Pittsburgh Pirates: Colin Selby Named Interesting Player in Camp

MLB.com named an interesting player to watch in each team's camp this spring. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, reliever Colin Selby was identified as a player to watch.

With spring training upon us and baseball activities on the brink of starting to rev up, spring training storylines are going to start to come to the forefront. For each team in baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates included, there will be intriguing players to watch in camp.

Anthony Castrovince MLB.com recently had a list of the most interesting player to watch at each team's MLB camp. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, Castrovince pegged relief pitching prospect Colin Selby as the most interesting guy in the team's camp.

Selby burst onto the scene as a prospect in 2022. In 35.2 innings pitched with Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis he posted a 2.27 ERA and a 2.97 FIP. Selby walked 9.4% of batters faced, struck out 28.9% of batters, and limited opponents to a .215 batting average. He also allowed just two home runs (0.50 HR/9).

The 25-year-old righty followed his season by pitching in the Arizona Fall League. In the AFL, Selby pitched 9.0 innings posting a 2.00 ERA. He walked 4 batters, allowed 8 hits, and struck out 9. He did not allow a home run in the AFL.

This offseason Selby was added to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Selby throws a fastball, slider, and curveball trio. FanGraphs rates his fastball and slider as 60-grade pitches, while his curveball rates as a 55-grade pitch.

As Castrovince said about Selby, "he has terrific raw stuff." You can read Castrovince's complete write up on Selby, and all other interesting players at each team's camp, here.

Stuff will not be the issue for Selby. He has the tools and makeup needed to be a high-levergae reliever at the major league level. Will he earn a spot in the team's Opening Day bullpen? That remains to be seen.

While it is possible that Selby could be on the team's Opening Day roster it is unlikely due to minor league options. However, even if he starts the season back at Triple-A he should join the Pirate bullpen at some point early in the 2023 season. When this happens, Selby should be able to begin to carve out a role in the team's bullpen on his way to becoming a long-term building block in the Pirate bullpen.