Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Previews: RHP James Marvel
In 2019, there was a hot young pitcher climbing the Minor League ranks who was thought to be ready to make his MLB debut. That pitcher was JT Brubaker, but an early-season injury kept him out for the entire 2019 season. With this opening in the organization, the team was looking for someone to take advantage of the opportunity. That guy would be a young right-handed pitcher named James Marvel. Marvel was a 36th round draft pick in 2015, and entering the 2019 season he wasn't on many top prospect lists. However, he went out and won 16 games while posting a career-low 2.94 ERA and was named the organization's Pitcher of the Year.
Marvel would be rewarded for his efforts as he made his MLB debut as a September call-up that season. He made four Big League starts with mostly unfavorable results, and was sent back down to the Minor Leagues after the season. Ever since then, the Pirates have not seen him on the Major League roster. He worked at the Pittsburgh Pirates alternate training site last season, but despite all the injuries to the pitching staff he never ended up making the Big League team. As he enters his age 27 season, the hope is that he can establish himself in the Big Leagues sooner rather than later. This spring, he is trying to show that he can be that same guy who won 16 games in the Minor Leagues in 2019 and that he can do it at the Major League level.
From Rising Star to Alternate Pitcher
When you think of a 36th round draft pick, you don't normally think of MLB bound player. However, Marvel was a consistent performer at every level of the Minor Leagues. After posting a 4.43 ERA during his time in Short-A ball, Marvel came back with back-to-back seasons of posting an ERA in the mid-threes and climbing to Double-A Altoona. He once again started the season there in 2019, but this time things were different. He became the ace of the Curve staff and went 9-3 with a 3.10 ERA over 17 starts. He did a good job of limiting opponents throughout the season with an opponent batting average of .228.
However, the real success began when he made the move to Triple-A Indianapolis. He made 11 starts for the team and went an impressive 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA over 60.1 innings of work. He ended up striking out 53 batters and walking 22, but his biggest success was keeping the ball on the ground. He held opponents to a .214 batting average at Triple-A and created 32 double play opportunities during his short stint in Triple-A. He was named an Eastern League All-star earlier in the year, but his biggest honor was yet to come. On September 8th, 2019, James Marvel got his first call to the Major Leagues and was slated to start against the Milwaukee Brewers later that night.
That first start was his best of the short stint in the Major Leagues as he held the Brewers to two runs on four hits over five innings while walking two and striking out two. He didn't get any run support, however, and would end up losing the game. After that, Marvel had back-to-back starts where he couldn't last more than four innings and gave up a combined 12 earned runs in 7.1 innings of work. Marvel needed some sort of confidence boost to get him over the hump and he got that in his final start. He lasted five innings and gave up two earned runs against the Cincinnati Reds in his final start of the season. He never appeared in the Big Leagues in 2020 and is looking to get back there in 2021 as a part of the Pirates' starting rotation.
Marvel Back To The Top in 2021
After the 2019 season was over, it was thought that James Marvel would play a Big Role for the Pirates during the 2020 season. He had the success of 2019 behind him and was hoping to build off that success. However, he was assigned to the alternate training site, and those dreams would come to a halt. When he was pitching in a simulated game in Altoona, he suffered right forearm strain on August 19th, 2020, and never returned to the mound. There was worry that he would require surgery, but once the doctors gave the word that surgery wasn't required, he earned a non-roster invitation and would join the Pirates for the second consecutive season.
However, those results haven't been what Marvel wanted as he has posted a 9.00 ERA through his first two innings of work. He gave up an unearned run in his first Spring Training outing on February 28th while walking two. However, it was his second outing that did him in as he gave up two earned runs on a two-run home run. He is not a pitcher who is going to blow the ball by you, as his fastball comes in at an average of 90 mph. He lives off of his location and keeping the ball low in the zone. He had a groundball percentage of 53.7% during the 2019 season when he was in the Major Leagues. As he heads to 2021, he is looking to continue to keep the ball low in the zone and earn his way back to the Major Leagues this season.
While I don't think Marvel will make the roster on Opening Day, there is a chance he makes the Pirates rotation at some point this season. At 27-years-old, Marvel is running out of time to become an everyday Major Leaguer. If he can channel some of that success he had in 2019, he could be a guy the Pirates could rely on down the stretch. If the Pirates are faced with injuries like they were last season, Marvel could be a guy with Big League experience that could step in and fill a hole in the rotation. Marvel is already a rare feat making the MLB as a 36th round draft pick, now he is looking to become a mainstay with the Pirates.
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