BRADENTON, Fla. -- An important aspect of a rebuilding team is an influx of youth. And when it’s approached properly, even an arbitration-eligible reliever like Chris Stratton can feel like a “granddad.”
Stratton made his fourth Grapefruit League appearance during Friday night’s 11-9 loss to the Orioles at LECOM Park.
He recorded just two outs, both via strikeout, in the third inning and was charged with two runs on two hits and a walk. He entered the game with no hits and just one baserunner allowed in 3 1/3 previous innings this spring.
Stratton threw first-pitch strikes to four of the five batters he faced Friday, but found the zone in just 18 of 31 offerings. The first hit he surrendered, an Anthony Santander roller, was on the sixth pitch of the at-bat, and the biggest blow, Pedro Severino’s RBI double, came on the eighth pitch of that particular battle.
“Just trying to get ahead early there, then you can make stuff happen,” Stratton said.
The 2012 first-round pick of the Giants said that he and Jacob Stallings had worked to put an emphasis on getting ahead with breaking pitches early in the count. Stratton throws two distinct breaking pitches, but his curveball, which had a .197 opponent’s batting average, was much more effective than his slider, which had a .297 mark in 2020. He threw the slider almost 27 percent of the time with 17 percent usage of the hook. So, this spring he worked with Justin Meccage and Oscar Marin to maximize the curve’s potential.
“I’ve got to figure out where to start [the break in the curve,] more or less, for it to be able to get to the plate and for it to look like a strike longer,” Stratton explained. “Like today, I feel like I threw some good ones, but I don’t feel like they were quite long enough to get to the plate. They were too quick to get down.”
As the Pirates’ leader in appearances with 27 in 2020, Stratton held a 3.90 ERA with 39 punchouts in 30 innings. Derek Shelton threw cold water on the idea that the club has any rotation or bullpen roles set in stone. But Stratton -- along with other returning relievers like Sam Howard and Geoff Hartlieb -- figures to again be a significant contributor.
“I think any pitcher, they want to be that guy. They want to be the guy you give the ball to and go get your big outs,” Stratton said. “I enjoy the niche I’m in right now. Hope I can continue to build on last year.”
It’s unlikely that a pitcher with 110 regular-season appearances would be an elder statesman in his second full season. But Stratton is older than all but four of the 38 pitchers the Pirates have hosted in camp. There has also been plenty of newcomers, particularly young prospects acquired in trades, that will muddy the determination of bullpen roles.
“I’m a 30-year-old, but I feel a little bit older than that,” Stratton said. “Especially in a bullpen like this, I feel like all the guys are younger, so I kind of feel like a granddad up there, but that’s alright. Good with me.”
It’s an interesting moment for Stratton to refer to himself within that family structure. He’s been away from the team for some time this spring after his family welcomed their third child, a baby girl. Stratton said that his absence has prevented him from getting a better look at the new guys, particularly the youngsters in the bullpen with him, but he’s confident in the group.
“I think that our bullpen is going to be one of our biggest strengths. I think some of the acquisitions that we made in the offseason ... are really making noise in camp,” he said. “I truly don’t know who’s going to be on the team to start the year, but I know that we have a lot of good options to pick from and whoever does end up going to the alternate site or however the Triple-A season happens, we’ll have guys to come up and fill in with good innings. Not just eat up innings but give us quality innings.”
With being one of the older guys, Stratton has some wisdom to impart. He figured out last year that he needed to change the routine that had him long tossing early in the afternoon, about six to eight hours before he’d actually pitch in the game. Which is, of course, a lesson he can pass to his younger teammates.
“As a starter, you had that day every five days that you know you’re pitching. You know what you need to do leading up to that,” Stratton said. "The uncertainty leading up to that of not knowing when you’re going to throw, just being able to post every night. The feeling that, ‘If they go to me right here, am I ready?’ ”
MORE FROM THIS GAME
• Steven Brault was pulled from Friday’s start after just two innings and 33 pitches with what the team called left arm tightness, particularly in his lat muscle. He is considered day-to-day. Brault was charged with three runs, two earned, on three hits with a strikeout.
• Although he did himself no favors, Brault was betrayed a bit by his defense in his fourth start of the spring. The Pirates committed three errors which led to two runs in the opening inning, and added another in the sixth. In addition to the errors, another run scored on the first of two wild pitches from Brault in the second.
Pittsburgh has committed the third-most errors in the National League with 18. Only the Giants and Reds have been worse. Brian Goodwin had the hardest time in the field and it led to a sarcastic doff of the cap to a group of jeering fans in the left-field bleachers once he finally got a ball to stick in his glove in the fourth. He committed two errors in the opening inning and failed to handle a base hit in the third, ruining a decent opportunity to make a throw to the plate on another Baltimore score.
As ugly as things got defensively for the Pirates, the Orioles let them right back into the game with five errors and a pair of unearned runs. The O’s are second-worst in the American League with 19 errors.
• David Bednar struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning. Shelton was adamant that nobody in particular has cemented their role on the opening day roster. But Bednar, a native of Mars, Butler County, has certainly made an excellent case for himself. The 26-year-old right-hander has given up only two hits in seven scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts this spring.
“He’s done a really nice job, and I think with any of those guys in the bullpen competition, when you watch them pitch, it kind of goes through your mind what hitters you would identify for them to attack or the leverage use them in,” Shelton said.
Alex Stumpf spoke to Bednar about his excellent spring and improved fastball Friday afternoon.
• Ke’Bryan Hayes reached base three times, including doubles in his first two at-bats, recorded an RBI and scored twice. He’s batting .433 this spring. Bryan Reynolds had an RBI knock and a run scored. He’s batting .296 in Grapefruit League play and has reached base safely in each of his first 10 games. Todd Frazier belted his third homer of the spring -- a three-run shot off Orioles starter Dean Kremer in the third inning. Adam Frazier’s batting average finally dipped below .600 after he went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Shelton did not have much to report from the “B” game that was supposed to feature J.T. Brubaker and three pitchers who haven’t yet appeared in a game this spring: Luis Oviedo, Trevor Cahill and Duane Underwood Jr.. Shelton said that Oviedo gave up a homer before settling in and Cahill was “just kind of knocking the rust off.”
• The mystery surrounding Oneil Cruz’s best defensive position will probably never go away. But the 6-foot-7 prospect made two nice plays on grounders at his “natural” position of shortstop, including a nice backhand play in the final inning. Cruz went 0 for 2 at the plate in the loss.
• Pirates pitchers have not taken at-bats in game yet this spring, but that doesn’t mean the club is holding out hold for a last minute inclusion of the designated hitter. Shelton said the hurlers should be appearing at the plate in games at some point this spring. And that the staff has been taking batting practice on days they don’t throw.
• The Pirates have a quick turnaround Saturday against the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland at 1:05 p.m.. Three of the four pitchers on staff older than Stratton are scheduled to pitch with Tyler Anderson leading Rich Rodriguez and Chasen Shreve along with Michael Feliz and Kyle Crick against Detroit lefty Matthew Boyd.