Pittsburgh Pirates Grapefruit League Game 16: Another Opportunity for Chris Stratton

The Pittsburgh Pirates will play their 16th game of the Grapefruit League season on Saturday afternoon

On Saturday afternoon, out-of-options pitcher Chris Stratton will have another opportunity to, no pun intended, make his pitch for a spot on the Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day roster. As he competes for a spot in the team’s bullpen, Stratton will start for the Pirates against the New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon.

This will be the team’s 16th game of the Grapefruit League season. Currently, the Pirates own a 3-11-1 record in Grapefruit League play.

Stratton has pitched 4 innings in as many outings this spring. He has allowed five runs on seven hits, four home runs, a walk, and six strikeouts. Despite these struggles, a bullpen spot still appears to be his to lose.

Last season Stratton’s fastball spin rate was in the 93rd percentile in baseball and his curveball spin rate was in the 99th percentile. So, Stratton does not lack the stuff needed to be a good relief pitcher. This was on display with the Pirates as he posted a 3.66 ERA,  4.11 FIP and a 23.5% strikeout rate in 46.2 innings pitched with the Bucs.

In addition to Stratton, bullpen candidates Robbie Erlin, Michael Feliz, Dovydas Neverauskas, and Richard Rodriguez are all scheduled to pitch. So is reliever prospect Cody Ponce.

With the bullpen in need of a southpaw, in addition to his ability to opt out of his contract if he is not on the Opening Day roster, Erlin will likely make the team’s Opening Day bullpen. Like Stratton, Feliz and Neverauskas are out of options. Due to his flashes of brilliance the past two seasons, Feliz is a safe bet to also crack the Opening Day bullpen. Neverauskas, however, is a strong DFA candidate.

Rodriguez also seems like a safe bet to be a member of the team’s Opening Day bullpen. Especially with the injuries to Clay Holmes and Steven Brault opening up spots. However, due to having minor league options remaining Rodriguez could always start the season at Triple-A in favor of a pitcher that has no options remaining.

Saturday’s game is scheduled for 1:05 PM from LECOM Park in Bradenton. You can listen to the game in the Pittsburgh region on KDKA radio, the game will also be broadcast on MLB.tv.