Pirates insider hints at creative pitching plan beyond Skenes and Keller

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, the top of the rotation is simple. Give the ball to Paul Skenes. Then, give it to Mitch Keller.

After that? Things might get… weird.

Pirates insider Jason Mackey recently hinted that Pittsburgh could employ some non-traditional pitching usage in 2026 — a strategy that sounds suspiciously like it came straight out of the chaotic pitching playbook used by Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. And honestly, that might not be a bad thing.

Mackey laid out a potential structure where the Pirates treat Skenes and Keller like traditional workhorse starters, while the rest of the rotation becomes fluid. Think: shortened starts for Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft, with piggyback outings from arms like Hunter Barco, Carmen Mlodzinski or José Urquidy.

Instead of asking a young starter to navigate a lineup three times, the Pirates could deploy waves of power arms — essentially turning the middle of the rotation into a hybrid system. It’s not quite an opener strategy. It’s more like a controlled pitching relay.

Pirates may deploy Tigers-esque "pitching chaos" strategy behind Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller in 2026

In Detroit, Hinch has built a reputation for embracing what some fans jokingly call “pitching chaos.” Rather than sticking rigidly to a five-man rotation, Hinch frequently mixes roles: starters who go four or five innings and bulk relievers who bridge the middle innings, with high-leverage arms entering earlier than expected. It’s a system designed to maximize pitch quality rather than workload.

For the Pirates, the logic is obvious. Outside of Skenes and Keller, the organization has a lot of intriguing arms but very few proven inning-eaters. So instead of forcing young pitchers into traditional starter roles, the Pirates might simply embrace what they actually have: a deep collection of pitchers with major-league stuff, but developing durability.

There’s also a developmental angle. The Pirates are sitting on a gold mine of pitching prospects, and the last thing the franchise can afford is burning them out chasing arbitrary six-inning thresholds. If Chandler throws four dominant innings and then hands the ball to Barco for three more, the Pirates still get seven quality innings — without overtaxing a 23-year-old arm.

In modern baseball, that’s increasingly the point. And for a small-market team trying to squeeze every ounce of value from its pitching pipeline, creativity isn’t just optional. It's necessary.

Mackey also made sure not to rule out the possibility that the Pirates sign a veteran lefty — something their rotation conspicuously lacks — before Opening Day. That could impact the pitching strategy as well.

Amid all the experimentation, one thing remains clear: Skenes is the anchor. The reigning NL Cy Young winner has already established himself as one of baseball’s premier workhorses, and the Pirates will treat him accordingly. Keller, meanwhile, has proven durable enough to handle a traditional role behind him.

But after that? Expect a lot of moving parts. Because if Mackey’s reporting is any indication, the Pirates might be about to run one of the most strategically unconventional pitching staffs in baseball. And if it works, Pittsburgh won’t just have a rotation. They'll have a well-oiled machine.