Why newly signed Pirates relief pitcher could be their next breakout arm

The Pittsburgh Pirates recently picked up right-handed pitcher Noah Murdock on a minor-league contract. A Rule 5 draft pick by the Athletics from the Kansas City Royals in the 2024-2025 offseason, Murdock struggled badly in his first taste of MLB action last season. However, his stuff and the precedent the Pirates have set with similar relief arms could set Murdock up for a breakout in 2026.

Murdock only tossed 17 innings in the major leagues in 2025, but they went even worse than one could have imagined. He allowed 25 earned runs on 20 walks and 26 hits. He may not have allowed a home run, but his K% was only 21.4%. Murdock performed so poorly that he was sent back to the Royals by mid-May. His numbers at Triple-A were not much better, as he allowed 14 earned runs, 22 hits, and two home runs over 20 innings of work. 

However, put his past performance aside for now and look at what could make him a good pitcher in the future. Murdock is a towering 6’8” and 205 pounds. He’s an intimidating presence on the mound who can hurl a mid-90s sinker. Batters had a hard time making good contact with the pitch, with an 85.4 MPH exit velocity and only a three-degree launch angle. This was his most used offering.

Both of Murdock’s breaking offerings (a cutter and sweeper) were hard-to-hit pitches as well. Both induced a whiff at least a third of the time, with the latter offering holding opponents to an xwOBA of just .266. Murdock utilized his upper-80s cutter 22.3% of the time, and his sweeper 19.7% of the time. Both pitches also had average movement. He’ll also occasionally mix in a changeup, but he threw this offering just 3.8% of the time. 

Noah Murdock has the stuff to be the Pirates' next breakout relief pitcher.

Along with an arsenal of three pitches with good qualities to them, Murdock throws from a low arm angle with good extension off the mound. He only has a 17-degree arm angle and was in the 69th percentile of pitch extension, releasing the ball 6.7 inches in front of the mound. Both of these qualities made Murdock’s pitches play up.

All of this gave Murdock a 109 Stuff+. This metric measures pitch quality based on characteristics, including but not limited to velocity, spin rate, movement, arm angle, arm extension, and more. A 109 mark tied him with top prospects who played in MLB this year, like Jackson Jobe and Mick Abel, along with the Pirates’ own Bubba Chandler, and above standout names like Aroldis Chapman, Bryan Woo, and Freddy Peralta.

While this may not be a one-for-one comparison, the Pirates were able to turn around a similar arm last year in Justin Lawrence. Like Murdock, Lawrence is a low arm-slot sinkerballer who has struggled with command in the past. Lawrence looked very promising with the Pirates, albeit in a 17.2-inning injury-limited sample size, but it was enough to set him up for a key role in 2025. The difference is that Lawrence has a lower arm slot, less extension off the mound, and throws a sinker, a sweeper, and a four-seam fastball; however, the other similarities remain.

The Pirates certainly still have things to work on with Murdock. He has a good pitch mix and pitch quality, but has consistently struggled with command. It’s far from certain they’ll be able to figure him out. However, it wouldn’t be the first time they turned a pitcher around with poor control, but good stuff. It’s worth seeing if they’re able to help Murdock break out when it only costs them a minor league contract.