Pittsburgh Pirates: Examining Potential 2023 Bullpen Arms

Chris Stratton

2023 Opening Day Age: 32

Chris Stratton has been one of the Pirates’ best under the radar finds as of recently. The right hander was designated for assignment last year by the Los Angeles Angels, and has since become a diamond in the rough for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Last year, Stratton was putting up overall average numbers for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Through 46.2 innings of work, Stratton had a 3.66 ERA, 4.11 FIP and 1.39 WHIP. While he did have a 1.4 HR/9, Stratton walked just 7.5% of the batters he faced, and posted a solid 23.5% strikeout rate.

But what made Stratton really intriguing was his spin rates. He sat in the top 93rd percentile of fastball spin rate at 2498 RPM. His curveball had more than 3000 RPM at 3017, placing it in the top 99th percentile. His slider had 2922 RPM, giving him three pitches with some of the best spin rate in baseball.

This year, Stratton has seen his spin rate for his fastball rise to 2613 RPM. Though he has seen his curve and slider spin rate take a small tick down, they both have well above average spin. This has gotten Stratton much better results than in 2019. So far, he’s struck out 13 batters, and has seen his out of zone swing percentage rise from 30.2% to 31.7%. He probably wouldn’t be in a high-leverage role often, but more of a role like Vin Mazzaro played with similar numbers.