Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training Dilemma: Michael Feliz

Every year in Spring Training MLB teams face roster dilemmas. This spring, the Pittsburgh Pirates will face a few roster dilemmas. One of these roster dilemmas will be what to do with right-handed relief pitcher Michael Feliz.

Entering the spring Felz is out of minor league options. Due to this the Pittsburgh Pirates will have to put him on the Opening Day roster or expose him to waivers. This will leave the Pirates facing a dilemma and with a decision to make.

Feliz came to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of the Gerrit Cole trade in January 2018. While Feliz has always possessed the stuff needed to be a solid high-leverage reliever for a MLB club, he has yet to put it all together in the Majors.

In 226.2 innings pitched with the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates, Feliz owns a 5.16 ERA and a 4.10 FIP. Despite a health 30.4% strikeout rate, Feliz has allowed  home runs at a 1.51 HR/9 rate to go with a 10.1% walk rate. Control and the long ball have been the problems for Feliz in his MLB career.

On the surface moving on from Feliz may seem like a no brainer decision. After all, his career results speak for themselves. However, just looking at his career results ignores his stuff which has plus potential.

During the 2019 season Feliz’s fastball ranked in the 79th percentile of baseball in fastball velocity and 62nd percentile in spin rate. He ranked in the 73rd percentile of baseball in whiff rate, and his slider limited opposing batters to a .183 batting average while generating a 48.6% whiff rate.

During the 2019 season, Feliz limited opposing batters to an average exit velocity of 87.7 MPH, to go with a hard hit rate of 32.8%. This put him in the 75th percentile of baseball in exit velocity and the 79th percentile in hard hit rate.

Feliz rode all of this to a strong 2019 season. That season Feliz had one disastrous outing as an opener and 57 outings as a reliever. In these 57 relief outings Feliz pitched 56.0 innings, posting a 3.21 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 11.2% walk rate, 31.2% strikeout rate, and he limited opposing batters to a .197/.293/.384 slash line.

All of this led to there being hihg expectations for Feliz entering the 2020 season. It also led to speculation that 2020 could be a breakthrough season for him. Unfortunately, that would not be the case.

After the 2020 season finally began in late July, Feliz appeared in just three games for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In these three games Feliz allowed six earned runs (32.40 ERA) on four hits, two walks, a hit batter, and a home run in 1.2 innings pitched.

After three outings Feliz’s season ended. This was due to his season ending thanks to a forearm/elbow strain. This injury led to Feliz being placed on the 45-day injured list on August 3, ending his season.

While Feliz has the stuff to be a good MLB reliever, outside of parts of 2019, he has yet to consistently pitch well. Combine these struggles with his injury last season, and the Pittsburgh Pirates will face dilemma with Feliz this spring.

This spring the Pirates will have to make a decision on Feliz. There are plenty of opportunities to be hand in the Pirate bullpen. The Pirates will have to decide what to do with Feliz this spring.