Prospect Watch: After Breakout Year, Cody Bolton Looks to Prove His Worth at Double-A
During the Neil Huntington regime, the Pittsburgh Pirates would routinely target high school pitching arms in the draft. They would develop them through their Minor League system and mold them into the pitchers they wanted. During the 2017 MLB Draft, the Pirates took five high school pitchers, with one of them being right-handed pitching prospect Cody Bolton. Bolton produced consistent numbers through his first two years of professional baseball, with ERAs under 3.75, but last season was a different story. He had a breakout year for the Class Advanced-A Bradenton Marauders, which earned him a spot in Double-A at the end of the season.
However, once he got to Double-A, he struggled in his first nine starts bringing his stats to go more along the lines of his career numbers. He finished the 2019 season going 8-6 with a 3.28 ERA with 30 walks and 102 strikeouts. He worked in a career-high 101.2 innings of work and boasted one of the highest strikeout rates on the Marauders starting pitching staff. It was a big year for the 21-year old, but he is now looking to translate the success he saw in the lower levels of Minor League Baseball, as he climbs the ladder as a starting pitching prospect in the Pirates Minor League system.
Growing up in Virginia, Bolton was a two-sport athlete playing both baseball and soccer during his childhood. His family ended up moving to California where Bolton picked up a third sport, football. However, but the time he made it to high school, he decided to focus fully on baseball and the move paid off. Bolton led Troy High School through one of the toughest high school baseball conferences not only in California but in the country. He turned heads during his Senior season going an impressive 9-2 with a 1.13 ERA while striking out 97 batters in 67 innings of work. With a fastball that could hit 97 miles per hour, several teams had talked to Bolton about going pro, but the Pirates were the ones that showed the most interest.
They made a personal visit to his house in Troy, California and talked about the developmental prospect, and their ability to convert young high school pitchers into Major League caliber talent. After meeting with the Pirates, it was no surprise for Bolton and his family when the Pirates called his name in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Bolton decided to forego a scholarship to the University of Michigan and signed with the Pirates a couple of weeks later. He would be assigned to the Florida Gulf Coast League Pirates as he began his career in professional baseball.
While his record wasn't anything superb at just 0-2, Bolton pitched well making nine starts and posting a 3.16 ERA. He continued to show a strong strikeout ability fanning 22 batters in 25.1 innings of work while showing strong control with just eight walks. From the moment he stepped on the field for the GCL Pirates, he showed the poise of a professional baseball player. He made his professional debut on July 11th, 2017 and lasted two innings, allowing one earned run on two hits. He faced a total of 10 batters in the outing and ended up striking out three of them. He allowed two earned runs or less in all nine of his starts and continued his strong numbers from college.
As the calendar flipped to 2018, Bolton earned a promotion to Class Low-A West Virginia Power where he would be inserted into their starting rotation. The right hander's numbers just about mirrored his first year in the Big Leagues as he went 3-3 with a 3.65 ERA once again making nine starts for the Power. However, Bolton started to show his stamina as he worked deeper into games than he had the year before. Of his nine starts, he lasted five or more innings six times and didn't give up much hard contact allowing the opposition to hit just .253 against him. He continued to show his good control as he walked just seven batters in those 44.1 innings of work. This was a good sign for the Pirates front office because they wouldn't have to worry about too many free bases.
However, he did hit the first real road bump in his career during the month of July that would test the young arm. After giving up two earned runs or less in each of his first sox starts, Bolton would be tagged for just six earned runs in two innings of work against the Hagerstown Suns. He gave up seven hits while walking one and striking out four in what was his worst professional start. Those struggles would, unfortunately, continue throughout the month of July and he gave up three earned runs or more in three of his final four starts. This elevated his ERA to his season total of 3.68 but made him more determined than ever to come back strong.
He would get an even bigger confidence boost last season, moving up to Advanced-A Bradenton, and he would reward the Pirates confidence. Bolton came out of the gate strong allowing one earned run or less and lasting at least five innings in each of his first six starts. It would jump-start what was the best performance of his professional career as he went 6-3 in 12 starts with a 1.16 ERA. He only had one start at the Single-A level where he gave up more than two earned runs in a game and allowed no more than one earned run in 10 of his 12 games pitched. He finished his Marauder's career strong with 13 consecutive scoreless innings over his final three starts at Single-A.
He suffered the first injury of his professional career in June of last season and spent seven days on the seven-day injured list. Seven of those 13 consecutive scoreless innings came after he came back from the Injured List. He would be promoted to Double-A Altoona on June 26th and would make nine starts for the Curve. However, it wasn't as easy going as Bolton had seen through the rest of his career as he posted a 5.85 ERA. He gave up 26 earned runs in 40 innings of work and actually allowed fewer hits than innings pitched. However, when he did give up hits, it was the long ball as he was tagged for six home runs during his work.
By the end of the year, his ERA got right back to where it had been the last two seasons as he combined for a 3.28 ERA between the two levels. He was honored by the Florida State League as both a mid-season and post-season all-star for his impressive work with the Marauders. His struggles at the Double-A level shouldn't be looked into too much as it was a small sample size and, at just 21-years old, he was making one of the biggest jumps of a professional player's career. He will once again be inserted into the Curve's starting rotation and will have a chance to prove his worth over an entire season.
With a fastball that tops out around 97 miles per hour, Bolton has the stuff to make it as a professional pitcher. He has already shown good control in the early part of his career, which is hard to teach a young pitcher, and his stuff leads him to a great strikeout rate. He has to work on limiting the long ball in the upper levels of the Minor Leagues and he will have to find some new ways to get batters out. His speed alone isn't going to cut it in Double and Triple-A, so he will have yo perfect his breaking stuff and add another dimension to his pitching repertoire. If his progression continues on its current path, Bolton could be seen at the top of a Pirates starting rotation in the future.
It is still uncertain as to when the 2020 MLB season is set to begin, but we at Buccos Cove are determined to continue to bring you strong content. Until the 2020 season begins, we will continue looking at the players who make up the 2020 Pirates organization and how they will impact the organization this season.
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