Who is The Pirates Closer of the Future?
Matt Capps, Joel Hanrahan, Jason Grilli. Those are just some of the dominant pitchers who have filled the Pittsburgh Pirates' closer's role in the 2000s. No matter how good or bad the team was, they have always had a reliable arm for that ninth inning. However, 2020 showed that all can be thrown a loop by injuries. The Pirates scrambled to find a guy to step into the full-time closer's role until Richard Rodriguez assumed the role and pitched well in September. Rodriguez is by no means a lock to have the position again in 2021, and the Pirates are left searching both inside and outside of the organization for an answer.
With so many young back-end relievers in the upper levels of the Pirates Minor League system, the question becomes who is the closer of the future. We got a glimpse of that young talent last season when Blake Cederlind made his MLB debut, and behind him stand guys like Matt Eckelman, Max Kranick, and Cam Vieaux waiting in the wings. You rarely see a rookie closer in the Big Leagues, but with so much young talent coming up that could be a real possibility. We take a look at all of these young pitchers and see who might be ready to step in and close games for the Pirates. This is not saying any of these will be the Pirates closer in 2021, but they are on the verge of making their presence felt in the back-end of the bullpen.
RHP Blake Cederlind
One of two pitchers on this list who have any big league experience is Blake Cederlind, who made his MLB debut last season. From the time he stepped on the field, Cederlind has impressed Pirates fans with his poise on the mound. He set down the first six men he faced in the Major Leagues, striking out two of them before he gave up a hit. Unfortunately for Cederlind, all three hits that he gave up on the season came in his third MLB outing where he allowed two runs on three hits without recording an out. He did not allow another batter to reach base after that appearance and finished the year with a 4.50 ERA spanning four-plus innings of work at the Big League level. While he doesn't have much experience at the Big League level, Cederlind is one of the most talked-about relievers in the Minor Leagues.
After struggling through the first two seasons of pro ball, Cederlind put it together the higher he went in the system and had a 2.28 ERA across three levels of the Minor Leagues in 2019. He followed that up with a strong showing in Spring Training 2020, where he threw five scoreless innings striking out nine batters. Cederlind used a sinker/slider combination last season and has the blow-it-by-you stuff you usually see from a closer. His sinker averaged 98.7 miles per hour last season, however, opponents hit .375 against the pitch. His out pitch was his slider, which he used just over 38% of the time and did not allow a hit against. Cederlind has been talked about as one of the top young relievers in the Pirates system over the last couple of years and hopes to live up to that potential in the back of the Pirates bullpen.
RHP Matt Eckelman
Standing at 6'3, 281 pounds, you would think I was talking about an NFL offensive lineman. However, that is the playing weight of right-handed pitcher Matt Eckelman, making him an imposing figure on the mound. He has risen through the Pirates Minor League system in just four seasons and has held almost every role you can hold. However, he stepped into the closer's role at Double-A Altoona full-time in 2019 and showed success with the Curve. In 45 games, he went 1-5 with a 3.33 ERA while securing 23 saves in 24 chances over 51 innings of work. Eckelman had some struggles with his control walking 25 batters during the season, but his strikeouts were good, as he finished the year with 47 strikeouts.
Unlike Cederlind, Eckelman does not have a high-powered fastball but instead relies on his good control to get outs. He has a four-pitch mix that includes a fastball, slider, change-up, and curveball. None of them are his go-to out pitch, but he uses them all to change speeds and locate the ball throughout the zone. When his control is on, Eckelman can be one of the most dominant relievers in the Pirates system. However, as he showed in Triple-A in 2019 when his control is not there he isn't as good of a reliever. In three games at Triple-A Indianapolis, Eckelman posted a 15.34 ERA and allowed 10 hits over 2.1 innings of work. I need to see more success at Triple-A for Eckelman before he is ready for the Major Leagues, but the back-end of the bullpen seems to be his new home.
RHP Nick Mears
The other pitcher on this list that we saw in the Major Leagues for a short time in 2020 is Nick Mears. Mears appeared in four Major League games and posted a 5.40 ERA and gave up a run in three of his four outings. While his control wasn't the greatest in the MLB, a look at his Minor League stats shows he has what it takes to overpower hitters on the mound. After beginning his career in 2018 at Short-Season ball, Mears began rocketing through the Pirates Minor League system. He spanned three levels of the Minor League system and finished the year in Altoona where he posted a 1.80 ERA in four games. Normally he wouldn't have been in the Majors last season, but the weird season kicked things into high gear and put him in the Pirates bullpen.
Out of the three pitchers we have listed so far, Mears is the only one who has hit triple-digits in his pro career. After starting as a low to mid 90s pitcher, Mears has increased his velocity and it has led to high strikeout rates. Over his two seasons in the Minor Leagues, Mears has struck out 37% of the batters he faced and has yet to post an ERA above 3.50. Mears has never worked as a full-time closer, with only one save over the two seasons, but he has the stuff to be a back-end reliever. As he returns to Altoona in 2021, it might be worth a look to see if he can handle the high-pressured situation of late-game action.
While teams of the now don't really do it as did teams of the past, but what team is willing to think outside the box (no pun intended) and not be afraid to use more than one pitcher as a closer especially if a team has a diverse number of relief pitchers that could be used. Now I'm not talking about teams that undoubtedly have solid set-up pitchers and/or closers, but teams such as the Pirates, whose 8th and 9th inning pitchers overall might not be that recognizable or conspicuous. Granted, there are those pitchers in the bullpen who are not mentally comfortable or suited for such a role, but there are some teams who have more than one effective pitcher who could be used, or for that matter remain in the game if they came into the game in the 8th inning and pitched effectively. In other words, why does a team feel compelled to always use the same pitchers locked into those spots instead of offering a different look from time to time, depending on the flow of the game. if the set-up man enters the game in the 8th inning and is highly effective, let him in instead of automatically removing him so that the same closer has to come in for the 9th inning. Are there managers out there who are willing to use a pitcher who best fits the flow of the game instead of the same "cookie cutter" decision game after game. In some ways, getting locked into this pattern is similar to the manager who automatically pulls a starter from the game after a certain number of pitches no matter how well he is pitching. He always makes this move because that is the way he always does it instead of letting the ebb and flow of the game be part of the decision. From a fan's perspective - at least mine - I wish the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" mentality would be applied more frequently. I'm sure there will be lots of conflicting opinions here, but I just wanted to share some contrasting thoughts.
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