Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Relievers Who Could Be on the Roster Bubble in the Spring

Will these three Pittsburgh Pirates relievers be in their Opening Day bullpen to start 2024?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a foundation for their 2024 bullpen already set. David Bednar will be the 9th inning guy, with the likes of Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski, Dauri Moreta, and Ryan Borucki bridging the gap between the starting pitcher and the Renegade. But that’s just five pitchers. That may be a good foundation, but the Pirates need to build the rest of the house.

The Bucs do have a few options heading into this off-season, however. There are some young guys that could compete for a bullpen spot when Spring Training arrives, but looking at it through a too early lens, will these relief pitchers be part of the Pirates’ 2024 bullpen?

Kyle Nicolas

The Pirates acquired Kyle Nicolas as part of the Jacob Stallings deal. Nicolas was originally a starting pitching prospect but transitioned to the bullpen in the second half of this past season. Nicolas throws hard with a good slider, and he ended the 2023 campaign on a good note despite a horrendous debut.

In Nicolas’ first game, he allowed six earned runs, walked two, and allowed three hits, including a home run. Nicolas was able to induce just a single out, but after this game, the young right-hander seemed to get things on track. Through his final five innings of the season, he allowed just one earned run, struck out seven, and allowed four hits. None of the hits he allowed left the park either.

Nicolas was also highly effective in the games leading up to his September promotion. In his final 15 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis, Nicolas pitched to a 1.20 ERA, 2.64 FIP, and 0.8 WHIP. Nicolas struck out 41.4% of opponents while allowing just a single home run. Walks, however, were a bit of an issue with a 10.3% walk rate. However, when he’s striking out over 40% of batters faced, a 10.3% walk rate isn’t all that bad.

The right-hander has a big fastball that sits 97 MPH with just a touch over 2400 RPM. He also has a 97% active spin rate, which helps give his four-seamer that rising action illusion. His slider regularly hits 90 MPH and comes in with nearly 2500 RPM. Nicolas occasionally throws a curveball, but it’s by far his least used offering. Per Stuff+, Nicolas threw some of the best offerings for the Pirates this year:

I think Nicolas has a very good chance of starting the year in the Pirate Opening Day bullpen. He’ll probably be given a middle relief role to start the year. But his stuff is so good he could move into a higher leverage role late into the season. If he can play up to his stuff, he might only be surpassed by David Bednar in the bullpen.

Hunter Stratton

The Pirates called up Hunter Stratton late into the year, making his debut on September 5th. The right-hander’s promotion was somewhat surprising, but the Pirates were in need of major league pitching depth. Despite his so-so minor league numbers this season, Stratton performed well in his brief big league promotion.

In a dozen big league innings, Stratton worked to a 2.25 ERA, 4.76 FIP, and 1.00 WHIP. He only had a 21.3% strikeout rate, but also walked just three batters for a 6.4% walk rate. Stratton allowed two home runs but had a 51.5% ground ball rate. Stratton’s underlying metrics didn’t reflect a low-3.00 ERA pitcher and were mostly mixed. He had a 3.97 xFIP, 3.73 SIERA, but a 4.51 xERA and 104 DRA-.

Stratton’s primary pitch is a cutter. He sits about 90-92 MPH with this offering with an impressive 5.8 inches of horizontal break. Had Stratton threw enough to qualify, his cutter would have been tied with the unfortunately listed Julio Urias for the 6th best horizontal cutter break.

While Stratton throws his four-seamer around 95-97 MPH with 2576 RPM, his fastball does not have very much active spin. His active spin rate clocks in at just 73%, so he isn’t fully taking advantage of his fastball’s capabilities. Then there’s his slider, which sits in the mid-80s with 10.9 inches of horizontal break, which is above the league average for a slider.

Now keep in mind, Stratton did not perform exceptionally well at Triple-A. Overall, he had a 3.99 ERA, 4.37 FIP, and 1.33 WHIP. But he did have a strong second half, pitching 20 innings, and owning a 1.80 ERA, 3.52 FIP, and 0.90 WHIP. Stratton struck out just a shade under 35% of the batters he faced (34.6%) while having a respectable 0.9 HR/9 rate and 10.3% walk rate. Given how hitter friendly the International League was last season, these are pretty decent numbers in the second half.

Stratton may be in the running for a job in the bullpen, but he’ll definitely have to fight for it. If the Pirates add a reliever or two in free agency or trade this off-season, Stratton’s already uphill battle will become even harder. Unlike Nicolas, we aren’t talking about a former top prospect who showed off elite stuff in the big leagues. Stratton could carve out a role as a quality middle reliever, though those roles have high fluctuation each and every year.