The Pirates’ top four minor league affiliates are a little more than a week into their respective seasons, and a few bright spots already have appeared.
Perhaps the brightest has been Roansy Contreras, a 21-year-old right-hander who came over as part of the Jameson Taillon trade. In 11 innings over two starts for Double-A Altoona, Contreras hasn’t allowed a run and has yielded just five hits and two walks while striking out an eye-popping 22 batters. All five of those hits came in his first start of the season; in his most recent start, which came Tuesday, Contreras pitched six hitless innings, walked two and matched his Double-A debut in strikeouts with 11.