Pittsburgh Pirates: Examining Potential 2023 Bullpen Arms

Braeden Ogle

2023 Opening Day Age: 25

Braeden Ogle is another lefty who could be in the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen by 2023. 2019 was the first year he mainly served as a relief pitcher. He never appeared out of the pen from his first professional season in 2016 to 2018, and put up overall middling numbers as a starter in those three years.

Last year, Ogle spent the year between Low-A Greensboro and High-A Bradenton. Through 43 total innings, Ogle had a really solid 3.56 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. However, the southpaw’s FIP sat at 4.21.

Ogle might have struck out a quarter of the batters he faced, and walked just 7.4% of them, but the long ball really bit Ogle. He surrendered seven home runs for a 1.5 HR/9 rate. Five of the home runs he gave up came at Lowe-A, but he only had a 0.8 HR/9 rate when he advanced to High-A. He also only gave up four total home runs in 78.2 innings between his first three pro seasons, so his home run rate at Greensboro might just be a fluke.

Ogle works with three pitches. The first being his fastball with a 55 current and 50 future grade. His next pitch is a curveball that sits at a 50 now, but has a future of 55. This gives him two above average pitches. Though his change up is his worst pitch, it isn’t going to be one that he throws all that often. It only has a 40 current but 50 future grade. Still, three pitches with average or better potential, combined with the fact he is a lefty could mean Ogle might find himself in the middle of the Pirates’ pen in a couple of seasons.