Hunter Stratton’s quick recovery could be huge for the Pirates’ bullpen

Hunter Stratton was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen in 2024. He ended his rookie year with a 3.58 ERA, 3.25 FIP, and 1.17 WHIP in 37 2/3 innings of work.

Although Stratton only had a 20.7% strikeout rate, he was great at limiting walks with a 4.4% walk rate. He had the 16th-lowest walk rate among pitchers, with at least 30 innings pitched out of the bullpen. The right-hander was in the top 30 in K:BB ratio at 4.71. Home runs were a non-issue for Stratton, with a  0.72 HR/9. Plus, he induced weak contact at an above-average rate, holding opponents to an 87.3 MPH exit velocity and 6.1% barrel percentage.

Stratton’s stuff graded out as well above average. Stuff+ pinned him at 111. His primary pitch was his low-90s cutter, and while batters had a .358 xwOBA against the pitch, he still induced a whiff rate of 23%. His mid-90s four-seamer also induced a similar swing-and-miss rate at 23.4%, but held opponents to a sub-.300 xwOBA at .297. Stratton’s slider was by far his most effective pitch and his best pitch per Stuff+ at 121. He used it 25% of the time and only allowed three hits. This resulted in an xwOBA of just .093, by far the lowest by any pitcher who used a slider at least a quarter of the time in 2024. When batters swung at his slider, they missed 43.5% of the time.

However, Stratton’s season was cut short due to a very unfortunate injury. His patella tendon in his left knee ruptured in a game against the Cincinnati Reds in August. At the time, he was given an ETA of 7-10 months, which would potentially put a large portion of his 2025 season in jeopardy. The Pirates opted to non-tender Stratton but re-signed him to a minor league contract soon after. Based on recent looks, the Bucs may have made the right decision to bring him back.

Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently posted a video from Stratton’s Instagram account showing him throwing off the mound already. It has only been about five months since Stratton’s injury.

Hiles also notes that he is reportedly going to be ready by spring training, according to information from the Winter Meetings during December. If that holds true and there are no setbacks between now and March, Stratton returning to the Bucs’ bullpen is a huge addition the team needs.

The Pirates’ bullpen was a big letdown last year. But they have most of the returning core that once looked extremely promising. David Bednar, Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski, 2024 rookie Kyle Nicolas, and breakout reliever Dennis Santana are all in the fold for this upcoming season, and so are lefties Joey Wentz and the newly signed Caleb Ferguson. The Bucs have also added a handful of other arms to the 40-man roster, like Elvis Alvarado, Chase Shugart, Peter Strzelecki, and Brett de Geus.

It’s a group with potential, but Stratton's return adds a significant and much-needed known quantity to the depth chart. His rookie campaign was very promising and it was just a shame how it ended. But if he’s back at full strength by April, he could become one of the Pirates’ setup options.