Pittsburgh Pirates: 3 Starting Pitchers the Team Should Target

Chris Archer

This would be the slam dunk add for the Pittsburgh Pirates and likely would be viewed as the biggest move under Neal Huntington.  However, it should not be that farfetched.  As I wrote yesterday, the team has plenty of top prospects in the upper minors that could be used in a trade.

Players like Ke’Bryan Hayes and Cole Tucker have Colin Moran and likely Kevin Newman in front of them for many years to come.  A deal headlined by those two should get the ball rolling with another prospect or two added on.  Meanwhile, the team gets a pitcher who is completely dominant at times, would benefit from leaving the AL East, and is under cheap control through 2021.

Archer is having a down year by his standards with an ERA of 4.30 in 16 starts.  However, that does not tell the entire story.  Archer, as usual, is posting impressive strikeout numbers.  He has struck out 99 batters in his 90 innings pitched. Also, while his ERA is north of four, Archer has a FIP of 3.50 and a xFip of 3.51.

The Pittsburgh Pirates currently rank ninth in the National League in strikeouts by starters, so adding Archer would give them a different look from a starter.  Also, he would be the perfect type of a pitcher for a team, he is a top of the rotation type arm that would compliment Jameson Taillon.

On top of that, he is very affordable in terms of finances.  This year he is making $6.25 million (prorated to $2.21 million for the final two months).  In 2017 he is slated to get an increase to $7.5 million, and in both 2019 and 2020, he has club options for $8.25 million each. So there is a guarantee that he could finish the rest of his contract here being he is not a pitcher with a salary that will continue to grow even higher.

Sonny Gray

Back during the Pittsburgh Pirates three straight playoff runs one name that was consistently brought up was Sonny Gray.  Gray was the ace of the Oakland Athletics staff and was on a team that was looking to sell in 2015 after three playoff years themselves.

Instead, the Athletics held onto him until last season when they dealt him to the New York Yankees.  The transition to New York has not gone well, and at this point he looks to be the most obvious candidate to be replaced in their rotation.  So why should the Pittsburgh Pirates target him?

Well, he is the exact thing that the Pittsburgh Pirates look for in starters. That is former impressive arm who needs a change of scenery and a revamped approach to his craft. Gray is coming off of a strong 2017 showing where he pitched to a 3.55 ERA. However, he has gone in the completely wrong direction this year with an ERA of 5.34.

However, his peripherals are a little better with a FIP of 4.42 and an xFIP of 4.25.  Also, he is still inducing ground balls are a solid rate of 48 percent.  Like Archer, the key for Gray could be him being moved out of the AL East and even more so Yankee stadium.  On the road, Gray has a solid ERA of 3.62, but at Yankee stadium his ERA of north of 7.00.

So a move from the hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium to PNC Park could really benefit him.  At this point, the Yankees would be selling low on Gray, but it seems likely that the Yankees are ready to cut ties.  The Bucs should buy low by giving up middle of the road prospects and have Gray through next season.

Kevin Gausman

Kevin Gausman would be a similar addition to what Joe Musgrove was when the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired him.  Musgrove came from Houston where he found himself being a lackluster starter that was eventually moved to the bullpen.  Now he is with the Pittsburgh Pirates and is showing why he was such a highly rated starting pitching prospect. Gausman is in the same boat and like Gray and Archer, a change of scenery could benefit him.

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Gausman was one as highly touted as any pitching prospect in baseball.  He was the number four overall pick in the 2012 draft and was consistently ranked as a top 40 prospect in all of baseball during his prospect years. Gausman came out of LSU with an advanced approach with his mechanics, a plus fastball and plus secondary pitches.

However, he has not been able to replicate that at the big league level.  While his fastball has averaged about 95 miles per hour in his big league career, he has also seen the baseball leave the ballpark too much with a 1.3 home runs per nine innings.  This year it has been even worse for him with a career-high of 1.5 home runs per nine innings and an ERA of 4.59.

However, Gausman does have some positives.  To go with a mid 90s fastball he also throws a sharp slider, a splitter, and changeup.  All his pitches are considered to be plus in terms of pure stuff.  He also shows strong command by only averaging 2.31 walks per nine innings pitched.

Also, in his career, he has averaged over 8 strikeouts per nine innings.  So what does Gausman need to do?  He needs to learn how to induce more ground balls.  What do the Pittsburgh Pirates specialize in teaching their pitchers?  How to throw a sinking fastball that will induce more ground balls, which also will cut down on Gausman’s main issue of giving up home runs. Also, once again, getting him out of the AL East could help also.

Gausman has two more years of control and could be had for a package of mid-level prospects.  With Baltimore looking to sell they could be motivated to move on from the struggling former top prospect.

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to add more stability to their starting rotation if they want to legitimately press toward the playoffs. Furthermore, they need to add someone who could be slotted toward the top half of the rotation rather than the bottom.

All three pitchers listed are all different in terms of numbers, but could all be this.  Obviously, Chris Archer would be a slam dunk pick up and would immediately slot into the top of the rotation.  Sonny Gray has proven in the past that he can be a top half of the rotation arm, but needs to get out of New York to return to that.

Meanwhile, Kevin Gausman is the biggest project, but he has the stuff that should play better than his numbers.  Coming to PNC Park and working toward giving up fewer home runs in a groundball organization could allow him to reach his former prospect expectations.

Next: A Deeper Look at Sonny Gray

The Pittsburgh Pirates offense is producing and really has no obvious holes in it.  Pitching, however, needs a boost both in the starting rotation and bullpen.  While we took a look at some starters in this article check back for an article on some of the potential relief options the team could bring in.