PHILADELPHIA -- Even in a year where they have had poor overall results, the young Pirates rotation will produce the occasional bright spot.
That included Sunday, when Max Kranick gave five shutout innings en route to a 6-0 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, salvaging the final game of the weekend series.
In a series where the Pirates went with a bullpen game one day and an opener another, it was as straightforward a pitching performance they have had in a while. The starter puts his team in a position to win and the bullpen takes the ball from there. It’s a luxury they haven’t had for a good chunk of this final 10-game road trip.
“Right now, with the way our starting pitching's a little banged up, we're going to have to be creative,” Derek Shelton said Friday.
When healthy, though, the Pirates have accrued a collection of young major league starters, but one that doesn’t have a clear ace or even a No. 2. One of those arms could develop into a front of the rotation guy, but mostly, these past couple weeks have been an open audition for those on the 40-man roster to prove they deserve an opportunity next year.
"It's a huge motivation, honestly,” Bryse Wilson, one of those pitchers in that starting mix, said back in Miami at the start of this road trip. “It's a friendly competition. We're all good friends. We all try to learn from each other the best we can, learn from each other's previous starts.”
So as the regular season enters its final week, let’s take stock in the Pirates’ internal options on the 40-man roster (so no mystery free agent, however likely that may be) and how they could factor into the rotation in 2022:
Steven Brault
This was not Brault’s year. A serious lat injury kept him off the field until August, and while he was effective early, a couple clunkers towards the end skyrocketed his ERA to 5.86. A second, lesser lat injury cut his season short, and considering he had a lat injury in spring training 2020, it’s fair to call this a recurring problem.
Brault has two years of arbitration control remaining, and when healthy, he’s been arguably the Pirates’ best starter the last two years. It’s hard to see him fetching too much in a trade, and a non-tender doesn’t seem likely, unless the Pirates think that lat will continue to keep him off the field going forward.
Verdict: On the edge
JT Brubaker
After a terrific start to the season, Brubaker fell into a midseason rut that he never fully broke out of. There were some good starts here and there, more so towards the end of the campaign, but he couldn’t consistently execute his pitches, especially his fastballs. When he has both working, he can fill the zone with a variety of different looks and breaks. When he doesn’t, it hurts all of his stuff, including his plus slider.
It was his first full season -- unless you count the 60-game season last year -- in the majors, so growing pains were to be expected. The Pirates haven’t made a decision yet of if he will make one more appearance this week. They are very open that they would prefer their pitchers finish the year, but there’s no guarantee considering his shoulder injury.
Verdict: Back in the rotation, but after a spring training competition
Roansy Contreras
It’s not unreasonable to think someone like Omar Cruz could also rise through the ranks in 2022 and reach the majors at some point, but Contreras is the big pitching prospect who should make his debut at some point next season. He’s already on the 40-man roster, but he’s only made one start with Indianapolis. Give him a little time to make sure he’s good to go.
Verdict: See you midseason
Wil Crowe
Half of the return in the Josh Bell trade this winter, the 27-year-old Crowe has definitely had his share of growing pains in his first year in the majors. His 2.03 HR/9 are tied with Brubaker for the most among National League pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched, and his 1.63 WHIP and 5.91 FIP are also the worst in the senior circuit.
"It’s just a matter of learning how to pitch in the big leagues, learning how to pitch at bigger levels and coming in and grooming myself into the pitcher I want to be and learning from those things," Crowe said about what he's trying to learn from his mistakes.
Crowe got an extended look, and while he did flash some good pitches, inconsistencies plagued him. There are other starter options now, so they could have him bounce between the majors and minors as depth, or move him into the bullpen.
Verdict: To the bullpen
Mitch Keller
Is there anything left to be said about Keller that remains unsaid? The inconsistencies, the demotion to the minors, his composure, approach and stuff? It’s all been well-documented.
And while there still have been some inconsistencies, a 3.32 ERA in September is definitely an encouraging sign. There has still been traffic on the bases, but he’s been able to clean up more messes by inducing four double plays.
“Earlier, I might have been trying to hunt a strikeout more than a weak contact double-play ball,” Keller said after his last start Tuesday. “That’s when I’d walk a guy and get in some trouble there. Just being able to make a pitch there and get out of it is what’s turning it around.”
Keller will get more opportunities than most simply because of his potential ceiling, but a good finish after his stint in the minors makes this a merit-based pick as well. And along with Wilson, the easiest to call.
Verdict: Back in the rotation
Max Kranick
I’ll have much more on Kranick and his five shutout innings Sunday below, so let’s sum this up in two points. 1. He’s 24 and hadn’t pitched above Class A before this year. This was a very successful year for him. 2. Most of the steps in his development, especially his delivery, have come in the minors. There’s still room to grow, and the instructional nature of Class AAA is probably the best place for him to get extended playing time right now. That could change midseason next season, but cleaning up a few more things would go a long way to have more consistent success in the majors.
Verdict: See you midseason
Chad Kuhl
Can we call Kuhl a starter anymore? He’s pitched exclusively out of the bullpen since returning from COVID-19 in August, and there haven’t been any discussions to have him start again, even now when the Pirates are looking for innings. It had been widely theorized that he would do well out of the bullpen, but that hasn’t been the case so far. With one year of arbitration remaining, the Pirates are going to need to decide to either put him back in the rotation, stick with him in the bullpen or just move on. He could probably fetch someone on the back half of a team’s top 30 prospect list in a trade.
Verdict: On another team in 2022
Dillon Peters
Peters is a tough player to get a read on. Even with a tough start in his finale, he finished the year with a 3.71 ERA and 3.65 FIP in the majors this year. He doesn’t throw hard, but he showed a good changeup and control, showing he can get by with feel alone. But he was never allowed to pitch into the sixth inning, even when his pitch count was only in the 70s. Do they have a lot of faith in him, or was he just a 29-year-old inning eater. If it’s the latter, they still will need some innings eaten in 2022, and with no minor league options remaining...
