{"id":811170,"date":"2017-12-21T13:35:53","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T18:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/piratesbreakdown.com\/?p=18377"},"modified":"2017-12-21T13:35:53","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T18:35:53","slug":"pittsburgh-pirates-brault-bullpen-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/pittsburgh-pirates-brault-bullpen-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Steven Brault an answer to a Pirates’ bullpen need?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Gerrit Cole<\/a> trade saga carries on, the future of the Pittsburgh Pirates\u2019 pitching staff remains up in the air. Even if the Pirates\u2019 ace is heading out of town, the team\u2019s best minor league lefty may not get a chance to start.<\/h2>\n

Steven Brault<\/a>\u2019s 2017 AAA stats scream that he is ready to be a major league pitcher. Last year he posted a 1.94 ERA, 8.15 K\/9 and a 52.5% ground ball clip in 21 outings at Indianapolis. He even had a relatively good showing with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the later months. Unfortunately for him, there is a logjam of starters that are preventing him from taking the next step.<\/p>\n

Jameson Taillon<\/a> and Ivan Nova<\/a> are locks for a rotation spot next year, and Chad Kuhl<\/a> and Trevor Williams<\/a> certainly showed enough last year to justify starting again in 2018. GM Neal Huntington knows this too and is looking for ways to get all his young arms innings.<\/p>\n

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Huntington on Tyler Glasnow: "I don't want to single him out, but we are more open to one, maybe two young starters being in the bullpen to start the season, with the idea in the long term we believe they're starting pitchers."<\/p>\n

— Bill Brink (@Bill_Brink2) December 12, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n