J.T. Brubaker Is Making His Case For A Spot In The Major Leagues
By Marty Leap
24-year-old righty J.T. Brubaker is making a strong case to earn a promotion to the Major League level
When people think about pitching prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system the first name that comes to mind is Mitch Keller. This is for good reason as Keller is one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball.
However, another pitcher that is currently at the Triple-A level with Keller is making a strong case to earn a promotion to the Major League level. This pitcher is righty J.T. Brubaker.
Brubaker started the 2018 season at Double-A Altoona where he spent all of 2017. After posting a 1.80 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 24.3% strikeout rate, and a 5.6% walk rate in 35 innings (six starts) for the Curve, Brubaker was promoted to Triple-A.
As a member of the Indianapolis Indians, Brubaker has picked up where he left off in Toona Town.
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Brubaker has tossed 94 1/3 innings in 17 starts for Indy. He owns a 19.0% strikeout rate, 8.0% walk rate, he has allowed four home runs, and he owns a 3.24 ERA and 3.57 FIP for the Indians. He is also coming off his best week of the season last week which saw him earn International League Pitcher of the Week honors.
Right now there is not a spot for Brubaker in the Pirate starting rotation. Other than Ivan Nova, who is going nowhere due to his contract, no one in the Pirate rotation is struggling. But this does not change the fact that Brubaker is making his case for a spot on the MLB roster.
The Pirates, like most MLB teams, have an issue with middle relief at the moment. The revolving door of Alex McRae, Dovydas Neverauskas, Michael Feliz, Steven Brault, etc. simply have done been good enough this year.
So, why not give Brubaker a look?
In the long term Brubaker is someone the Pirates view a future starting rotation piece. And his performance this season at the Double-A and Triple-A levels has certainly warranted that. But why not see what Brubaker can do out of the Pirate bullpen during the season’s final seven weeks?
Not only may this make the Pirate bullpen better and help the team in their pursuit of a postseason berth, but it will also get Brubaker invaluable MLB experience. And in 2019 and beyond when Brubaker may be relied upon to be part of the team’s starting rotation, the experience he would get now could pay dividends moving forward.