Pittsburgh Pirates: Vin Mazzaro’s 2013 Season Was Underrated

In 2013, the Pittsburgh Pirates had many notable names. However, Vin Mazzaro is one pitcher who became a reliable arm for the team during their first playoff run in 20 years.

During 2013, the Pittsburgh Pirates had an extremely impressive team. They had five all-stars and probably could have sent a handful more players to the Mid-Summer Classic in New York that season.

Because they had so many great players, some who had great seasons got swept under the rug. One of the underrated players on their 2013 team was relief pitcher Vin Mazzaro. This was despite Mazzaro playing a key role in one of the best bullpen’s in the National League that season.

Mazzaro was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the start of the 2013 season from the Kansas City Royals with Clint Robinson for Luis Santos and Luis Rico. Up to that point, Mazzaro was not having a good career. In fact, when the trade was made many believe Robinson to be the big piece.

Originally an Oakland A’s farmhand, Mazzaro had 286 innings pitched across his previous four seasons prior to arriving in Pittsburgh. During these four seasons, Mazzaro posted a 5.22 ERA, 5.01 FIP and 1.62 WHIP. Mazzaro struggled with control with a 9.5% walk rate and a dreadful 13.5% strikeout rate. He didn’t have a great HR/9 either sitting at 1.2.

Mazzaro started out the 2013 season in the minor leagues, but was quickly recalled to the Major Leagues. Mazzaro became one of the Pittsburgh Pirates more reliable pitchers out of the bullpen. Through 73 innings, Mazzaro had a 2.81 ERA, 3.31 FIP and 1.20 WHIP. Mazzaro’s home run rate went down to just 0.37 per 9 and his walk rate dropped to 6.9%. Though he didn’t become a strikeout pitcher, his strikeout rate still went up to 15.1%.

One thing that really helped Mazzaro was his ground ball percentage was above 50% at 52.2%. Mazzaro held opponents to a .279 wOBA as well. Even though he wasn’t used in high leverage situations all that often, he did receive his fair share of those situations pitching in 12.2 innings with a 2.84 ERA and just one extra base hit. He had a 0.67 mark on FanGraphs’ clutch index which shows he was a decent pitcher when it mattered the most.

Now granted, Mazzaro did not have great ERA predictors compared to his actual ERA. He had a 4.00 xFIP, 3.76 SIERA and 3.86 DRA. Still, his overall contributions to the Pittsburgh Pirates were fantastic.

He was tied with Justin Wilson for the most innings pitched exclusively out of the pen and was able to fill multiple roles. Mazzaro was used as a swingman-type pitcher before the trade. He pitched more than 1 inning 24 different times in 2013. He was trusted with higher leverage situations, facing 216 batters when the team was within 3 runs. He may not have been the flashiest player, but he got the job done.