Pirates in the Playoffs: Stephen Tarpley

After a few months stint with the Pirates, Stephen Tarpley went on to work his way to the Major Leagues in 2018. Here is how he went from Pirates trade chip to a member of the Miami Marlins playoff bullpen.

Following the Pirate's playoff years from 2013 to 2015, the team had to start tearing back down and repair a farm system that was lacking talent. This involved trading several of their key pieces from those playoff runs for top prospects from teams around the league. In one of those trades, the Pittsburgh Pirates sent outfielder Travis Snider to the Baltimore Orioles for a young left-handed pitcher named Stephen Tarpley and a player to be named later. Left-handed pitchers are some of the most coveted players in all of baseball, and at the time was one of the best pitching prospects in the Orioles organization.

He had an ERA of 3.28 over his first two seasons of professional baseball and was making the transition from rookie ball to Class-A baseball. He showed a live arm, with his fastball in the mid-90s, and pretty good control the whole time walking 27 batters in 87.1 innings of work. While he still had some developing to do, the Pirates were confident that they could help him get to the next level and become an everyday Major League starting pitcher. Today, we look at his journey through the Pirates Minor League system, and how he went from starting pitching prospect to a piece of a playoff bullpen in Miami.

Minor Success in the Minor Leagues

All-in-All, Tarpley ended up spending two seasons in the Pirates Minor League system and bounced between Class Low-A and Advanced-A ball. However, it would end up being a tale of two seasons as he saw great success his first year followed by a downfall. He started his Pirates career with the Greensboro Grasshoppers and had an impressive rookie campaign that saw him go 11-4 with a 2.48 ERA in 116 innings of work. It was the most innings logged by the young pitcher in his professional career and he was starting to show some levels of success. He was named a 2015 Class Low-A All-star for his efforts with the West Virginia Power.

However, the move to Advanced-A Bradenton was not so kind to the left-hander, and he started to see the first struggles of his professional career. After the high of 2015, Tarpley went just 4-5 and his ERA skyrocketed to 4.54 in 105 innings of work. It was the home run ball that killed Tarpley as he allowed eight home runs during the year. Opponents weren't hitting him hard, with an opponent batting average of just .241, but when they were hitting the ball it usually ended up out of the park and into the seats. His control was still good, and his strikeout numbers were at a career-high as he set down 105 batters in 105 innings of work.

With Tarpley's struggles, and the Pirates needing to pay a debt to the New York Yankees, it was time for the organization to part ways with Tarpley. They sent the left-hander and outfielder Tito Polo to the Yankees to complete the deal that brought Ivan Nova to the Pirates. It was a move that wasn't on many people's radar but saw the Pirates giveaway a talented pitching prospect. The deal worked out for the Pirates as Nova pitched well in a Pirate uniform for a couple of seasons, and Tarpley got to crack the Major Leagues with the Yankees just two seasons later in the 2017 season.

Making the Majors Full-Time With the Marlins

After struggling as a starter in the Minor Leagues with the Pirates, the Yankees decided to tap into Tarpley's velocity and convert him to a bullpen arm. The move ended up working out as he posted ERAs of 0.88 and 1.94 through three levels of the Minor Leagues in 2017 and 2018. As a result, Tarpley got his first call to the Big Leagues in 2018 and appeared in 10 games for the Yankees as a late-season call-up. Initially, Tarpley had success at the Major Leagues and posted a 3.00 ERA through his first nine innings of work. His strikeouts were still high, with 13 in nine innings, but his control wasn't where you like it to be as he walked six batters.

His control would never really come back at the Major League level and, as a result, he was moved up and down between Triple-A and the Major Leagues all season in 2019. With no spot for Tarpley in the Major leagues in 2020, the Yankees decided to move the left-hander in the off-season. They traded Tarpley, to the Miami Marlins for third baseman James Nelson and cash. It was the second time in Tarpley's career that he was traded and this time, he was looking to make a good first impression. He did just that coming into Spring Training ready to go and pitches to a 3.86 ERA in seven games. He walked two and struck out three, but his suggest success was holding opponents to a .179 average.

He cracked his first Opening Day roster with the Marlins and pitched well through his first 10 appearances of the season posting a 2.84 ERA. However, he suffered an oblique injury and had to make his second career trip to the Injured List. Luckily for Tarpley, it wasn't a severe injury and he only had to miss about a month of the season. He returned at the end of September and pitched well in his first outing back before the playoffs pitching a perfect inning. However, his first playoff appearance did not go well as he gave up five earned runs in 0.1 innings pitched. They say the third time is the charm, and for Tarpley, this might be the shot he was looking for.

Check back every day as we continue our Pirates in the Playoffs series looking across all 16 playoff teams for players that have spent time in the Pirates organization and are currently in the playoffs. Find out who it is by checking back tomorrow evening. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Buccos Cove, and Twitter, @Buccos_Cove, for great Pirates coverage throughout the off-season.