The Pittsburgh Pirates Need An Upgrade Over Steven Brault

Despite spending almost the entirety of the 2018 season at the MLB level with the Pittsburgh Pirates, lefty reliever Steven Brault should be looked at as an expandable piece this offseason

2018 was the first season in Steven Brault‘s baseball career that he made an Opening Day roster. After making the Pittsburgh Pirates’ roster to start the season, he spent the majority of the season at the MLB level.

Brault both started and worked in relief for the Pirates in 2018. His performance, however, left a lot to be desired. Due to this, the Bucs need to look to upgrade over Brault for the 2019 season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to find at least one more left-handed reliever to go with Felipe Vazquez in the 2019 bullpen. While, theoretically, Brault could be this pitcher, he should not be. And he proved this during the 2018 season.

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In 65 2/3 relief innings pitched in 2018 Brault allowed 62 hits, seven home runs, and he had a 1.60 WHIP. While Brault struck out 22.3% of batters faced as a reliever, this was not enough to make up for his 14.3% walk rate. As a result, he posted a 4.25 ERA and a 4.74 FIP while pitching in relief.

Brault’s issues in 2018 stemmed from his inability to retire right-handed hitters. RHHs slugged .424 with a .373 on-base percentage and a .347 wOBA against Brault in 2018. While he struck out 20.3% of RHHs faced, he also walked 13.5%.

While Brault struggled against RHHs, he was better against lefty batters. While Brault walked 14.4% of LHHs faced, they slugged just .296 against him. However, largely due to his control issues, LHHs still owned a .344 OBP against Brault last season.

The success Brault had against LHHs in 2018 makes him best suited in a lefty specialist role. A left-handed one out guy, more commonly known as a LOOGY, is not a role that is as common in baseball as it once was. Pitching in a LOOGY role is what would appear to best suit Brault, however, this can be detrimental on the rest of the bullpen.

When using a LOOGY, you know you’re not getting more than two or three outs per outing from that pitcher. This can hurt a bullpen as it is effectively the same as pitching with just six relief pitchers.

The Pirates value relievers that can retire both LHHs and RHHs, and rightfully so. Brault, however, is not one of these relievers. Due to this, the team needs to find an upgrade over him to be a lefty out of their bullpen in 2019.