An in Depth Look at Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Blake Cederlind

In yet another farm report, we take a look at Pittsburgh Pirates hard throwing right handed relief prospect Blake Cederlind 

The Minnesota Twins originally drafted Blake Cederlind out of Merced College in California in 2015 during the 22nd round. Instead of signing with the Twins, he opted to stay another year in college in hopes of boosting his stock for 2016. The risk paid off in the 2016 draft as the Pittsburgh Pirates took Cederlind in the 5th round.

The hard-throwing Cederlind struggled a ton in the minors earlier on, most notably in 2017 with the Low-A West Virginia Power he saw his ERA rise to 7.76, to go with a 1.74 WHIP and a dismal xFIP of 4.80 in 58 innings pitched. Out of all of his stats, one of the most alarming was his BB/9 of 5.28. Although, he was striking people out with a K/9 of 8.53, he showed extreme inconsistencies of control.

In 2018, Cederlind stayed with the Power where he showed vast improvements with his numbers as a whole. In 28.1 innings his ERA dropped to 2.86, to go with a 3.22 xFIP, 11.99 K/9, and just a 2.86 BB/9. Because of his improvement, Cederlind got the call up to High-A Bradenton, where he regressed. In 21.1 innings, his BB/9 was at an all-time high at 8.02. However, his batting average on balls in play was an unlucky .358, but his xFIP ballooned to 5.53.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, well what good is he?! In 2019 he started to get the wheels turning in that head full of blonde magic. He only pitched 7.2 innings with Bradenton before being called up to Double-A ball. in 45.2 innings pitched with the Altoona Curve, Cederlind showed off that 70 rated fastball with an 8.29 K/9 while showing improvement in control with only a 3.15 BB/9 all while posting a strong ERA of 1.77.

Due to some shuffling within the organization in 2019, Cederlind was called up to the Triple-A club to play with the Indianapolis Indians. In limited action, he had a 7.50 ERA and an xFIP of 4.67, but we need to remember this was just in 6 innings of work.

To start Spring Training this year, Cederlind got the invite to Big League camp. Thus far in two outings, he’s struck out three batters while walking just one. Now I know this is a very short sample size, but with him hitting triple digits consistently and showing better control, Cederlind might be in store for a great 2020 campaign.

At the end of spring training, Cederlind is all but guaranteed to be ticketed for the Triple-A club. If he can maintain control with his pitches and continue to develop his off-speed stuff, there is no reason as to why he won’t get his Major League call up before seasons end.