win over Pittsburgh at Olympic Stadium. The 22-year-old first baseman/designated hitter slashed .297/.387/.530 with 23 home runs in 124 games with Double-A New Hampshire last season. He's set to open the season at Triple-A Buffalo.

(Rockies' No. 9) made his final appearance of the spring before heading to Milwaukee as a member of the club's starting rotation to open the season. The 22-year-old right-hander tossed two scoreless innings in Colorado's 1-1 tie with the Mariners at Salt River Field at Talking Stick, finishing Cactus League play with a 4.61 ERA.

• Gerson Moreno (Tigers' No. 14) turned in a scoreless eighth inning for Detroit in a 3-2 loss to the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium, giving up a hit while striking out two. The 21-year-old right-hander posted a 3.99 ERA in 44 appearances (49 2/3 innings) between Class A West Michigan and Class A Advanced Lakeland in 2016.