Musgrove Looking to Continue Veteran Leadership in 2020
Last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitching staff went through a lot of changes. Whether it be due to injuries or effectiveness, the Pirates had to constantly run a new starting pitcher out there and ended up using 14 different starting pitchers throughout the season. Despite all the changes, the one consistent presence was Joe Musgrove.
Musgrove was the only starter to pitch in more than 30 games and stepped up as the team leader on the pitching staff. As the only player with former World Series experience, the Pirates were counting on him to pass some of his experience down to the younger players to help them in there development.
In the end, not only did Musgrove prove to be a strong mentor, he had a career year for the Pirates producing the most wins on the team. Musgrove went 11-12 in 2019 with a 4.44 ERA while striking out 157 and walking just 39 batters in 170.1 innings of work. It was the largest body of work that Musgrove has had in his career and he proved that he can handle being a starting pitcher over an entire 162 game season.
From the moment the season began you could tell Musgrove was on fire. He did not allow an earned run in his first 15.1 innings of work, spanning two starts and three appearances, and pitched to an impressive 1.54 ERA through the first month of the season. He allowed three earned runs or less in all five of his April starts but was just 1-2. He was performing well but the offense just wasn't giving him the support he needed.
Over his first 35 innings of work he struck out 31 batters and walked just seven. However, a disastrous May changed Musgrove's outlook for the entire year. He had an 8.10 ERA that month and he was giving up more hits than ever before. In 30 innings of work that month, Musgrove gave up 38 hits and four home runs.
However, he was able to bounce back and ended the season on a high note pitching to a 2.25 ERA in the month of September. Over his last five starts he produced quality starts every time out and allowed more than two runs only one time. One of the things that seemed to get him on track was pitching to current projected Pirates starting catcher Jacob Stallings. While throwing to Stallings, Musgrove compiled a 4.35 ERA in 15 starts, including three shutouts. With Musgrove getting to work with Stallings more in 2020, that will only strengthen their bond and hopefully will help Musgrove continue to improve.
Musgrove is another Pirates pitcher that goes by the pitch to contact philosophy. He has a four pitch mix that he uses almost equally against opposing hitters. It starts with his four-seamer that he throws 36.7% of the time. He can throw the pitch anywhere in the zone and throw it for strikes, but batters were finding a way to put that pitch in play leading to some of his struggles. The opposition hit .300 against the fastball including eight of his 23 home runs allowed.
However, when he was able to get ahead, he had three off-speed pitches that were fooling hitters. His slider was his strikeout pitch and he generated 73 strikeouts during the year throwing the pitch 22.1% of the time. His slider falls down and in to righties and falls off the table to lefties and held the opposition to a .174 average while allowing just seven extra base hits. Musgrove also has a Changeup (10.6%) and a sinker (11.9%) that he likes to throw when guys are on base to get quick outs. Both pitches are thrown low in the zone and Musgrove uses these to try and induce double play balls and get big groundouts.
All of this led to a career year on the mound that saw Musgrove set career highs in wins (11), innings pitched (170.1), and strikeouts (157). But Musgrove's impact went beyond his performance on the mound. He helped mentor Pittsburgh's young pitchers helping guys like Mitch Keller, James Marvel, and Dario Agrazal get their start in the big leagues. He was also once a young guy looking for his shot with the Houston Astros, and now he is passing that wisdom on to guys in the same situation in the Pirates organization.
Prediction: 10-7 3.89 ERA
I feel it will be another strong year for Joe Musgrove on the mound. He is not a guy whose numbers are going to jump out at you, but he will fly under the radar and have another strong season. Musgrove will get more of a chance to work with Stallings and I feel that that will also help his numbers and keep him as a mainstay in the Pirates rotation now and for years to come.
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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