“Thunder!”
Of the fifty-three times Mark “The Shark” Melancon took the mound in a save situation in 2015, he nailed down fifty-one of those attempts. Hearing “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC blast out of the loudspeakers at PNC Park came to be synonymous with victory.
In fact, Joakim Soria, Arquimedes Caminero, Jared Hughes, and Tony Watson combined for a mind-boggling eighty-eight holds. Day after day, relievers emerged from the North Side notch “Shark Tank” and locked the game down.
For all the catchy analogies and phrases used to describe one of the best bullpens in the major leagues, not a single one can do justice to the appreciation fans had for the efficiency of the Pirates’ bullpen in 2015.
With the losses of Joe Blanton, Antonio Bastardo, and Soria, General Manager Neil Huntington had a lot to make up for. On Thursday, Tyler Waite took a look at the unique level of investment the Pirates have placed in veteran relievers coming off of bad seasons or, in the case of Juan Nicasio, relatively bad careers. They’ve also added other relative question marks in Yoervis Medina, Kyle Lobstein, and potential swing-man Ryan Vogelsong.
What bullpen depth do the Pirates really have beyond those select few?
Tony Watson, Jared Hughes, Arquimedes Caminero, Neftali Feliz, and Juan Nicasio are all certain or apparent locks for the bullpen. Mark Melancon seems to increasingly be a lock as well given recent comments by Neil Huntington indicate the Pirates plan on the soon to be 31-year old being the closer.
Given the history of the Pirates carrying seven relievers, that would leave one (two at the most) open spots, so who are the candidates for those spots and depth should they perform poorly or get injured? Casey Sadler and Angel Sanchez will be unable to provide any depth as a spot starter, swing-man, or long reliever for the Pirates in 2016 after both underwent Tommy John surgery late in 2015. Diminishing the spot start and long relief depth, Brandon Cumpton suffered a setback in his recovery from Tommy John Surgery, as he underwent subacromial decompression surgery. He will also miss all of 2016 and even brings into question his future in baseball. Kyle Lobstein could be an option, but he has always been a starter. The general consensus is that he will be starting depth rather than bullpen depth.
John Holdzkom was one of the feel good stories of the 2014 season. He was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2006 entry level draft, the same round the Pirates took Jared Hughes. He missed the entire 2009 season due to Tommy John surgery. He disappeared until 2012, when he resurfaced in Australia. He pitched independent league ball in Australia and the United States before being discovered by the Pirates. After his dominant 2014 season, Holdzkom was one of the few relievers on the team with minor league options remaining. He was sent down where he battled shoulder fatigue and strains for much of the season. Following the tragic death of his elder brother Lincoln Holdzkom, who pitched in fourteen games in 2009 for the Altoona Curve, the double-A affiliate in the Pirates organization, John Holdzkom remains a significant question mark in the make-up of the 2016 major league bullpen. Holdzkom will likely factor in at some point in 2016, but he could be one of the odd men out once again, as he should still have two minor league options remaining.
Rob Scahill is another wild card for the upcoming season. Scahill has one option remaining, so he could be optioned if the Pirates sign other relievers or feel the need to keep one or two without options remaining. He had a 2.64 ERA in 2015, down significantly from the nightmare that is Coors Field and its humidor, but the real question is whether Scahill’s emergence with the Pirates was just a fluke or the manifestation of Scahill’s true ability as a reliever. That will be a question he has to answer in spring training if he wants to guarantee a spot on the 25-man roster to open the season.
Yoervis Medina is an absolute certainty to head North when the Pirates break camp, but it is uncertain whether he will be on a plane to Pittsburgh or Indianapolis. The Venezuelan came up in the Mariners system appearing in only four triple-A games before making the jump to the show. Medina had some early success sporting earned run averages of 2.91 and 2.68 in 2013 and 2014 respectively, but the wheels fell off in 2015 as he sported a combined 4.71 ERA between time split with the Mariners and Cubs. The Pirates may have got an early Christmas present claiming the 27-year old right hander off waivers from the Cubs. Medina added a slider in the summer of 2015, and in a limited sampling of pitch f/x measured pitches, batters whiffed at every slider he threw, all nine of them. He also had career highs of a 27.27% whiff rate with his four-seamer in June 2014 and 58.82% with his curveball in July 2014. Both whiff rates were nearly cut in half within the next year. Ray Searage and staff will have to rediscover the key to helping him return to missing bats in order for him to have a significant impact with the Pirates in 2016.
