Craig sparks Marauders with career night

Will Craig has learned from his Class A Advanced Bradenton teammates not to focus too much on his numbers, which is why a lack of early-season run production didn't bother him one bit.
"Every year, it's a new step and a new level, especially with me going from Short Season to high-A," Craig said. "I'm just trying to not get too caught up in producing right away and just let everything take its course."
But the Pirates' seventh-ranked prospect came through in a big way Wednesday, driving in a career-best five runs in the Marauders' 16-2 rout of the Fort Myers Miracle at CenturyLink Sports Complex.

Box score
"I just want to help the team win as much as possible," Craig said. "It doesn't matter if I'm not getting any RBIs or other guys are driving me in, just trying to get a win is the biggest thing for me."
The 2016 first-round pick, who came into Wednesday's game with six RBIs on the season, struck out in the first and flew out to right field in the fourth. He drove in Alfredo Reyes with a sacrifice fly to center in the fifth, then padded the Marauders' lead in the sixth with a three-run double to left.
"With one out, you want to avoid the double play at all costs," Craig said. "Especially with the heart of the order coming up too, you want to give the guys behind you a chance as well to drive in runs. I got a fastball and pulled it, but I wasn't really trying to do too much up there, just trying to hit it on the barrel and let the rest take its course."
The Wake Forest product capped his night with an RBI infield single in the eighth.
"Putting up 16 runs today is pretty remarkable," Craig said. "We had a lot of guys with great games."
Bradenton batters combined for 17 hits. Pirates No. 5 prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes, a 2015 first-round pick, went 3-for-5 with two runs.

"It's awesome playing with him and guys like Cole Tucker, who was a first-round pick [in 2014]," Craig said. "We are all really close friends. They also have multiple professional seasons under their belts, so it's nice to learn from them."
Craig skipped the Class A level after producing a .280/.412/.362 slash line over 63 games last season with Class A Short Season West Virginia. The leap hasn't proved to be much of an obstacle for the 22-year-old, who is batting .294 through 18 games.
"There's definitely an adjustment," he said. "You face guys that throw really hard and have good stuff. There's probably someone on every team you face that's going to be in the Majors one day, but I think I've done pretty well with that so far."
Also chipping in for Bradenton was Casey Hughston, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Logan Hill belted a homer and plated three runs
Pirates No. 12 prospect Taylor Hearn (2-2) allowed one run on four hits while striking out six over six innings.