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Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Breakout Bullpen Arms
While there has been plenty of negatives about the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020, one positive has been this trio of breakout bullpen arms.
Owning a 9-19 record, it is no secret that the 2020 season has been a struggle thus far for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Offensively, the Bucs have struggled. The Pirates rank 28th in MLB in runs scored, 27th in home runs, and they are dead last in both slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
The pitching staff has been better than the offense, but still has not been as successful as one would like to see. The Pirate pitching staff ranks 22nd in MLB in team ERA, but that does not tell the whole story of this staff. Five pitchers – Miguel Del Pozo, Robbie Erlin, Tyler Bashlor, Yacksel Rios, and Dovydas Neverauskas – have been charged with 21.1% of the earned runs the team has allowed this season. If you take away these five pitchers, two of which are no longer in the organization and only two of which are currently on the active roster, the team’s ERA drops by more than half a run.
While the pitching staff has not found the success you would like to see, there have been plenty of positives with the staff. Thus far, new pitching coach Oscar Marin has been a difference and his impact has been felt. This includes these three relievers who are having a breakout season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Nik Turley
It has been a long, windy road for Nik Turley to get to where he is at. After not pitching professionally since 2017, Turley is off to tremendous start in 2020 and appears to be carving out a permanent role in the bullpen for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Turley was designated for assignment by the Minnesota Twins following the 2017 season and claimed off waivers by the Pirates. However, due to injuries and a suspension, he did not pitch in the Pirate organization until his first outing this season.
While Turley has battled control, 9.0% walk rate, he has not allowed a home run and has struck out nine batters in 11.1 innings of work. In total, he has allowed just five hits. All of this comes out to Turley owning a 3.18 ERA and a 3.39 Deserved Run Average (DRA).
Turley’s fastball has averaged a healthy 94.0 MPH this season and has given hitters problems. Opposing batters are just 2-for-28 against the pitch, and both hits have been singles. It’s also generated an exit velocity of just 87.3 MPH. This is a big reason why there have been zero balls barreled off of Turley this season.
The lone real knock on Turley thus far is a 14.2% strikeout rate. You want to see this number climb, and has he refines his curveball, which has a lot of potential, this should happen.
Geoff Hartlieb
Geoff Hartlieb was one of the worst relief pitchers in baseball in 2019. In his first taste of MLB action, Hartlieb posted a 9.00 ERA, 5.11 DRA, 10.5% walk rate, and he allowed home runs at a 2.06 HR/9 rate in 35 innings of work.
These poor results came despite Hartlieb possesses a power, turbo sinker and a plus slider. In the off-season, Hartlieb worked to put more of a focus on his sinker and refine his pitches. So far in 2020, these changes have worked.
Hartlieb entered play on Friday with 12.1 innings pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season. While you would like to see his 14.8% walk rate and 18.5% strikeout rate both improve a tick, the overall results have been strong. Hartlieb owns a 2.92 ERA and a 4.05 DRA thus far this season. Additionally, his home run rate has dropped to 0.73 HR/9.
As one would expect for a pitcher that possesses a power sinker like Hartlieb, he has also become a top notch fireman for the Pirates this season. Hartlieb has inherited 12 base runners thus far in 2020, and he has stranded 10 of them. That is a great weapon to have out of the bullpen for when another pitcher gets in a jam.
Like Turley, Hartlieb appears to be locking up a role in the Pirate bullpen for the foreseeable future.
Chris Stratton
A first-round pick of the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 MLB Draft, righty Chris Stratton appears to finally have found his groove. In 15 innings of work this season, Stratton has become arguably the most reliable reliever out of the Pirate bullpen.
Stratton owns a 4.20 ERA, but that does not tell the story of how well he has pitched. As can often times be the case with relievers, Stratton had one bad outing that caused his ERA to spike and it will take a few outings to bring it back down.
Despite the 4.20 ERA, Stratton owns a 8.1% walk rate and he has struck out 29.0% of batters faced. In his 15 innings of work, he’s allowed just 12 hits and just one of those hits was a home run.
Opposing batters own an average exit velocity of just 86.8 MPH off of Stratton, which is nearly 2 MPH less than MLB average. A big reason for this is due to the ridiculous amount of spin on his pitches making them difficult to barrel up and hit hard. His fastball spin rate this season is 2609, his slider is 2908 and the curveball has been a whopping 3044.
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Stratton is under team control through the 2024 season. So, like Turley and Hartlieb, Stratton appears to be solidifying himself as a key member of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen in 2020 and beyond.