Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Pitching Prospects You May Have Forgotten About

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 08: James Marvel #74 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning of his major league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on September 8, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 08: James Marvel #74 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning of his major league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on September 8, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 28: James Marvel #74 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on September 28, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 28: James Marvel #74 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on September 28, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

James Marvel

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted James Marvel in the 36th round of the 2015 MLB Draft, and he had quite the notable year in the minors during 2019. In 162.1 innings of work between Double-A (101.2) and Triple-A (60.2), Marvel had a 2.94 ERA, 3.38 FIP and 1.09 WHIP. Marvel only had a 20.7% strikeout rate, but he only walked 7% of the batters he faced and surrendered 10 home runs.

Marvel also saw some time in the Majors. He only started four games and pitched 17.1 innings and struggled. He allowed 16 earned runs on 25 hits, six walks and struck out only nine batters. Of the 25 hits he gave up, four of them left the park, leaving him with a very high 2.1 HR/9.

Marvel is a durable starter as he has pitched more than 160 innings in the minors in both 2018 and 2019, and only throws in the low-90s. Both his sinker and fastball average about 90.5 MPH. He also has a change-up and curveball. Out of his four pitches, his curveball has the most movement with 56.4 inches of vertical drop and 10.5 inches of horizontal break. His change up and sinker also have some drop to them, but not much horizontal action.

Like Ponce, Marvel isn’t ranked as one of the Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects and is on the team’s taxi squad. But in a season like this, why not just see what you have on the roster? Even if he does completely struggle, this is a year where you evaluate what you have at your disposal and who could potentially be pieces who stick around. Plus, with the struggles we’ve seen so far from the bullpen, it might be worth trying him out.