2015 Pittsburgh Pirates Gradeout - Arquimedes Caminero

The offseason is unfortunately here and so we are simultaneously tasked with reflecting on the 2015 season and looking forward to next spring. As part of Rumbunter’s off-season coverage, we will be grading out virtually every member of the Pittsburgh Pirates who spent substantial time on the team’s 25-man roster over the past season. We will look at their seasons as a whole, show you their relevant stats, and assign a final grade to each player. Today’s entry: Arquimedes Caminero

Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Arquimedes Caminero came over as a low-risk acquisition from the Miami Marlins. For the first month of the season, the deal looked to be another classic Ray Searage success story.

By the end of the year, the results were much more mixed.

To tell the tale of Caminero’s 2015, we should start with his month-by-month splits:

Split	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SO/W	BA	OBP	SLG
April/March	11	43	39	5	7	3	0	0	3	13	4.33	.179	.256	.256
May	12	45	39	5	7	2	0	1	5	12	2.40	.179	.267	.308
June	12	55	50	4	12	1	0	2	4	14	3.50	.240	.309	.380
July	12	55	47	9	15	2	0	3	5	8	1.60	.319	.418	.553
August	11	56	51	0	8	0	0	0	4	16	4.00	.157	.232	.157
Sept/Oct	15	64	55	8	14	5	1	1	8	10	1.25	.255	.349	.436

This pretty much speaks for itself. The summer months were unkind to the 28-year old, shown in a variety of ways.

First, his home runs allowed were way up then, accounting for the lion’s share of his 7 home runs on the year. That figure “led” all Pittsburgh Pirates relievers.

Next, consider the strikeout-to-walk percentage during the months of July and September. Struggling with command all year, Caminero lost all semblance of control, allowing base runners at an alarming clip.

Last – and this is more of a curiosity – for someone who can hit 100mph regularly, how can opposing batters slug as highly as they do at some points during the season?

True, it was a tough go of things for Caminero this season. We mentioned the amazing velocity, but it became pretty clear that hitters figured him out quicker than expected. Looking at his pitch f/x data over at Brooks Baseball backs this up. After throwing his four-seam fastball at least 66% of the time through July, that number dropped to 5% by the end of the season as he worked in more sinking action.

Credit to Searage and company for recognizing this and making an attempt to correct it. The only problem? It wasn’t very effective, with a .353 BAA against the pitch.

At 28, it’s entirely fair to wonder if Caminero will ever be able to effectively use his ability to blow pitches by hitters. It’s worth pointing out that Caminero’s struggles may come in bunches, as he went the entire month of August without giving up a run, earned or otherwise. During his 2015 campaign, Caminero did show an ability to dip into a long relief role, with several long outings under his belt.

So what kind of grade does such a roller-coaster year receive?

C. Arquimedes Caminero had an up-and-down year. An inflated ERA, increased unreliability of his fastball, and a proclivity to give up the home run make Caminero’s 2015 a frustrating glimpse at his potential.. RP. Pittsburgh Pirates. ARQUIMEDES CAMINERO

You’ve heard our take. Now it’s your turn. Sound off in the comments below, OR let us know on twitter.

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Next: What does the loss of Jim Benedict mean for the Pirates?

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2015 Pittsburgh Pirates Gradeout – Arquimedes Caminero

By Jason Rollison | Oct 27, 2015

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