34 days until the Pittsburgh Pirates have their first Spring Training workout

The first workout of the spring for pitchers and catchers of the Pittsburgh Pirates is another day closer

Spring Training continues to inch closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans. In just 34 days, the team’s pitchers and catchers will have their first workout of the spring on the fields at Pirate City in Bradenton.

In 2018, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have a new number 34. The player who will wear number 34 in 2018, and beyond, is right-handed starting pitcher Trevor Williams.

The reason that Trevor Williams will be switching from number 57 to number 34 is in honor of a friend and former college teammate of his. You can read more about that here, and you should because it is an awesome story.

Trevor Williams is coming off of a great rookie campaign in 2017. Williams started the 2017 season in the bullpen before moving to the rotation in May and making 25 starts.

Overall, Trevor Williams pitched 150 1/3 innings in 31 games in 2017. He averaged 3.11 BB/9, 7.00 K/9, generated a 48.0 percent groundball rate, and he allowed just 14 home runs. All of this resulted in Williams owning a 4.07 ERA, 4.03 FIP, and a 2.2 fWAR in 2017.

During the 2017 season, Trevor Williams’ best work came after he moved to the rotation on May 8. In his 25 starts he allowed just 133 hits and 12 home runs in 138 2/3 innings pitched. His walk rate was just 2.92 BB/9, he struck out 6.94 batters per 9 innings pitched, and he owned a 3.96 ERA and a 3.91 FIP.

Due to his 2017 season, Trevor Williams has firmly planted himself in the Pirate rotation for 2018. If he backs up his 2017 season with another strong 2018 campaign, he will solidify himself as a member of the Pirates’ new core along with players such as Felipe Rivero, Jameson Taillon, Josh Bell, and Starling Marte. That is if Williams hasn’t done this already which I believe he has.

Next: Gerrit Cole is still a Pirate... for now

There are just 34 more days until Pirate pitchers and catchers will hold their first workout of the spring at Pirate City. Just Trevor Williams more days until Spring Training.