The Pittsburgh Pirates Bullpen Appears To Have Righted The Ship

After a lot of struggles through the first six weeks of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen appears to have righted the ship.

The past three seasons one of the biggest strengths of the Pittsburgh Pirates was a dominant bullpen. During the three year stretch of 2013 through 2015, the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen was simply one of the best in all of baseball. In this three year stretch the Pirate bullpen ranked second in the Majors in ERA (2.94), fifth in FIP (3.48), sixth in xFIP (3.62), and eighth in WAR (10.8).

However, in the 2016 season the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has taken a step backward. Overall on the season the Pirate bullpen ranks 16th in the Majors in ERA (3.86), 24th in FIP (4.33), 28th in WAR (-0.2), and 29th in xFIP (4.68). Even though the overall numbers on the season are still poor for the Pirate bullpen, they are trending in the right direction.

The struggles of the bullpen have most been due to poor middle relief. Minus a few early season hiccups by Tony Watson, the back end of the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen of Mark Melancon, Watson, and Neftali Feliz has been strong this season.

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The big three in the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen have combined to post a 2.37 ERA in 64 2/3 innings pitched this season. Furthermore, they are averaging 2.37 BB/9, 8.2 K/99, and just 0.8 HR/9. So while the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has struggled at times this year, the back end has not.

The issue with the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has been middle relievers failing to get a lead or tied game from the starters to the back of the bullpen. Arquimedes Caminero (6.75 BB/9, 5.19 ERA, 6.53 FIP, 6.05 xFIP, 1.56 HR/9), Ryan Vogelsong (4.97 FIP, 4.74 xFIP, 4.15 BB/9, 1.25 HR/9), Cory Luebke (14.73 ERA, 13.22 FIP, 9.20 xFIP, 12.27 BB/9, 4.91 HR/9), and Kyle Lobstein (4.79 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 4.76 xFIP, 4.35 BB/9) all played a role in this problem for the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, each of these four players are now either on the disabled list or have been demoted to AAA.

It is not a coincidence that as these four players lost their roles as middle relievers for the Pittsburgh Pirates, that the Pirate bullpen began to produce much better results. Dating back to May 6th the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has pitched 62 innings. In these 62 innings pitched they have allowed 21 earned runs, which shakes out to a 3.05 ERA.

However, when you dig a little deeper you see that five of these 21 runs were allowed by one of the four relievers who are no longer on the roster. So when you take away the contributions, or lack there of, from these four pitchers the bullpen’s ERA since May 6th drops to just 2.47.

Apr 26, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Rob Scahill (52) delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The Pirates defeated the Rockies 9-4. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Even though subtracting these four from the bullpen has helped, so has adding a trio of relievers from AAA. Wilfredo Boscan, Rob Scahill and A.J. Schugel have all helped to stabilize the Pittsburgh Pirates middle relief situation. Getting Jared Hughes back off the disabled list in May has helped too.

Wilfredo Boscan made his Major League debut against the Atlanta Braves on May 19th and has been excellent. In nine innings pitched Boscan has a 2.00 ERA, 2.35 FIP, he’s allowed just five hits, he’s walked just one batter, and he has yet to allow a home run. This has been the career Minor Leaguer’s first Major League action, and he has taken the opportunity and ran with it.

In nine Major League innings this season Rob Scahill has a 2.91 FIP, 3.80 xFIP, 7.00 K/9, a 58.3 percent ground ball rate, and he has not allowed a home run. A.J. Schugel has a 3.04 FIP, 3.51 xFIP, 8.75 K/9, 2.28 BB/9, and a 0.76 HR/9 in 23 2/3 innings pitched this season. Both Scahill and Schugel have watched their roles in the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen grow, and the Pirates have benefited from it.

The only glaring hole, in my opinion, remaining in the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen is the need for a second left-handed reliever. Right now, Tony Watson is the only left-handed pitcher in the Pirates bullpen. Only having one left-handed reliever is never a good position to be in period, but especially when that lefty is also your setup man. However, I expect Neal Huntington to add a left-handed reliever via trade before the trade deadline in July.

Next: Marlins 4, Pirates 3: Stars And Stiffs

After struggling mightily for the first six weeks of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen appears to be righting their ship. The back end has remained strong, and the once disastrous middle relief has improved drastically. Even though the Pirates could still use another left-handed reliever, the bullpen is nowhere near the problem it was a month ago. Furthermore, the Pirate bullpen will also get another shot in the arm very soon when Jameson Taillon joins the rotation pushing Juan Nicasio to the bullpen.

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