The Pittsburgh Pirates youth movement amongst their pitching staff is in full effect. The rosters expanding from 25 to 40 has allowed pitchers from Triple-A Indianapolis to receive opportunities at the major league level. This brings up questions surrounding the roles they will play in the final month of the season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation has had a roller coaster type of season. The Bucs have had 12 different pitchers start a game this season and now a few others have joined the scenario.
The Pirates are in a strange position. They still technically remain in the National League Wild Card hunt, but they are four games behind the New York Mets for the second wild card spot with a 69-69 record.
Despite still being in the hunt for a postseason spot, this last month of the season may be a good opportunity to give some September call ups opportunities to start a few games.
In fact, it has already been reported that Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl will have their next starts skipped due to monitoring innings for both young stars. Drew Hutchison will take Kuhl’s spot and will start Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds and Gerrit Cole will start Monday in Philadelphia.
The guys over at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette were amongst the first to report the news.
The Pirates will skip Chad Kuhl and Jameson Taillon’s next start. Drew Hutchison will start Saturday, and Gerrit Cole Monday.
— Stephen J. Nesbitt (@stephenjnesbitt) September 8, 2016
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Drew Hutchison will replace Kuhl Saturday. Taillon will skip a start. Innings/workload monitoring for both.
— Bill Brink (@BrinkPG) September 8, 2016
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Matt Gajtka from DK on Pittsburgh Sports also had the news via Twitter.
Drew Hutchison to take Kuhl’s turn in rotation Saturday. Taillon will also be skipped once when Cole returns Monday. – @MattGajtka
— DKPittsburghSports (@DKPghSports) September 8, 2016
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With Hutchison getting an opportunity to start, I decided to take a look at a few other starting options who could give the Pirates chances to win ball games now and give them a taste of what is to come in the future. Some may be surprising, while others are obvious.
Trevor Williams
On Wednesday, Trevor Williams made his major league debut for the Pirates. The 24-year old pitched three innings in relief, allowing three hits while walking one and striking out three. Williams also picked up his first big league victory in the contest.
Williams is primarily a starter as he made 19 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis this season. In those 19 starts, plus one relief appearance, Williams was 9-6 with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. The young right hander also compiled 74 strikeouts and 30 walks in 110.1 innings.
Williams is currently pitching out of the bullpen since the starting rotation is jam packed with depth. However, there are ways for the Pirates to give Williams a spot start or two in the near future.
Like they did with Hutchison’s situation, they could give some of their starters rest by missing a start. They have already done it for Kuhl and Taillon and could end up doing the same for guys like Ryan Vogelsong and Steven Brault.
Vogelsong in particular has been a pleasant surprise for the Bucs this season. Especially since coming off of the disabled list. The veteran is 2-3 with a 3.80 ERA as a starter this season, but he has struggled in his last three outings. In those starts, Vogelsong has allowed 12 combined runs while walking a total of eight batters.
It wouldn’t be a bad thing to give Vogelsong some time off. The 39-year old is in the midst of a slump and could even give the Pirates some quality production out of the bullpen.
Since the Pirates acquired Williams in October, there has been plenty of chatter regarding how highly touted of a prospect he is. Now that he is on the major league club, this is a chance for Williams to do two things: have an impact on the Pirates wild card hopes and possibly even audition for a spot amongst the major league pitching staff for next season.
Pirates fans received a glimpse of what Williams has to offer and he immediately impressed while pitching in a relief role. Now, this writer is interested in seeing what he can do while starting at the major league level.
Tyler Glasnow
This particular pitcher isn’t your ordinary September call up. Tyler Glasnow made his MLB debut in early July and was shaky in two starts. In those two outings, the Pirates number one pitching prospect went 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA. He also compiled seven strikeouts and five walks in 8.1 innings.
In his second start against the Philadelphia Phillies, Glasnow left after only three innings of work due to right shoulder discomfort. He was later placed on the disabled list and hasn’t pitched in a major league game since then.
Following his DL stint, Glasnow was sent back to Indianapolis. However, he has been recalled as one of the September call ups.
Like Williams and Hutchison, Glasnow could be a likely candidate to get a spot start by the end of the season. The Pirates could easily place him in Brault’s spot in the rotation. This would give Glasnow an opportunity and Brault could be another stellar bullpen piece.
Glasnow hasn’t been impressive in two major league starts. That is obvious. However, now that he is healthy, why not give him another shot to impress moving forward. Glasnow is likely a part of the Pirates future plans and could return to form to give the team a nice boost in a spot start or two this season.
Options aside from September call ups
Aside from the pitchers that have already been called up to the majors, there are other options. However, I’m not sure how interested the Pirates would be in these two options in particular.
The first option is 24-year old Frank Duncan. Some Pirates fans may not be familiar with the name, but he has been making a huge impact in the minor league system.
In 27 appearances (22 starts) at Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, Duncan has posted a stellar 12-8 record with a 2.34 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He has also accumulated 116 strikeouts and 36 walks in 138.2 innings.
Duncan has shown promise at the minor league level and could be in Pittsburgh in the near future. However, with him having played at two different levels this season, it may be unlikely for him to be called up this late in the year. Nonetheless, he is still an intriguing call up option if the Pirates really wanted to pursue it.
Duncan will more than likely start next season in Indianapolis and have an opportunity to make an impact at the major league level at some point in 2017.
This option may not be worth calling up, but he is worth mentioning as an option.
This season, Justin Masterson has made 26 appearances (six starts) between Advanced Single-A Bradenton and Indianapolis. Masterson has posted a 3-2 record with a less than impressive 4.85 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in those appearances. He has also had trouble with the long ball, allowing 10 home runs in 59.1 innings.
Masterson was a Cy Young caliber pitcher in 2011, when he went 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA with the Cleveland Indians. He was even a former All-Star selection in 2013. However, the 31-year old has been unable to regain his form.
If the Pirates were desperate enough for pitching, Masterson could be an option. However, his career is fading and the Pirates may not be able to afford to call him up during a push for a postseason spot.
Let us know what you think
Some of these names you may agree with, while others you may not. Regardless, thank you for reading and let us know what you think. Are there any other names that you think should be a part of this list? Is there anyone else on the Pirates 40 man roster who deserves a spot start in the final month of the season?
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