Pittsburgh Pirates have next breakout in Logan Sendelbach

Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Sendelbach turning heads after fast start for West Virginia Power, but what’s been the secret to his success in 2016?

 

Logan Sendelbach was the tenth round (307th overall) pick in the 2015 first-year player draft out of Tiffin University.  He signed shortly after the draft under slot value at $100,000. It’s hardly the rags to riches story of Rinku Singh and the million dollar arm, but it very well may turn out Sendelbach could be one of the most undervalued arms in the Pirates organization.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“He’s not only a leader on the mound, but in the weight room, the offseason. His work ethic in his offseason conditioning and his team conditioning, it’s hard to match his work ethic. He’s put as much into this as anybody.” “And he’s smart about it. He’s wise beyond his years really and put himself in position for this to happen for him.”

– Tiffin University baseball coach Joe Wilkins[/pullquote]

In any given draft, a team is lucky to find just two or three players who make it to the majors. Kevin Newman, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Kevin Kramer, the Pirates top three picks, are all almost certain locks to make the majors in a few years. Brandon Waddell, the fifth round pick, has a solid chance, and Sendelbach could join them if he continues to develop.

Sendelbach stayed in his hometown to go to Tiffin University, where he had a 3.45 ERA, a WHIP of 1.42, and a FIP of 0.075. In his junior year, he had an ERA of 2.84, which was the lowest of his collegiate career by nearly a whole run.  In his sophomore year, Sendelbach took a big leap forward cutting his walk rate in half from 12.2% to 6.0%.  In his junior year, the walk rate spiked back up 11.1%, but it was accompanied by a rise in his strikeout percentage to 19.1%.

 

At 6’3”, 185 lbs., Sendelbach is not the largest pitcher, but he still fits the mold of tall projectable pitchers the Pirates love to acquire in the early rounds of the draft.  He throws on a solid downward plane, and his fastball sits in the low 90’s.  Sendelbach doesn’t carry his velocity deep into starts, which wouldn’t normally be a problem at the Single-A level, and so far it hasn’t been, but it could be cause for concern for a pitcher who relies heavily on his fastball.  Sendelbach’s fastball stays straight, and he struggles with control.

Those positive qualities did not translate to success after being assigned to the Bristol Pirates in the Appalachian League.  Sendelbach had a 5.23 ERA over 11 appearances, ten starts and 43.0 innings.  His WHIP was 1.419.  He walked just 7.3%, while striking out 16.8%.  In 2016, he’s walking just 2.8% of hitters, while striking out 13.1% so far.

[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Logan did things the right way.”

– Joe Wilkins[/pullquote]

Sendelbach also tends to keep his pitches down in the zone inducing a high ground ball rate.  He likes to bury his pitches in on left-handed batters, which led to wild pitch rate going from three in each of his first two collegiate years to ten in his junior year.  Tiffin University still had the same catcher with Kyle Durham behind the plate Sendelbach’s sophomore and junior years, so that likely wasn’t a contributing factor.  One thing that may have been a contributing factor was Sendelbach’s effort to work to make it to the next level.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “I think he’s got as good of a shot as anyone to make it to the big leagues eventually, or the Pirates wouldn’t have drafted him in the 10th round.”

– Joe Wilkins  [/pullquote]

According to the Advertiser-Tribune, Tiffin University baseball coach Joe Wilkins, speaking about Sendelbach, said, “He’s not only a leader on the mound, but in the weight room, the offseason. His work ethic in his offseason conditioning and his team conditioning, it’s hard to match his work ethic. He’s put as much into this as anybody.” “And he’s smart about it. He’s wise beyond his years really and put himself in position for this to happen for him.”

He certainly has.  As Wilkins put it, “Logan did things the right way.”  He put in the work.  He got drafted.  He kept his head above the water and the fray, and now, Sendelbach has put himself in a situation where he could be the next breakout pitcher in the Pirates system.

Through five starts, Sendelbach has a 1.32 ERA in 2016 over 27.1 innings.  His batting average against is down to just .245, and he is doing well in splits against left-handed batters (.229), as well as right-handed batter (.254).  The BABIP is a little low but not by much, and it could just be a case of a pitcher with a high groundball rate.  Sendelbach could easily merit Jared Hughes comparison, especially if his fastball develops greater sink and control and he can manage to establish an off-speed or breaking pitch as an out pitch.

Coming from a coach with minor league experience himself, Wilkins also said, “I think he’s got as good of a shot as anyone to make it to the big leagues eventually, or the Pirates wouldn’t have drafted him in the 10th round.” Logan Sendelbach certainly does have a shot, and he’s just the most recent of the Pirates pitching prospects who could find a role in a major league rotation or bullpen in a few years.

Featured Image Photo Credit: MiLB.com

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