Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Storylines To Follow This Spring Training

Spring Training means there will be plenty of roster spots to be fought over. Here are three position battles that will take place in Bradenton this spring that Pittsburgh Pirates fans should be watching.

Spring Training for a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates means there will be plenty of position battles and storylines to follow all throughout February and March. As the Pirates prepare for what will likely be a down season in 2020, Spring Training, much like the 2020 season itself, will largely be about the future of the Bucs.

Spring Training will be an opportunity for a lot of players to make a name for themselves in one way or another. It will also be an opportunity for the team’s new coaching staff and front office to truly begin to introduce themselves to the team and Pirate fans.

For the Pirates this spring, some prospects will make a big push to make the roster, while some veterans might be vying for just a roster spot. While some are more intriguing than others, there are three key storylines that Pirate fans should be following in Bradenton this spring.

The final rotation spot

As it stands now, the rotation looks like this:

1. Joe Musgrove

2. Chris Archer

3. Trevor Williams

4. Mitch Keller

As for the fifth spot, a few will enter spring training for the spot. Right now, the front-runner seems to be lefty Steven Brault, but Chad Kuhl isn’t far behind him. Veteran lefty Derek Holland is in the mix, too.

Last season, Brault showed some decent promise out of the rotation. In 78.1 innings between May 18th to September 1st, Brault was the Pirates’ best pitcher. He kept opponents to an OPS of just .679, while carrying a 2.92 ERA/3.61 FIP through these innings. However, Brault did end the year on a sour note, giving up 23 earned runs in his final 18.1 innings of the season. This was reminiscent of the beginning of his 2019 campaign when he gave up 20 earned runs through his first 25.1 innings of the year.

Kuhl is fresh off of Tommy John surgery. Kuhl has been inconsistent throughout his career. Sometimes, he looks like a solid backend starter. Other times, he looks like a Quad-A starter who was thrown into the game because other pitchers got injured. Kuhl definitely has some explosive stuff. His fastball velocity sits at the 83rd percentile, while his curveball spin is in the 96th(!) percentile. Between 2016 and 2018, Kuhl’s fastball velocity of 95 MPH ranked 14th in the entire MLB. But speaking that he lacks the makeup to go deep into games, a move to the bullpen could be very beneficial to the hard throwing pitcher.

Kuh, Brault and Holland aren’t going to be alone in the hunt for the 5th spot. Prospects J.T. Brubaker and Cody Ponce could also be vying for the last spot given a decent spring. Chris Stratton started 36 games between 2017 and 2018 is another name who, given a good spring, could be considered.

Prospects running out of time

Spring Training is a time to get a preview of prospects. However for some prospects, this could be their last shot at showing the big league club they deserve a chance. The Pirates have a few of these guys on the roster, but none stick out as much as Kevin Kramer.

Kramer was selected by the Pirates in the second round of the 2015 draft. His career off to a solid enough start, having a decent debut in 2015, and putting up back to back good seasons in 2017 and 2018. However Kramer is already 26-years-old and hasn’t shown anything at the major league level. Through his first 90 plate appearances, Kramer has a putrid .387 OPS and a 7 OPS+.

While you can’t judge a player based on less than 100 plate appearances, Kramer struggled in Triple-A this past season. Through 448 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Kramer batted for a .260/.335/.417 line. He hit just 10 home runs and finished with a 92 wRC+. He won’t fight for a regular spot, as the Pirates have better middle infield and third base options, and the same can be said for the outfield. He will compete with Erik Gonzalez and J.T. Riddle for the last bench utility spot, but both Gonzalez and Riddle have a step up on Kramer already.

Will Craig’s door is also starting to close. Last year, his 23 home runs ranked 50th in the entire International League while his wRC+ (92) almost didn’t even rank in the top 200 of batters with at least 250 plate appearances and his .761 OPS ranked 209th in the league. Plus, with a lack of speed, utility and fielding prowess, the former first rounder is running out of chances. He does have something Kramer doesn’t have, that being three options (Kramer has two remaining). I went further into detail why Craig’s time is running out here if you would like a deeper analysis of his struggles: It’s Time To Move On From Will Craig