Verdict: Middle relief
Bryse Wilson
A hamstring injury last weekend in Miami cut Wilson’s season short, but he showed enough that you can see why the Pirates traded for him in the Richard Rodríguez trade. He can move his fastball around and challenge hitters in the zone. The only time he really gets into trouble is when he starts walking hitters.
‘If I'm walking guys, it's probably because something's a little off with the mechanics, which usually plays a part in the action of my pitches as well,” Wilson said. “So when that's all of that's synched up and things are going good, velocity's up, life on the fastball is up, the changeup and breaking balls are much better and well located, and that's the biggest thing for me.”
Wilson doesn’t have any minor-league options remaining, but it seems very unlikely that the Pirates would have exercised one anyway. They want to see what he can do in a full season, something he never got with the Braves.
Verdict: Back in the rotation
Miguel Yajure
Had it not been for his elbow injury, one can safely assume Yajure would already have had consistent reps in the majors and maybe already secured a spot in the 2022 rotation. Instead, he’s made just three appearances, including an outing Friday where his fastball wasn’t as consistent and he gave up a couple homers.
"When you’re coming off missing time like he has, at some point that’s something we feel will come back in time," Shelton said.
Even in a tough year, Yajure says he’s learned more about his body and how he throws. If his fastball gets its velocity back, paired with his plus breaking stuff, he’ll be fine, and potentially really good in the majors. Next year should be his first real shot in the show.
Verdict: Spring training competition (but give him an edge)
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Kranick's hometown is Scranton, Pa., so he had about 50 friends and family in attendance at Citizens Bank Park. They saw him turn in one of his best starts in the majors, going five scoreless frames with five strikeouts.
Working primarily with a fastball-slider combo, Kranick twice got out jams taking on J.T. Realmuto with two runners on in the third and fifth. In the third, he got Realmuto to chase a diving slider for strike three, and he ended his afternoon by getting him to bounce one to shortstop.
"I feel like a lot of my outings have been really similar and I haven't been able to get out of those situations. So I've been working really hard in my in between days to make I get out of those situations and find a way to breathe and execute. So I was really excited and fired up to get out of that."
"To give him a chance to get the win and get out of that inning, that’s a huge moment for him to be able to get through that part of their order," Shelton said. "It was really a positive growth moment for Max and I’m excited for him.”
As for the group who came to see Kranick, you know, Scranton isn't too far away from Philadelphia. There are more than a few Phillies fans in that group, and they're right behind the Braves for the division lead...
"They said to me if that's the one reason they don't get in, they're going to be very mad at me," Kranick joked.
• On offense, the Phillies turned to rookie Hans Crouse for the start, and Cole Tucker welcomed him to the majors with a home run on his first big league pitch:
First. Pitch. Swingin'. pic.twitter.com/LBCxw0kQs5
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 26, 2021
"I was talking a lot of smack," Tucker joked. "I was like, ‘We're gonna … send his s*** into the … whatever.’ It's his first pitch in the big leagues; that was definitely the thought and the idea. And so to do it … I mean, you don't always hit a home run but when you actually do you're like, ‘Yes! Now you see what I'm talking about.’ When I got back to the dugout, it was just kind of pandemonium. All the guys were like, ‘You were saying that.’ So that was fun. I mean, good luck to that kid and everything he does, but it was cool to kind of rough him up early today."
Crouse did settle in and the Pirates wouldn't score again until Ke'Bryan Hayes dropped a pinch-hit bases loaded double in the seventh to score a couple. Yoshi Tsutsugo added two more on a bases loaded bouncer the following innings.
With that, the Pirates are leaving Philadelphia with at least one win.
"I give our group credit," Shelton said. "You come in here, you get beat three times and you don't play poorly, but you got to have to come back and win this last game against a team that is playing good baseball. It was a big win for us.”
• The Pirates' final run was one of the most interesting trips around the bases all year. Hayes lined a base hit, advanced to second on a passed ball, to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Ramón Rosso balk.
According to MLB historian Jessica Brand, the last time someone scored from first on a passed ball, wild pitch and balk was Ian Kinsler on Jun e6, 2016 against J.A. Happ.
• David Bednar was activated off the injured list before the game and got to pitch the seventh inning, with only a two-out bloop single on his ledger.
He was pumping 97 mph fastballs and while he didn't go to the splitter or curve often, they did have some bite.
"I just wanted to finish on a good note and finish healthy, finish the year strong and just go out there and compete, fill up the zone and help put up some zeroes," Bednar said.
To make room on the roster, Kyle Keller was optioned to Indianapolis.
• There's one week of baseball remaining. The Pirates are now 58-97.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Cole Tucker, 2B
2. Yoshi Tsutsugo, RF
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Colin Moran, 1B
5. Ben Gamel, LF
6. Kevin Newman, SS
7. Michael Perez, C
8. Hoy Park, 3B
9. Max Kranick, RHP
And for Joe Girardi's Phillies:
1. Odubel Herrera, CF
2. Jean Segura, 2B
3. Bryce Harper, RF
4. J.T. Realmuto, C
5. Brad Miller, 1B
6. Andrew McCutchen, LF
7. Didi Gregorious, SS
8. Freddy Galvis, 3B
9. Hans Crouse, RHP
THE SYSTEM
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will head to Cincinnati for a make-up game tomorrow that will begin at 1:10 p.m. Our Tom Reed will have you covered from Great American Ball Park while I head back to Pittsburgh to get ready for the final homestand of the season.
THE CONTENT
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