With the start of Spring Training less than five days away the
Pittsburgh Pirates have the weapons at their disposal to have a great bullpen
in 2019.
Over the years many things have changed in the game of
baseball. One thing that has not changed, however, and never will is that good
pitching beats good hitting. Ultimately, pitching wins games.
This is a good thing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. When Pirate
pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton, Florida, later this week for the
start of Spring Training, it will be a talented group doing so. The pitching
staff for the 2019 edition of the Pittsburgh Baseball Club should be one of the
best in the National Leagues.
Part of this talented pitching staff is a bullpen that
figures to be one of the best in the NL. Led by a great 8th/9th inning duo and
strong middle relief, the Pirate ‘pen is one that should allow the team to play
a lot of five and six inning games this season.
While some spots in the Pirate bullpen will be locked up
entering Spring Training, there are a few spots that will be up for grabs in
Bradenton. What pitchers will enter the spring looking to compete for spots in
the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen?
THE CORE FOUR
Four relievers will enter Spring Training with a job locked
up in the Pirate bullpen. Felipe Vazquez will be Clint Hurdle‘s closer, while Keone Kela serves as his primary setup
man. After bursting onto the scene in 2018, right-handed pitchers Crick
and Richard Rodriguez are also locks to
make the pen. Crick and Rodriguez can both pitch in high leverage situations,
while also being able to go multiple innings in middle relief if asked to do
so.
There are few bullpen quartets in the National League, or
all of baseball for that matter, better than the Pirates’ core four. The one
thing missing from this group is another left-handed reliever fur Hurdle to
have at his disposal before call upon Vazquez. But, as we will get into later
on in this slideshow, there are talented options that could emerge as that
pitcher for the Bucs.
In 2018 when the Pirates handed a lead to these four
relievers the team won more often than not. This is a big reason why they
exceeded expectations last season on their way to their fourth winning record
in the last six seasons. These four figure to be reliable, borderline automatic
once again in 2019.
LEFT-HANDED PITCHER FRANCISCO LIRIANO
Last week, the Pirates signed veteran lefty Francisco Liriano to a minor league
deal. Liriano’s deal was not a normal minor league deal, though. If he makes
the Major League roster his contract has a base salary of $1.8 million, most
minor league deals have a base salary less than $1 million, and he can earned
an additional $1.5 million in incentives.
As likely all of you reading this know Liriano spent the
best three-year stretch of his MLB career with the Pirates from 2013 – 2015.
After a bad start to the 2016 season, the Pirates then traded him to the
Toronto Blue Jays in July of that season. Since this trade, Liriano has not
been the same pitcher.
In 2019 Liriano will make what seems like an overdue move in
becoming a full-time relief pitcher. If used properly, which you can read about
in greater detail here, Liriano can be an effective reliever
for the Pirates in 2019. Despite his recent struggles, Liriano has remained
tough on left-handed hitters in recent seasons. Due to this, he can become a
needed second lefty in the Pirate ‘pen this season.
Liriano has familiarity with Pirate pitching Coach Ray Searage and the organization. This
combined with the contract he received and the team’s need for another lefty
reliever makes him look likely to crack the Opening Day roster. Barring a
disastrous spring, expect Liriano to head to Cincinnati with the team on March
28th.
WHO WILL MISS OUT ON THE FINAL ROTATION SPOT?
Entering Spring Training free agent addition Jordan Lyles is the heavy favorite to
win the fifth and final spot in the Pirates’ starting rotation. However, it
will not come without a fight. Second-year righty Nick Kingham and lefty Steven Brault will compete with Lyles
for the fifth and final rotation spot. Both Kingham and Brault pitching in
starting and relief roles for the Pirates in 2018. In fact, Brault has done
that each of the past three seasons.
The Pirates will face a decision with Kingham. In 2015 he
appeared to be on the brink of reaching the MLB level before Tommy John Surgery
was needed. After nearly three years of working his way back, Kingham finally
reached the Majors last season.
In 18 games (15 starts) Kingham pitched 76 innings for the
Pirates last season. At times he flashed the stuff that once made him a top
prospect. His 20.2% strikeout and 7.7% walk rates were both strong, but his 18
home runs allowed and 36.0% hard contact rate were both alarming.
Brault, unlike Kingham, still has minor league options. When
the offseason began Brault looked like a sure fire bet to make the Opening Day
roster, but that was before the Pirates added Liriano and Tyler Lyons on minor league deals.
Due to these additions, Brault seems like a safe bet to
start the season at the Triple-A level. The Pirates have always been high on
the now 26-year-old lefty, and he made changes to his delivery this offseason
to help him fix the control woes (13.8% career walk rate) that have plagued him
during his three-year MLB career. So, you can still expect Brault to impact the
team at some point in 2019.
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