Why Pirates' recent bullpen addition could become a lights-out reliever

One of the under-the-radar players the Pittsburgh Pirates have recently added is right-handed relief prospect Elvis Alvarado. Alvarado is certainly an interesting pickup. There’s no question he has the stuff to be a potentially great reliever, as he's armed with a blazing fastball. Naturally, his command leaves a lot of questions.

However, he deserves a deeper dive, as the Pirates signed him to a split contract, and he could factor into the team’s Opening Day bullpen plans.

Alvarado was originally signed by the Washington Nationals in 2015 as a light-hitting outfielder, but he would only appear in the outfield for one season before moving to the mound. Since then, he has bounced around with the Nats, Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers and, most recently, the Miami Marlins' system, where he spent the 2024 season.

Most of Alvarado’s playing time was at Triple-A, where he pitched 48.1 of his 50.2 innings. Alvarado pitched to a 2.79 ERA, 3.84 FIP, and 1.47 WHIP for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp last year. He struck out nearly a third of his opponents, with a 33.2% K%, and induced a swing-and-miss rate of 36.6%. Alvarado did not get hit hard either, allowing just two home runs and holding opponents to a barrel rate of 4% when the Triple-A average was 6.1%.

Alvarado struggled mightily with walks, handing out a free pass to a whopping 17.8% of opponents. For what it’s worth, Alvarado has allowed walks at a lower pace so far in the Dominican Winter League. It’s only been 17.1 innings, but he has a BB% of 12.3% (league average is about 10%). Overall, he’s continued to dominate batters in the DWL, owning a 1.04 ERA, 28.8% K%, and not allowing any home runs thus far.

New Pirates reliever Elvis Alvarado's fastball is his best attribute

Alvarado can throw exceptionally hard. His four-seam fastball averaged out at 98 MPH and topped out at 101.4 MPH. The pitch had about league-average vertical movement at 15.7 inches, but a ton of arm-side run (14.5 inches). That combination of velocity and movement makes his four-seamer comparable to fastballs from NY Mets closer Edwin Diaz and even the Pirates’ own ace and Rookie of the Year winner, Paul Skenes.

Alvarado’s four-seamer isn’t his only pitch. He’ll mix in a mid-90s sinker with even more movement than his fastball, hitting around 24 inches of drop and 20 inches of break, which is an above-average amount of arm-side movement. His go-to breaking pitch is an upper-80s slider with about 35 inches of drop and an inch of horizontal break. Alvarado will also occasionally mix in an upper-80s changeup, but he used it less than 3% of the time last season.

Alvarado is an imposing figure on the mound. Not only can he crank the heat up to 101 MPH, but he stands at 6’4", 183 pounds. Alvarado’s vertical release point averaged out at 5.45 feet, which means his arm angle sat around 25 degrees. Given his already impressive stuff, a lower arm angle might add another layer of deceptiveness.

It will come down to whether Alvarado can hit the zone frequently enough and fool enough major league batters to hide his poor command. For what it’s worth, the Pirates brought in a guy with experience in helping young flamethrowers wrangle their stuff in with Brent Strom. Hopefully, Strom can improve Alvarado's control and command to even a fringe level, because the righty's stuff alone could make him a serious threat out of the Pirates’ bullpen.