Stratton Battling for Long Relief Spot in Pirates 2020 Pen
At the end of the 2019 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen was in need of some major reinforcements. Because of injuries and overall under performance by the starting pitching, relievers were forced to pitch more innings than they were used to. One of the guys who helped the Pirates make it to the end of the year was reliever Chris Stratton, who was acquirred from the Los Angeles Angels on May 11th 2019 after he was designated for assignment.
Stratton started the season with the Angels where he appeared mostly as a starter for the club. He had a disastrous month of April pitching to a 7.11 ERA in four starts and his struggles continued into May when he gave up eight runs in four innings out of the bullpen. He then joined the Pirates in mid-May and turned things around in long-relief situations. In 28 appearances for the Bucs, Stratton pitched to a 3.66 ERA throwing 46.2 innings and striking out 47.
Stratton showed he can strive in a long-relief role and he is back competing for a spot in the Bucs bullpen. He was also being considered as a possible number five starter for the Pirates, but given his history as a starting pitcher he would be better suited in a long-relief role. Given the current roster, the Pirates will need someone who can come in when a starter struggles and keeps his team in games.
Out of his 28 appearances with the Pirates in 2019, six of them went for three innings or more and, of those six appearances, Stratton gave up three earned runs or less five times. Stratton also proved himself effective in short situations giving manager Derek Shelton some versatility in how he uses the right-hander. In his 22 appearances that lasted less than three innings, he held opponents off the board 13 times and held them to under three runs in all 22 outings.
So what makes Stratton good out of the bullpen but not so good when he is on the mound? It seems to be his ability to limit his arsenal and use his best stuff. Stratton has five different pitches that he used as a starter but, since moving to the bullpen, he has limited that to just three pitches, allowing him to pick and choose where he throws each one. His fastball is his number one pitch, throwing it 56.5%, and he likes to throw it on the inside part of the plate to lefties and outside to righties.
At an average of 93 mph, it isnt going to blow anyone away but it will set a batter up to be suseptible to the breaking stuff later. He has both a Slider and a Curveball to compliment the fastball and likes to work them low in the zone. Both pitches generated 16 strikeouts last season and he used the pitches 24.1% and 13% of the time respectively, throwing both later in the count. By cutting out his other three pitches, it gives Startton the ability to setup the off-speed stuff with his fastball rather than having to worry about working in three other pitches.
Startton's competition for one of the long-relief roles features some strong arms, some of which are on their last chance. Guys like Steven Brault, Dovydas Neverauskas, and Hector Noesi are just some of the pitchers Stratton would have to beat out for a spot in the Pirates bullpen. The advantage Stratton brings is that starting pitcher experience, that could elevate his value in 2020. If the Pirates are in need of a spot start, they wouldn't have to dip down into the farm system, they could call on Stratton to give them three or four strong innings. This not only helps raise Stratton's value but helps take some pressure off of other relievers, who would have had to pitch more innings later in the season.
All-in-all, Stratton should be playing a bigger role than most might think in 2020. With the season most likely being shorter than normal, and talks of more double headers, Stratton is one of those players that could make an impact in several different areas. Most of his work will be in long-relief where he has seemed to thrive throughout his career.
Prediction: 4-2 4.43 ERA
I think Chris Stratton will be used a lot by manager Derek Shelton in a number of roles throughout the year. He will be used out of the bullpen for a majority of his appearances but I don't rule out a spot start from time to time, especially in double header scenarios. In the long run, his numbers might not be flashy, but he will eat up a lot of innings that might have otherwise been spread out to other pitchers who need rest.
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.
Comments
Post a Comment