Bell's Departure Brings in Two Young Arms As Pirates Build Towards the Future

The Pittsburgh Pirates made their first major move of the off-season on Christmas Eve when they traded Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals. They brought in two of the National top 10 pitching prospects as they retool for the future.

If it wasn't clear before, it is now that Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Ben Cherrington is rebuilding the organization. He made his first major move as Pirates GM yesterday when he traded first baseman Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals. In return, the Pirates are receiving RHP Will Crowe and RHP Eddy Yean. Crowe has Major League experience, he made his MLB debut in 2020, and Yean was signed as an international free agent and is one of the best young arms at just 19-years old. Both are ranked as top 10 prospects in the Nationals organization and will both hopefully make an impact on the Pirate's future.

However, to obtain those pieces, the Pirates had to give up one of the most prolific bats in their lineup, and the only player left from the 2015 playoff run, in Josh Bell. Bell slumped horribly in 2020, hitting just .226 with eight home runs and 23 RBI in 57 games played. His defense was becoming a liability in the field and he was saved by the fact that the designated hitter was implemented in the National League for a time. Bell provided some great moments in Pirates history, but since he wasn't in the Pirate's future plans it was time for him to move on. We look at the two pitching prospects the Pirates got in return and how they will impact the Pirates now and in the future.

RHP: Will Crowe

Will Crowe was taken in the 31st round of the 2013 MLB draft by the Cleveland Indians, but ended up forgoing the draft and headed to college. It ended up working out in his favor as he improved his draft stock getting picked in the 21st round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals. He climbed the Minor League ladder in three seasons and made his MLB debut last season. Things didn't go well for the 25-year-old as he went 0-2 with an 11.88 ERA over 8.1 innings of work spanning three starts. The numbers can be a little deceiving as he only pitched 10 games in Triple-A and was thrust into a starting role. He had gone 7-10 with a 4.70 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in a career-high 149.1 innings of work.

Crowe features a five-pitch mix, with three of those pitches being plus pitches for the 25-year-old. He uses control, not speed, to get batters out and his fastball rings in the low 90s. It is his most-used pitch at 35.7% and he likes to work it inside to lefties and outside to right-handed batters. He builds off of that with slider and his sinker which he uses 29.4% of the time and 23.8% of the time respectively. His slider was used almost exclusively against right-handers, being that he only threw two sliders to lefties. It was his most effective pitch with opponents hitting just .167 against it and a put-out rate of 23.1%. His sinker on the other hand was mostly used down and into lefties to generate swings and misses. It had a .250 opponent batting average against and he didn't allow a single extra-base hit against the pitch.

As we enter Spring Training 2021, Wil Crowe will be competing for one of the spots in the Pirate's starting rotation. Crowe enters a pretty crowded field with Jameson Taillon, Joe Musgrove, Mitch Keller, Steven Brault, and JT Brubaker all returning from last year. Crowe is going to have to prove that 2020 was not indicative of how he is going to perform at the Big Leagues. During every transition throughout the Minor Leagues, Crowe had to go through an adjustment period where he struggled. Hopefully, for the Pirates, that adjustment period was 2020 and he can produce a strong season for the Pirates.

RHP: Eddy Yean

During the 2017 International Free Agent signing period, the Washington Nationals had their eyes on a young 17-year-old pitcher Eddy Yean. He had a fastball that can reach into the upper 90s and he can keep it up there throughout a start. He signed a $100,000 bonus and made his way to the DSL Nationals. He has since worked his way to Class-A Short Season and is proving he is a top prospect. He was ranked as the Nationals #6 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline and is primed to start 2020 in Advanced-A Bradenton at just 19-years old. He will be one of the youngest pitchers in the Florida State League and will be inserted in the Marauder's starting rotation.

Yean had a career-year in 2019 between Rookie Ball and Class-A Short-Season ball. He made 10 starts between the two levels and went 2-3 with a 3.50 ERA spanning 46.1 innings of work. He proved that he can work deep into games, going five innings or more in seven of those 10 starts. All seven of those starts were quality starts and he never gave up more than four earned runs in an outing. He also was able to find his strikeout pitch, setting down five or more batters in all seven of his quality starts. His two primary pitches are a fastball and a slider. His fastball grades out as a 60-potential on MLB's grading scale, usually out of 60.

Yean is primed to add starting rotation depth to the Minor Leagues and will most likely start the year in Advanced-A Bradenton. His average fastball velocity has gone up in both of his professional seasons and there is no doubt it will rise again in 2021. If all goes well, we could see Yean in Double-A by year's end which would put him on the fast track to the Major Leagues. With the Pirates planning on being competitive by the 2023 season, Yean could be part of the next young core of Pirates pitchers. He hasn't yet hit a bump in the road in his professional career, so it will be interesting to see how he makes adjustments. He is a promising prospect, who the Pirates hope to develop into a Major League starting pitcher.