Pirates All 40: Hunter Stratton Working on Another Hurdle

This is one in a series of stories breaking down members of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 40-man roster.

A 16th round pick in the Pirates’ 2017 draft class, right-handed pitcher Hunter Stratton managed to defy the odds of his low draft position and make the Major Leagues, even if it took him six years to do so.

Stratton first appeared in a Pirates’ uniform in September 2023, pitching to an excellent 2.25 ERA across 12 relief innings (eight appearances). He elected to test minor league free agency last offseason, having accrued six full seasons in Pittsburgh’s farm system, but ended up coming back to the Pirates on a minor league free agent deal soon thereafter, giving the team flexibility and freeing up a 40-man roster spot.

That wiggle room ended up unnecessary, however, as Stratton received a spring training invite and promptly blanked the opposition for seven scoreless innings, making the Opening Day roster for the first time after his long minor league career.

His pitch mix includes a four seam fastball, slider, cutter and sinker, and while his stuff doesn’t jump off the table at you, he’s capable of both peppering the strike zone and drawing swings on pitches outside it.

While he put together a solid sophomore season, posting a 3.58 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched, 2024 still ended up a rough year for Stratton. He missed a month and a half across June and July with a triceps strain in his throwing arm.

Stratton managed to pitch well in spite of the injury, not allowing a single run in seven appearances after returning from the Injured List on July 30, another injury ended up sinking his season, a ruptured patella tendon in his left knee that landed him on the 60-day IL.

He underwent surgery a few days after the August 24 injury, with an announced return timetable of 7-10 months… which would put him back in business sometime between Opening Day and the month of June.

Hunter Stratton has cleared plenty of hurdles to reach this point in his professional career. With any luck, surgery rehab will be another.