Brault Looking to Find His Voice in 2020
Steven Brault is one of the most versatile men on the 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates. He can hit, he can throw, and he can sing better than most people. Over the past four years, he has bounced between different roles for the Pirates going from a minor leaguer, to a reliever, to a starter by the end of the 2019 season.
He has shown flashes of greatness in each role, but hasn't been able to lockdown anything full-time with the team. Between the bullpen and the starting rotation last season he went 4-6 with a 5.19 ERA while logging a career-high 113.1 innings of work. He struck out a career-high 100 batters and walked a career-low 53 batters in bus second full season of work.
The 53 walks is a good sign for the 27-year old left hander and is something he will need to continue in order to be a strong back-end starter. With a fastball that tops out around 93 mph, Brault tries to out finesse hitters rather than overpower them and when his control is spot on he can do just that.
One of the keys to his success last season was his fastball control. He stopped trying to be fancy and focused more on his fastball throwing it 50.6% of the time, up five percent from the year before. As his fastball use went up his success as a starting pitcher went up as well.
In the months of June, July, and August, Brault pitched to a sub 4.00 ERA going 1-2 over that stretch. He struck out 52 batters in 56 innings of work and walked just 21 batters and stepped up when his team needed him. He turned into one of the Pirates most consistent starters when his team was facing injury troubles and showed he can step up when his team needed.
His mid-season success raised the question as to what role would Brault be better suited for a back-end starter or a long reliever. He has shown flashes of success in both situations so we will break down how he fared last season in both situations.
Brault made a career-high 19 starts in 2019 and in those 19 starts he went 3-5 with a 4.81 ERA in 99 innings of work. If you take away a rough September that ERA drops to 3.39 which is a solid season for a number five starter.
Out of the bullpen, he made six appearances going 1-1 with a 6.11 ERA over 17.2 innings of work. He gave up three or more earned runs in two of those six appearances compared to 10 quality starts in 19 appearances as a starter.
When we look at the numbers, it appears that Brault would be better suited as a starting pitcher. This would also benefit the Pirates lineup as Brault served as one of the best hitting pitchers on the team in 2019. He went 14-42 at the plate (.333) with one home run and two RBI. His lone home run came in a game against the Colorado Rockies to start the month of September.
All in all I think Brault is better suited as a number five starter but the question is will he make the cut. He has his work cut out for him with three other pitchers vying for the spot.
Prediction: 2-5 4.34 ERA (10 starts, 12 relief appearances)
I feel Brault will not win the #5 starter job when the season kicks back off and will serve as the lone lefty in the Pirates bullpen. However, if an injury arises or a mid-season trade happens look for Brault to step up inna starting role as the team's #5 arm/spot starter.
As of now, the season is expected to begin somewhere around May 25th. Until then, we will continue to look at the men who make up this year's team and their contributions in 2020.
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