Crick Looking To Hold Back-end Role in 2020
When Kyle Crick joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018 he wasn't the most popular guy on the roster. He and Bryan Reynolds came to the Pirates in the trade that sent Andrew McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants signalling the end of an era that saw the Pirates make the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
Crick was able to alleviate some of those frustrations right away when he appeared in 64 games and pitched to a 2.39 ERA. Most of that work came in big game scenarios and won some big games for the Pirates making fans more open to the trade that sent their star player away.
However, 2019 was a different story for Crick. In a season filled with injuries and ineffectiveness that sky rocketed his stats Crick went from a popular name to a lack luster reliever. He appeared in 52 games going 3-7 with a 4.96 ERA over 49 innings of work while striking out 61 batters. His strikeouts went up but he was getting hit harder than ever before.
In 2019, Crick set a career-high allowing opposing hitters a 29.3 hard hit ball percentage, up just over five points more than the 2018 season. As a result, Crick was also tagged for 10 home runs allowed last season allowing seven more than he allowed in any other of his professional seasons. All of this added up to a career-high ERA and an overall rocky season.
Crick finished 2019 on the upswing allowing two runs or less in seven straight appearances and things looked like they were on the right track. However, he would get into a locker room scuffle with former Pirates Closer Felipe Vazquez and he broke his finger ending his season.
One of the positives that came out of Crick's season was his strikeout percentage. He struck out 61 batters in his 49 innings of work for a K/9 rate of 11.20 marking the first time in his career he posted a double digit strikeout ratio. He struck out just four batters less than he did in 2018 while pitching 11.1 fewer innings. The key, a career high 29.6 whiff% which was five percent higher than the league average.
Crick's one-two punch in 2019 was a fastball, slider mix that led to his higher strikeout rate. His Fastball, which he used 50.4% of the time, was prominent early in at bats and then he went to the slider for the punchout. He picked up 38 strikeouts on the slider and 22 on the fastball making both effective pitches for his Arsenal.
As we look ahead to the 2020 season, Crick is slated to be the set-up man for closer Keona Kela. If he is able to keep his strikeout rate up, and can stay healthy, he should slip right into that role and get back to his 2018 numbers. However, with Nick Burdi back and healthy, the late inning work will be a battle throughout the season as the Pirates try to bridge the gap to Kela.
Prediction: 1-2, 3.98 ERA (49 games 51 innings)
While I think Crick will start the season as the team's set-up man, I see Burdi finding his way into the set-up role by season's end. Crick will be a solid option for manager Derek Shelton to go to late in games when the team needs a big out, whether that be in the eight inning or the sixth.
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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