3 players on Pirates' 40-man roster who could make an underrated impact in 2025

Peter Strzelecki

The Pirates acquired right-hander Peter Strzelecki from the Cleveland Guardians last month in a fairly unnoticed trade. The deal sent the relief pitcher to the Pirates for cash. Although Strzelecki isn’t a flashy name, nor was the acquisition even considered anything of note, Strzelecki hasn’t shown much to prove he can’t be a solid bullpen arm.

Strzelecki has tossed 83 innings over parts of three MLB seasons, pitching to a 3.44 ERA, 3.49 FIP, and 1.22 WHIP. He has struck out nearly a quarter of his opponents with a 24% K%, and walks haven’t been a huge issue, either. He’s thrown ball four to 8.4% of batters who have stepped into the box against him. Strzelecki hasn’t been home run prone either, with an 0.60 HR/9 rate, nor has he gotten hit hard, with a roughly league-average 88.5 MPH exit velocity and a 7.8% barrel rate.

Strzelecki has a five-pitch mix. His most used pitch is a low-90s four-seam fastball, and he switches up what he uses depending on the matchup. His change-up and cutter were primarily used against opposite-handed lefty batters last season, but his slider and sinker were used when he had to face right-handed opponents. Stuff+ puts Strzelecki’s pitch mix around average quality at 101. 

At the very least, Strzelecki looks like he could be a solid middle-relief arm. He doesn’t need to be the Pirates’ next bullpen ace to be effective. The Bucs need guys who can pitch in the sixth inning effectively, and Strzelecki could be it. Plus, who knows? Nobody was expecting Dennis Santana to eventually play his way into a high-leverage role, and now he could factor into the closing role next season.