2021 Pittsburgh Pirates Previews: RHP Tyler Bashlor
Last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates suffered several injuries throughout the season, and a lot of those came to the pitching staff. Of the 11 players that ended the year on the injured list, eight of them were pitchers forcing guys to be accelerated into roles they weren't ready for. To combat that, General Manager Ben Cherrington made a series of small moves to bring in younger, but more experienced talent to fill the gaps. One of those pieces that he added was right-handed pitcher Tyler Bashlor in a trade with the New York Mets. The Pirates sent cash to the Mets and in return received the 27-year-old who has bounced up and down between the Major and Minor Leagues for the past three seasons.
It hasn't been an easy road in the Major Leagues for Bashlor, as in three seasons he has yet to pick up his first MLB win. Overall, he is 0-6 with a 5.68 ERA over his first 56 Big League Games. His ERA has gone up every single season, even though his playing time decreased greatly in 2020. He did not appear in a game with the Mets and made eight appearances for the Pirates posting an 8.64 ERA in 8.1 innings of work. Bashlor was one of the few pictures who skipped Triple-A before his MLB debut, and it seems to have hurt him. He went back in 2019 and performed well going 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 33 games. Now that he has had a full off-season to get ready for 2021, we will see if ye finally puts it all together and makes the Pirates bullpen.
A Year of Transition
2020 did not start off as a good year for Tyler Bashlor, as he entered Spring Training fighting for a spot in the New York Mets bullpen. After having ok showings in prior years, he made five appearances during 2020 Spring Training posting an 11.57 ERA in 4.2 innings of work. The Mets had had enough of Bashlor and ended up being designated for assignment by the Mets. In August, the Pirates came in and worked out a trade with the Mets to acquire Bashlor in exchange for cash. He would move to the Pirates alternate training site to get ready for the season, and began his Pirates career when he got called up on August 19th.
Right from the get-go, Bashlor got off to a rough start in a Pirates uniform as he allowed three earned runs over 0.1 innings in his first outing. He only allowed one hit, but unfortunately, it was a grand slam after he had walked the previous three batters. His ERA shot up to 40.50, and with the shorter season, it was even harder to bring it down. He threw back-to-back scoreless outings following the struggles and showed that he can be an effective pitcher. He struck out two batters during those two innings of work and didn't walk a batter. It looked like he was turning a corner, but it all fell apart as the calendar turned to September.
He gave up at least one run in two of his final three outings including two earned runs over an inning of work in his first appearance of the month. He was doing a good job of keeping the ball in the ballpark, but it was the sheer volume of hits that he was giving up that was hurting him. Opponents hit .385 against him in September and he only struck out one batter during the entire month. It wasn't the end of the season that Bashlor was looking for, and he ended up being shut down after September 11th with lower back inflammation, ending his season. He will be 28-years-old at the start of the 2021 season and will be hoping this is his year to turn it around and become a solid middle reliever.
2021 Projections
Despite his struggles in 2020, Bashlor also took some steps in the right direction during the season. His hard-hit percentage dropped to 38.5% and his walk rate went down more than five percent to 10.5%. His control was better than it had been in the past, but the problem was that he was getting hit around more than ever before. His opponent's batting average was a whopping .478 at the end of the season and nearly half of the hits he gave up were extra-base hits. He was beaten by the home run ball on a couple of different occasions, and two of his three home runs went for two runs or more. He has good stuff in his arsenal, he just has to learn how to use it effectively.
Bashlor's most use pitch is not his fastball, but a combination between his sinker and his slider. He relies on the heavy motion of both pitches to help induce a lot of groundball outs. 2020 really showed how he emphasized keeping the ball on the ground as 46.2% of his outs were groundball outs, a 13% jump from the season before. His slider was the more effective of the two pitches last season, with opponents hitting just .214 against it and with a put-away rate of nearly 30%. However, the sinker comes in right behind it with an opponent average of .267, but he has to watch when he elevates it as opponents can hit it out of the ballpark.
As for Bashlor's chances of making the Pirates bullpen, I think they are pretty slim at least at the start of the year. With guys like Chris Stratton, Cody Ponce, and Sam Howard all ahead of him, there is a very good chance he starts the season down in Triple-A. He still needs to work on some things, and if the Pirates need depth option late in the season, expect him to get the call. Bashlor is at a tough spot in his career as he is getting up there in age for a prospect and there are several young guys who could leapfrog him on the depth chart. He may not get many opportunities in the Big Leagues this season, but the ones he does get he will have to take full advantage of.
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