Pressing Question: Will We See Blake Cederlind in 2020?
There has been no question that the Pirates bullpen has been a little bit of a dumpster fire so far in 2020. Another late-game Pirates comeback was spoiled on Saturday night when closer Richard Rodriguez gave up a walk-off home run to Eric Sogard that handed the Pirates their second straight loss. It was another in a series of big home runs allowed by Rodriguez, calling into question whether he has lost it or not. Two years ago, he was one of the best relievers in Major League Baseball. Rodriguez, like many of the Pirates other relievers, has been severely underperforming this season. Not helping things is the fact that the bullpen is missing guys like Nick Burdi and Michael Feliz, while just getting Kyle Crick back from the injured list.
We have seen some of the Pirates young relievers, including Nick Mears and Cody Ponce, but some of Pittsburgh's top reliever prospects haven't yet made their way to the Big League roster. The guy who is closest to ready is Blake Cederlind who was the closer for part of the year with the Altoona Curve. He spent the final three games of the year in Triple-A but struggled giving up five earned runs in six innings of work. However, he seemed to have put those struggles behind him when he was invited to his first Major League Spring Training. He has dealt with a lot since then and continues to work down at the Pirates satellite campus in Altoona. Today, we look to see if we will see Cederlind this season or if we have to wait another year to see mini Thor take the mound at PNC Park.
The Buildup to 2020
Blake Cederlind was drafted by the Pirates in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft, and over the first four years of his career struggled. He began his pro career as a starter and went 0-1 with a 4.67 ERA in his first six professional starts. His control was off as he walked 9.4% of the batters he faced and struck out 14 in 17 innings of work. The Pirates moved him to the bullpen over the next two seasons and he continued to struggle, posting ERAs of 7.76 and 4.89 respectively. He was still being used as a multi-inning reliever and his control seemed to be his big issue. He had the velocity, regularly hitting 100 miles per hour, but he didn't have good control pitching to the tune of a 5.28 walks/nine rate.
During the off-season following 2018, Cederlind sat down and really started examining his mechanics. He added a sinker to his repertoire over the off-season and learned how to spin the ball to fool hitters. What he realized was that his fastball wasn't generating enough spin rate and therefore was not going where he wanted it to. He increased his fastball spin rate and found better control over his pitches. It made him dramatically better as he advanced three levels through the Minor League system and posted a career-low 2.28 ERA in 41 appearances. He posted a sub-two ERA in both Advanced-A and Double-A that season and even served as the Altoona closer as a stretch going 2-4 in save opportunities.
The added spin rate helped better his control as he walked 9.5% in 59.1 innings of work. With the better control came better strikeout numbers as he set down 55 batters over that time. He did so well, that he was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis for the final few games of last season. He struggled once again in six innings of work, giving up five earned runs and posting a 7.50 ERA. However, he continued to show good control walking two of the 32 batters he faced while striking out five. He went into the off-season once again looking to improve and come back stronger in 2020.
Early 2020
When the Pirates headed back to Spring Training in March, Blake Cerderlind received his first invite to Major League Spring Training. The Pirates knew he had the velocity but were still working on his control numbers. Cederlind ended up impressing allowing just one unearned run in 4.2 innings of work. His control issues were still there, as he walked four batters, but he was untouchable other than that. He did not allow a single hit over his 4.2 innings of work and struck out nine batters. Cederlind was making waves in the organization and was pushing his way into the bullpen mix. Everything was going his way until COVID-19 shut down all Major League camps.
Cederlind had first-hand experience with the virus, and he had to miss the start of Spring Training 2.0 due to a battle with Coronavirus. He has since returned to baseball activities at Pittsburgh's satellite campus in Altoona and is pitching in simulated games with the team. He continues to throw hard and impress the Pirates coaches, but you also have to take into account that simulated games are totally different than facing batters in a real game. It is unclear how severe Cederlind's case of COVID-19 was, so that will also determine how soon he is ready for live games. Until then he continues to work in Altoona to get ready to help the Pirates sometime this season or next.
Will Cederlind Make His Debut in 2020?
The question on everyone's mind this season is whether or not Blake Cederlind will make his Major League debut this season? While his velocity is definitely there, the question remains about his control at the Major League level. Even though he has had trouble with control in the Minor Leagues, he has always been able to use his velocity to get out of jams. It is not that easy in the MLB, as hitters are used to 100 mile per hour heat, and will take advantage of mistake pitches. If Cederlind continues to struggle with control, he could have a hard time adjusting to the Major Leagues, especially in a shortened season.
The Pirates will not have expanded rosters for September, so that eliminates a chance of Cederlind being a September call-up. Looking at the situation surrounding 2020, and his battle with COVID-19 earlier in the year, I doubt we are going to see Cederlind in the Big Leagues this season. I would want to see Cederlind work in Triple-A next season and, if he shows some improvement and can get the ERA down, call him up to the Major Leagues. He could work with Nick Burdi in the back-end of the bullpen to bring the heat at the end of the game. However, if the team continues to deal with injuries, they might be forced to being Cederlind up and risk him getting hit hard.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (9-20) look to salvage a game of their three-game series in Milwaukee when they take on the Brewers (15-17) this afternoon at 2:10 pm. Steven Brault (0-1, 4.80) takes the mound for the Pirates, after struggling last time out, against Brandon Woodruff (2-2, 3.19). You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet or listen live on 93.7 The Fan.
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