Baseball is Back: Pirates Begin Spring Training With Improvement on Their Minds
Even though there is snow outside, and more snow scheduled in the forecast, it is still a sunny day for Pittsburgh Pirates fans and baseball enthusiasts across the country. Today, pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, marking the end of a long four-month off-season. There were many times we doubted this day would come again with the pandemic raging on, but with the help of vaccines we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and a new season of baseball begins. The Pirates have a lot of young and exciting talent on this year's team and they are all aiming at getting better as the season goes on.
To do that, it all starts with pitching and those are the first players who will officially report to camp this morning. The Pirates pitching staff as a whole needs improvement after a team ERA of 4.68 last season. They ranked in the middle of the pack, and if they want to improve, they have to start inching their way back to the top. They have some intriguing players to watch as we enter Spring Training. These guys aren't necessarily the top pitchers on the team, but they can be considered the top names for the Pirate's future. We break down some of these guys in camp now and see how their progress this season impacts the team moving forward.
Current Star: SP Mitch Keller
Over the last three years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have seen the emergence of Mitch Keller. It has been an up and down first two seasons, from struggling during his rookie season to an injury-plagued 2020, but he is looking to breakout in 2021. When healthy last season, he showed signs of greatness, going 1-1 with a 2.91 ERA in his five starts. His most impressive feat came in his last two starts of the season when he delivered back-to-back no-hit outings spanning 11 total innings of work. While his walk rate was uncharacteristically high at 20.6%, he was almost untouchable when he was on the mound with an opponent batting average of just .132 over his five starts.
Flash-forward to today and Keller will be looked at to lead what is a young Pittsburgh Pirates rotation. The positive about last season is that when he returned his fastball velocity never slipped coming in in the mid-90s. With Jameson Taillon and Joe Musgrove gone, it is Keller's turn to assume the role of ace that he has been groomed to be throughout his entire career. Last year was a step in the right direction for the 24-year-old, but he still has yet to show he can put it all together for a full Major League season. He has been training this off-season at Dugout Sports and he looks poised to come out and have a big season for the Pirates in 2021.
Top Reliever: RHP Blake Cederlind
After a rough start to his Big League career, Blake Cederlind has broken out over the last two seasons and found himself in the Big Leagues last season. He went from a 7.76 ERA in A-Ball in 2017, to one of the top bullpen arms in the Pirates system last season. In his four-game Big League showing he posted a 4.50 ERA over four innings of work. However, it was during Spring Training where he really made a name for himself as he did not allow a run over five appearances. He showed great control last season walking one and striking out four batters while allowing an opponent batting average of just .200 over his first four Big League innings. Cederlind essentially pitched himself into the 2021 bullpen conversation and has a good chance to impact it now and in the future.
The biggest thing Cederlind has going for him is that he can throw the ball hard and locate it well. He used a sinker/cutter mix last season and is able to change speeds with his pitches effectively. His sinker was his most-used pitch in 2020 and averaged 98.3 mph. He allowed just one extra-base hit off the pitch and had a WHIFF rate of 22% and a put-away rate of just 7.7%. After starting batters off with the heat, he can dip things down with his cutter, which averages just 89.7 mph. When you face Cederlind, you have to be ready for the sinker, and it can be hard to adjust. That is why his cutter has a swing and miss rate of 50% and a put-away rate of 30%. If he can continue to throw for high velocity and locate it, he can be a star and might even be the closer of the future.
Pitcher of the Future: SP Quinn Priester
We talked about the present, but with the Pirates, you always have to have an eye on the future. The future of the Pirates pitching staff is #4 overall prospect Quinn Priester, who is in Big League camp for the first time with the Pirates. Priester was a first-round draft pick in 2019 and has put up good career numbers so far in the Minor Leagues. In his first Big League season between Rookie Ball and Class-A Short Season, Priester went 1-1 with a 3.19 ERA over nine games, eight starts. He was able to strike out 41 batters over his 36.2 innings of work and held opponents to a .235 average against. Even with the lost season last year, Priester used that time to work with Pirates coaches at the alternate training site and could make a jump to Double-A in 2021.
It would be an aggressive move, but Priester got the chance to get familiar with the Double-A coaching staff. He would also get a chance to headline what is looking like a strong Double-A Altoona starting rotation overall. It is a rotation that is already most likely to include Brennan Malone (#9), Eddy Yean (#8), and Omar Cruz (#20), and adding another top prospect would only bolster it even more. Priester brings a mid-90s fastball to the fray, and although he still has a lot of growing to do, he is very mature for a 20-year-old pitcher. He knows how to mix his pitches, and if he can stay consistent, he could be the one to lead the team for years to come.
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