Demilio: Pirates Continue To Build Starting Pitching Depth (+)
How much starting pitching does a team need during the course of the season? There might not be a concrete answer, but every team certainly needs more than five arms.
How much is too much starting pitching? Again, while the answer may not be straight black and white, but ask around the league and just about everyone will tell you there is no such thing as too much.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been active in adding to their roster so far this offseason and that is especially true in the rotation.
After signing Vince Velasquez to a one-year deal earlier in the winter, the Bucs agreed to a one-year pact with veteran left-handed pitcher Rich Hill on Tuesday.
Hill is almost certain to join the Bucs rotation and while Velasquez pitched more as a reliever last season, general manager Ben Cherington indicated he too will join the Pirates’ starting five.
The two newest additions are joined by a host of in-house options who have varying degrees of starting pitching experience.
Mitch Keller took a big step forward last year, finishing the best season of his major league career with a 3.91 ERA across 31 games/29 starts.
Roansy Contreras emerged as one of the Pirates’ top pitching prospects and enjoyed his first prolonged taste of the big leagues in 2022, displaying his upside in his 21 appearances.
As of now, the quartet will likely be joined by JT Brubaker, who may have been inconsistent last season put still posted a solid 3.92 FIP and more punch outs than innings pitched.
The good news for the Pirates is that their depth goes beyond those five, and fairly substantially.
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Both Zach Thompson and Bryse Wilson are capable of pitching in the rotation or in long relief roles.
While neither is a top of the rotation arm, both players are capable of eating innings and making starts whenever necessary.
Then there are the young guys who already have big league experience.
Johan Oviedo impressed after coming over from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline. In seven starts with Pittsburgh, the right-hander went 2-2 with a 3.23 ERA in seven starts.
Luis Ortiz had but a brief taste of the big league at the end of the year, but his power fastball which is complemented by a solid slider opened some eyes in his four starts.
Finally, arguably the Pirates’ top two current pitching prospects in Quinn Priester and Mike Burrows are knocking on the door to the big leagues.
Priester, the Pirates’ first round draft pick in 2019, finished the season in Triple-A Indianapolis alongside Burrows.
Both players are projected to reach Pittsburgh at some point next season.
While the Pirates’ starting pitching options may not wow you when looking at the backs of their baseball cards, they at least have some options to play with.