Yesterday afternoon, the Pirates made it official that they had signed Trey Haley, no relation to Steelers’ offensive coordinator Todd Haley, to a major league contract. RHP Guido Knudson was released on January 5th in a seemingly unrelated move that freed up a position on the 40-man roster. Pitch f/x has only recorded ninety pitches for Haley, and they were all in winter ball of 2012 and 2013. However, the general idea is that his four-seamer sits in the high-90’s and generates a ton of ground balls, fifty percent even, according to Brooks Baseball. His curveball, on the other hand, is a swing and miss pitch, as batter missed half the times they swung. Members of the Pirates’ organization were no exception, as Steve Kubitz pointed out yesterday. The Altoona Curve batted a mediocre .096 with twelve strikeouts against Haley in 2015. If anyone has seen what Haley is capable of, it would be the Pirates. Probably the most encouraging aspect about Haley is the fact that he has given up only twenty-four homeruns in eight minor league seasons and 399.0 innings. The least encouraging aspect is that he was awarded a major league deal, despite having absolutely no major league experience. Hopefully, Haley carries a great deal of success over to a new team and a new level, but if he doesn’t, he should still have two options remaining to provide quality triple-A depth.
The bulk of that depth will be what is added to the Indianapolis Indians roster between now and the end of spring training. Turning more to the bullpen candidates on the outside looking in, Jorge Rondon, the man the Rockies once designated Rob Scahill in order to place on their 40-man roster, looks like a complete wreck on paper, but his scouting report looks a little better. According to Brooks Baseball, Rondon has gas to spare for all four pitches in his repertoire. His four-seamer tops out between 98-100 MPH. He has a hard slider that sits in the high-80’s, a high-90’s sinker, and high-80’s, low-90’s changeup. His pitches tend to dive in the zone, so that coupled with the ability of the Pirates’ coaching staff to induce ground balls and shift defensively might give Rondon a fighting chance at being a good depth option should the injury bug bite the bullpen. Rondon is also not on the 40-man roster, and he is out of options. Any decision to purchase his contract to add him to the 40-man roster would have to come under desperation or the belief that he has turned the corner has an effective reliever.
Another reliever to watch is Curtis Partch. In truly the tale of two Partches in the Cincinnati Reds organization, Curtis posted a 6.17 ERA in sixteen games in 2013. In 2014, he sported a perfect ERA and a 7:6 BB/K ratio over an extremely limited seven innings. He missed all of 2015 after being cut by the Giants late in spring training. He throws a high-90’s fastball with the ability to vary speeds, but his fastball and changeup both consistently rise. His slider is also rather inaccurate. If working with the Pirates can get Curtis Partch more command and control of the strike zone, he may be an interesting depth candidate for the Pirates’ bullpen.
The Pirates have more depth beyond just the Pittsburgh and Indianapolis rosters, as well. Montana DuRapau and Jhondaniel Medina have seemingly mastered the Eastern League, and both could be ready for a promotion should the Pirates lose depth to injury or the waiver wire in spring training. However, neither will contribute to the big league club in 2016, as 2017 seems like the earliest either may don the black and gold.
The Pirates may not be done adding pitchers, especially in terms of minor league depth. The Pirates are staunch believers in the baseball adage, “you can never have too much pitching.” Mark Melancon could still be traded, or the Pirates could stand pat feeling confident they’ve added enough high-velocity potential to an already flame throwing bullpen. Neil Huntington has managed to put together bullpens that look more like masterpieces, but on many occasions, they were easily mistaken as failures filled with head scratching pieces. Nothing in baseball, or life for that matter, is guaranteed, but why should this hodgepodge assembly of relievers be any different than years past? Only time will tell what the Pirates’ bullpen is made of.
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