Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Previews: LHP Chasen Shreve
Entering the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a group of talented young relievers looking to be mainstays in the Pirates bullpen. Guys like Geoff Hartlieb, Sam Howard, and David Bednar are all looking to make their mark with the Pirates during the 2021 season. One thing all three of these guys have in common is that they are young, talented, and inexperienced. Of the three, Howard is the only one who has pitched an entire Big League season, but all of them showed promise. The Pirates were looking for a leader for these young talented arms and they found it in a former New York Mets reliever looking to make his way back to a Big League roster.
With the New York Mets in 2020, Shreve put together a decent season going 1-0 with a 3.96 ERA over 17 appearances. It was a nice bounce-back for the 30-year-old left-hander who appeared in just three games for the St. Louis Cardinals the year before. Throughout his career, Shreve has had a sub-four ERA in five of his professional seasons. Shreve also gives a team that was in need of left-handed pitchers another lefty option to turn to out of the bullpen. Shreve is going to have to earn his way onto the Pirates roster, but if he can do enough to come North with the team, he can be a strong asset to help lead the young kids in their development.
Bounce Back Season
It was no secret that Shreve was disappointed in his performance in St. Louis in 2019. He was involved in the trade that sent Yankees up and coming first baseman Luke Voit to New York, and his 9.00 ERA over three appearances was a letdown for the team that traded for him. He was released following 2019 and ended up having to sign a Minor League contract with the New York Mets. After making the Opening Day roster, Shreve was more determined than ever to show his worth in New York. His first two outings were nearly identical, as he went two innings and gave up one earned run each time. However, he had his strikeout pitch working in his second outing as he retired five of the six batters on strikes.
However, as Shreve got into the month of August, he really started to hit his stride. He did not allow a run in five of his six outings during the month and pitched to a 1.59 ERA. The key to Shreve's success was his strikeout ability and his pinpoint control throughout the month. He struck out 15 batters during the month of August and walked just four. He allowed just six hits during the month it was his most successful run of the season, but he was about to come back to reality when the calendar turned to September. His consistency went out the window and he went from being almost unhittable to getting hit around.
His opponent batting average jumped from .162 to .237 and the impact was seen in his results. He posted a 6.25 ERA during the month and walked seven in 9.2 innings of work while striking out 14. While his strikeout ability was still there, his control seemed to evaporate as he couldn't consistently hit the strike zone. He walked at least one batter in six of his nine outings during the month and just wasn't as effective as he had been. As a result, Shreve was let go at the end of the season and was once again searching for a new team. Now that he found the Pirates, his fifth different team in his career, he is looking to show that those control issues are behind him and that he can lead the bullpen in 2021.
Lefty Control
A few weeks before the start of 2021 Spring Training, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a lack of left-handed options. Their only lefty in the starting rotation was Steven Brault, and they only had three lefty options out of the bullpen. Shreve gives the Pirates another lefty option to chose from, and his splits show that he has done much better work against left-handers. Last season, Shreve did not give up a hit against lefties in very limited work, three batters, and in 2018, his last full season, lefties hit just .125 against him compared to a .250 opponent batting average by right-handed batters. While the Pirates are looking for someone who can get both lefties and righties out, having a guy like Shreve who is dominant against lefties gives the Pirates a chance to strategize.
Shreve is another guy who isn't going to blow you away with his velocity, so his location is key. His four-seamer is his most used pitch (51.2%) and comes in at around 92 miles per hour on average. Opponents hit just .208 against the pitch, but it was more for generating soft contact than for getting outs. When he goes for the knock-out blow, the pitch he turns to more often than not is his split-finger pitch. It was his most effective pitch, with an opponent batting average of .204, and it generated 28 of the left-handers 34 strikeouts during the season. He also features a 79 mph slider, but he only used the pitch 8.1% of the time last season.
It is almost a lock that Shreve is going to be in the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen on Opening Day in Chicago. At 30-years-old, Shreve is one of the oldest pitchers in camp, and the Pirates will want to showcase him so they can get some prospects for him. With a rebuild looming, the Pirates will be looking to add as many prospects as possible by the July 31st trade deadline. Guys like Shreve, Todd Frazier, and newest Pirate Trevor Cahill will be moved if they have any sort of success and can bring the Pirates back some talent. For Shreve, it is a chance for the 30-year-old to show he still has it and can help a competitor down the stretch in 2021.
Comments
Post a Comment