After trading Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole, the Pittsburgh Pirates landed a smorgasbord of different players. Included in the bunch are some bullpen arms that will contribute in 2018.
Let’s take an early look at what the new-look Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen will look like with the new acquisitions.
There is a theme to this the unit. Heat.
Closer: Felipe Rivero
Rivero just re-upped with a four year, $22 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, including two team option years at $10 million per. In total, the contract can max out at six years, $42 million. This deal is a perfect blueprint of what the Pirates do. They give young, controllable players security for life. The player gets his money but overall, the deal is affordably cheap for the team.
Rivero was incredible last season. He had an ERA of 1.67 and FIP of 2.47. His K/9 was 10.51 and BB/9 only 2.39. Batters hit .170/.237/.236 off of him. Lefties in particular couldn’t touch him (.082/.161/.094). Along with a fastball averaging 98.5 mph, Rivero offers a great changeup and untouchable slider. He is the total package and emerged as an elite reliever in 2017.
Set up men: George Kontos and Daniel Hudson
Last season, Kontos was effective sporting a 3.39 ERA and 3.72 FIP. In 14.2 innings with the Pirates, his ERA was 1.84 and FIP 2.61. Kontos enjoyed a career high K/9 of 9.50. He relied more on his cutter in 2017 than any other season, using it 52.9 percent of the time. Opposing hitters slashed .218/.284/.366 against the pitch. Kontos was a diamond in the rough claim for the Pirates last season. He will likely be the eighth inning man in 2018.
Hudson struggled at times last season. In 61.2 innings, he had a 4.38 ERA and 4.34 FIP. Like Kontos, he posted a career high K/9 at 9.63. He also walked more batters per nine than any other season at 4.82. It was a tale of two seasons for Hudson last year. At home, he posted a 2.75 ERA. On the road, that total ballooned to 6.66.
Inconsistency was the biggest flaw for Hudson in 2017. His ERA in April was 9.90. In the months of May and June, his ERA dropped to 2.92 and 2.38 respectively. In July, he didn’t give up a run. His August ERA was 7.15. Then in September/October, it dropped back down to 2.70. Hudson was worth 0.1 win in 2017. Consistency will be a key factor in 2018.
Middle relievers: Kyle Crick and Michael Feliz
Last season with the San Francisco Giants, Crick pitched 32.1 innings posting a 3.06 ERA and 3.90 FIP. The 6’4 right hander struck out 7.79 batters per nine and walked 4.73. His K/BB ratio of 1.65 was well below the MLB average of 2.53. Command has always been an issue for Crick. In the minors leagues, he never had a BB/9 below 3.99. It will be interesting to see the Pirates approach to solving this problem.
One thing to like about Crick is his live arm. He throws heat. Last season, his fastball averaged 95.5 mph. Opposing batters hit .184 against the heat. He also walked batters 15.4 percent of the time with that pitch. Crick also offers a slider and rarely mixes in a changeup. He relied heavily on the fastball in 2017, throwing it 74.6 percent of the time. The slider was used 20.1 percent of the time.
Feliz is another 6’4 righty with a live arm. Last season in 48.0 innings, Feliz had a 5.63 ERA and 3.78 FIP. He struck out 13.13 batters per nine and walked 4.13. Like Crick, command is an issue. Also like Crick, Feliz throws very hard. Last season, his fastball averaged 96.2 mph and he used it at a rate of 71.7 percent. Feliz also throws a slider.
When Feliz wasn’t striking everybody out, he was getting hit fairly hard. He gave up eight home runs last season. Overall, batters hit .270/.344/.510 off of him. That said, Feliz was a victim of inflated reliever stats. Over his first 39.2 innings, he gave up 17 earned runs and his ERA was 3.86. In the last 8.1 innings he pitched, he gave up 13 earned runs bringing his ERA up to the season ending mark of 5.63.
Long man: Steven Brault
As of right now, Brault would be the only other left hander in the bullpen along with Rivero. Last season, he had moderate success when called up to the bigs. In 34.2 innings, Brault had an ERA of 4.67 and FIP of 4.34. His K/9 was 5.97 and BB/9 3.63. Both of those totals are not overly impressive.
One thing to note is that Brault has been a starter for most of his professional career. He had tremendous success starting for Indianapolis in AAA last season. Even when he was called up with the Pirates in 2016, Brault started in seven of the eight games he pitched. This season, if he begins the season with the Pirates, he will be a reliever. The transition should not be all that shocking but it is a transition nonetheless.
Final spot
The way I see things, one of these pitchers will be in the starting rotation and the other will be in the bullpen. Let’s look at the case for both Tyler Glasnow and Joe Musgrove.
Glasnow
Glasnow was nothing short of terrible in the big leagues last season. In 62.0 innings, he had an ERA of 7.69 and FIP of 6.30. He struck out 8.13 batters per nine and walked 6.39. His command was nonexistent. In the middle of the season, Glasnow was sent to AAA where he dominated like he had in the two seasons prior. Glasnow has never had issues with minor league hitters. His stuff is by far and away too untouchable at the minor league level. As we know, MLB hitters are far more polished. They take pitches. If you get behind in the count in the bigs, you’re going to get torched. That was Glasnow’s problem.
2018 is a new year. Glasnow still has the best “stuff” in the Pirates organization. There is no hesitation in me saying that. Whether he can harness that stuff of not is the million dollar question. I believe Glasnow will get another chance to start in 2018. If he struggles, he will be moved to the bullpen.
Musgrove
That leaves the final bullpen spot to Musgrove, at least to start the season. Last year with the Houston Astros, he pitched 109.1 innings touting a 4.77 ERA and 4.38 FIP. His K/9 was 8.07. His BB/9 was 2.30.
As a reliever, Musgrove was much more dominant. In 31.1 innings, his ERA was 1.44 and FIP 2.68. With the Pirates, Musgrove would fit nicely in the “fireman” role. He can be brought in a crucial situations to get out of jams. He can also pitch multiple innings.
Musgrove has an impressive mix of pitches. His fastball averaged 92.9 mph last season but sits in the mid-90s as reliever. He also throws a sinker, cutter, slider, changeup, and curveball. He uses all of these pitches. Not one is thrown less than five percent of the time. Musgrove seems like a guy that has the potential to be the glue of the pitching rotation. He makes the bullpen much better. If he is needed a starter, he would make that unit better as well.
Photo credit – Keith Allison – Flickr Creative Commons
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