3 interesting non-roster invite players in Pirate camp

Hunter Stratton

Hunter Stratton is a relief pitching prospect who made his MLB debut in 2023. While Stratton was non-tendered by the Bucs in November, the Pirates brought the right-hander back into the fold when they signed him to a minor league deal in January. Stratton showed off some decent stuff in his brief 2023 sample size and was decent in the second half of Triple-A Indy’s season, which led to him getting called up in September.

During said second half, Stratton pitched to a 1.80 ERA, 3.52 FIP, and 0.90 WHIP in 20 innings. He was striking out over a third of the batters he faced with a 34.6% strikeout rate while carrying an above-average 0.90 HR/9 rate. His 10.8% walk rate was his worst peripheral, but it was still slightly better than the league average rate of 11.8% in the International League in 2023.

Stratton then got called up to the Majors where he impressed. During his time in the majors, Stratton pitched 12 innings, allowing just three earned runs and three walks. He only struck out ten batters and allowed two home runs, but his HR/FB ratio was 20%, which likely would be much lower in a larger sample size, especially considering his ground ball rate was 51.5%.

In his brief Major League time in 2023, Stratton displayed an upper/mid-90s four-seam fastball, a low-90s cutter, and a mid-80s slider. Both his cutter and slider had above-average horizontal movement to them, with his four-seamer having about average horizontal break but below-average drop. He still generated an impressive 34.2% chase rate and 27.8% whiff rate in the 12 innings he pitched. Stuff+ rated Stratton’s pitches at 114, meaning he was well above average.

The Pirates have a bullpen core that is set in stone unless an injury jacks things up. But he could at least force himself into the conversation about giving him one of the last spots in the bullpen. He’s not going to take innings away from any of the high-leverage guys, but he definitely could figure things out as a solid middle reliever.

Joe Perez

Joe Perez was originally a second-round pick by the Houston Astros in 2017. But he never seemed to find his way in the Astro system. Houston released him in early August of 2023, but the Pirates picked him up the next week on a minor league deal. He went on a tear to end the year, and the Pirates are bringing him into camp as a NRI.

Perez batted just .255/.328/.399 with a .328 wOBA for the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate prior to getting released. Perez struck out at a 27.2% rate and had a 9.5% walk rate. However, a .145 isolated slugging percentage was not turning heads for a prospect whose power was his calling card. Keep in mind this was in the Pacific Coast League, where having a .830 OPS only makes you about the league average. With this in mind, Perez’s wRC+ clocked in at a lowly 75 in 357 plate appearances, the third lowest among all PCL batters with 350+ trips to the plate.

But Perez seemed to turn on the jets after signing with the Pirates. Through his final 145 plate appearances with Altoona and Indy, Perez batted .317/.434/.592. The power started to come around with an impressive .275 remark. His walk rate rose significantly to 15.8%, while his strikeout rate dipped below a quarter at 24.8%. Perez had a .451 wOBA and 174 wRC+ for the Pirates’ two affiliates combined.

Perez has plus raw power and plays all four corners of the infield and outfield, but he isn’t considered a great defender. He’ll probably report back to Triple-A, but I hope he can continue his tear in the second half of last season. Most of his damage was done at Altoona, where 107 of his PAs came from, so hopefully, he can show some improvement at Triple-A.

Brent Honeywell

Brent Honeywell was once one of the best prospects in all of baseball. In 2018, he was a consensus top 15 prospect. But injuries set in and brought Honeywell down by a lot. The right-hander missed three seasons from 2018 through 2020 and wouldn’t make his return to the mound until 2021.

In the last few years, he’s bounced around with Tampa Bay (the team that originally drafted him), the Oakland Athletics, the San Diego Padres, and the Chicago White Sox. Honeywell will now make a stop in the Pirates’ organization and will be in camp with the rest of the team.

Honeywell spent most of the 2023 season as a long reliever for the San Diego Padres, where he had a respectable 4.05 ERA but poor peripherals. The right-hander clocked in with a 5.23 FIP, 9.8% walk rate, 20.6% strikeout rate, and 1.54 HR/9.

Honeywell’s 90.4 MPH exit velocity and 46.4% hard-hit rate with the Friars was also below average, but at the very least, he limited quality contact with a 7.2% barrel rate. Honeywell was let go by the Padres in August and subsequently snagged by the Chicago White Sox. But he’d fare much worse in his final few outings of the season, allowing seven earned runs, two home runs, three walks, nine total hits, and striking out just three batters in 5.2 innings.

Honeywell still sits in the mid-90s with his fastball, topping out at 97.3 MPH. Although his fastball has about average carry through the zone, he doesn’t throw it with much break. His change-up also has about average vertical drop but below-average horizontal break, and his sweeper has below-average movement overall. But Honeywell is known for throwing a pitch very few other pitchers throw, and that’s a screwball that sits in the low-80s with 47.1 inches of drop and nine inches of break.

Honeywell could take advantage of his sweeper and screwball in 2024. Both pitches held opponents to a .211 batting average and a slugging percentage below .400. Opponents owned a meager .257 wOBA against his sweeper and a .306 wOBA when facing his screwball. However, both his four-seamer and change-up had a wOBA of around .380.

It’s always interesting when a team signs a former prospect of Honeywell’s caliber. I always root for these guys as they’re sort of underdogs to me. Of course, the chances that Honeywell ever reaches the potential he had in the late 2010s are basically zero percent, but there’s no harm in bringing him in on a minor league deal.