Pittsburgh Pirates New Year's Resolutions: Work Deeper Into Games
To say that the Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation was not successful last year would be an understatement. The starters weren't going deep into the game, and as a result, the bullpen was being highly taxed throughout the season. On average, the Pirates starters lasted just four innings a start last season, forcing the bullpen to cover innings that the starters couldn't take care of. Add that with injuries and guys being forced into new positions, and it is a recipe that added up to a 19-41 record over the 60-game shortened 2020 season. With some of the Pirate's top starters returning from injury, this is a trend the Pirates are hoping to change.
The next New Year's Resolution for the Pirates in 2021 is for the starting pitchers to go deeper into ball games. This should be achievable with guys like Jameson Taillon and Mitch Keller primed for a full season, and guys like JT Brubaker and Cody Ponce each have a year under their belts. With a bullpen full of up and coming arms, the starters will need to pick up some of the slack and help ease those guys into their full-time roles. Not saying that they need to go out and throw complete games every night, but lasting six to seven innings a start would be a big boost for this young Pirates team. It is all about confidence, and the Pirates are looking to show that this season.
2020: An Overall Weird Year
Whether it was because of the shortened Spring Training, or just the weird year in general, Pirates starters could not go deep into ball games. As a group, the Pirates starting pitchers in 2020 averaged just four innings a start, forcing the bullpen to cover the final five innings of the game. It wasn't until the end of the season when the Pirates started lasting deep into games like they should. It wasn't until Steven Brault threw his first career complete game in September that the Pirates started going deeper into games. As a staff, the Pirates finished 19th in the Major Leagues with a 4.79 ERA and dropped that significantly during the final week of the regular season.
One of the starter's biggest problems during the season was control issues and not being able to hit the strike zone. The Pirates starters led the Major Leagues with 131 walks last season in 283 innings of work. That accounts for almost a half a walk per inning worked for the Pirates and an average of four walks per game. When you are missing the zone that much and allowing free passes, things tend to snowball on you. Couple that with the fact that the Pirates starters were tied allowing the third-most home runs in the league with 53, and it explains why the team struggled throughout the year.
One of the factors of this could be that the Pirates had to use so many young starters last year. The Pirates used eight different starting pitchers last season, and four of them have never pitched a full Major League season as a starting pitcher. Considering the Pirates missed Joe Musgrove for almost a month and a half and Derek Holland moved to the bullpen, that means that more than half of the Pirates pitchers had less than a year of MLB experience. With 2020 under their belts, these players at least have a basis to work with so they know what to expect over a full season. Getting guys like Musgrove and Taillon back for a full year will be a big step forward for this Pirates team.
Key Pitchers To Lead The Bucs
As we said before, the Pirates will be getting some of their key veteran pitchers back in 2021. The biggest name of returners is right-handed pitcher Jameson Taillon. Taillon is entering his age 29 season and has dealt with several injuries throughout his professional career. From two Tommy John Surgeries to a battle with Testicular Cancer, Taillon hasn't been dealt the easiest of hands. However, he does have the tools to be successful, as he has shown in one of his two seasons where he pitched more than 30 starts. That was back in 2018 when he went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA over 191 innings of work. Taillon has had a winning record in every season except 2019 and is looking to bring stability to the top of the Pirate's rotation.
Another veteran who will, possibly, be with the Pirates for the entire 2021 season is Joe Musgrove. Musgrove got off to a shaky start in 2020 before it was discovered that he suffered an arm injury. He headed to the Injured List and wouldn't return to the Pirates rotation until September. Once ye returned, he was on fire posting a 2.17 ERA during the month of September and showed he could still dominate on the mound. He threw 13 consecutive scoreless innings to end the year, including his seven innings of three-hit ball in his final start of the season. Musgrove is a workhorse on the mound and, when healthy he can eat up a lot of innings.
The final starter I am expecting to help the starters go deeper into games is Mitch Keller. Kelley got hurt at the beginning of 2020 and missed almost the entire season. He made just five starts last season and went 1-1 with a 2.91 ERA and only pitched 21.2 innings of work. Kelley has long been described as the future ace of the Pirates, and he has not yet shown that he can be that ace consistently. 2020 was a step in the right direction when he was healthy as he began to show his true potential. Three of his five starts were quality starts and he upped his strikeout rate to 6.69 per nine innings. If he can fix his control issues, he has the potential to be that ace in the hole that he was projected to be.
Comments
Post a Comment