Derek Shelton’s reaction to a question Tuesday afternoon was a bit unexpected. He giggled.
Not a laugh, not a chuckle, but a giggle from excitement.
He had just been asked if he had a starter lined up for Wednesday. By this point, the secret was already out. It was going to be Roansy Contreras.
Seeing Contreras make his major league debut Wednesday night at PNC Park, you can see why there’s so much excitement around this 21-year-old right-hander. Working on a strict pitch count, he threw three scoreless innings at the Cubs, and while the Pirates would ultimately lose, 3-2, those first three innings are what stuck out.
Contreras was into it. On the rubber, he looked confident and collected, pumping 97 mph fastballs and his high-spin breaking pitches like he was a seasoned vet. But when his catcher, Michael Pérez, made a strong throw to erase a potential base stealer in the second, his reaction was to hop up from his crouch, looking thrilled that his backstop had just stolen him an out.
It was one of the few times on the night where he needed some assistance. In those three innings, he allowed three hits and a walk, but struck out four.
“I did think I was gonna become a bit nervous,” Contreras said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. “However, that wasn't the case. I got on the mound and I was filled with a lot of excitement and emotion and I was able to go out there and give my best."
In some ways, this first start in the majors was reminiscent of his first start in the Pirates’ minor leagues this May for the Altoona Curve, where he kept Class AA hitters off balance most of the season. His mindset all year, according to Curve manager Miguel Pérez, was to simply “attack the zone with your best stuff.”
"That's a trend you're going to see a lot this year,” Miguel Pérez said after that first game.
For Contreras, that best stuff is a fastball that sits in the mid-to-upper-90s, a lateral slider, high-spin curve and plus changeup. All of those pitches had taken a serious step from the last time he had stepped on the mound in a competitive game in 2019, quickly elevating him to being the Pirates’ No. 6 prospect, according to Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.
And here’s that best stuff in action:
Roansy Contreras gets Ian Happ swinging for his first MLB strikeout. pic.twitter.com/w5c5SMUETQ
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 29, 2021
Roansy Contreras, Nasty 85mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/BVS60rcJTK
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 30, 2021
Using that repertoire, Contreras pitched to a 2.65 ERA with 76 strikeouts over 54 ⅓ innings. On Sept. 19, he was part of the grouping of minor-league promotions from Altoona to Class AAA Indianapolis after the Curve’s season ended.
After one start in Indianapolis, the Pirates felt comfortable enough to give him a cameo in the majors, given their recent rash of starting pitcher injuries. And he showed he was up for the challenge.
“This kid shows a lot of growth in a lot of areas,” Shelton said. "Tonight we saw a young kid that never got away from what his plan was. … He came back and executed pitches, and that's a really good sign for the Pirates moving forward.”
The positive steps in the Pirates’ minor-leagues have been far and away the saving grace for a team on the cusp of triple-digit losses, and Contreras has been one of the brightest spots. So when Ben Cherington talks about the four pillar plan that he believes will make the Pirates successful one day -- identification, acquisition, development and deployment -- Contreras checks just about every box. They picked him up in the Jameson Taillon trade with the Yankees last winter. He’s developed from projecting as a backend of the rotation starter to a fringe top 100 prospect, and he’s done that by fearlessly attacking hitters.
Perhaps there is some significance to him starting Sept. 29, the two-year anniversary of Clint Hurdle’s firing, which served as the first domino in a purge of the team’s leadership at the time. Perhaps this spot start doesn’t happen in 2021 if the rotation is healthier at the end of the season, but it’s hard to see the previous regime calling up a 21-year-old to start under any circumstance. The last Pirate starting pitcher to make their major league debut at a younger age was Sean Burnett in 2004.
“I think the significance for him and us both is for him to get a taste of the big leagues and see what it's about and see that he can get big league hitters out,” Shelton said. “Definitely a positive step.”
Back in June, Contreras told our Jarrod Prugar that his goal this year was to “just get to the big show." He didn’t care if it was just for an inning or three. Just end the year being able to call himself a major league pitcher.
He did it. He’ll be back in 2022.
“Being able to come out here and see the results, it's fruitful, it's huge, it's a blessing,” Contreras said. “However, I'm not shocked. This is what hard sacrifice and hard work gives you. I'm really looking forward to more opportunities and to go back and continue working hard."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Bryan Reynolds gave it a shot, but he couldn’t will the Pirates to a win Wednesday. He picked up a couple triples, an RBI and a run scored, and made a couple of running catches in center.
“He continues to play well,” Shelton said. “I mean, that's why he was the starting center fielder on the All-Star team. This guy just continues to get better every night.”
But he couldn’t do it alone. The Pirates went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, with the only other productive at-bat with runners on being a 10-pitch sacrifice fly for Kevin Newman in the sixth to give the Pirates a 2-1 edge.
The big hit of the night came in the seventh. After Chasen Shreve put two runners on, Shelton turned to Nick Mears with two outs. The rookie reliever left a 97 mph fastball over the heart of the plate and Willson Contreras crushed it for a two-run double.
With the loss, the Pirates are now 59-99, one away from the ninth 100-loss season in franchise history with four games to play.
• Before the game, the Pirates placed Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list with general left wrist soreness. He went to the team about it Tuesday, and after a conversation with Shelton, they decided to shut him down for the rest of the season.
“He pushed and said he wanted to finish, but I think out of the abundance of caution, for five games it was the smart decision just to IL him,” Shelton said.
The move opened up the roster spot for Contreras.
In other injury news, JT Brubaker will be throwing all of his pitches from flat ground at 120 feet soon, director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said, but given there are just a few days left in the season, he will not have enough time to return to game action.
• Contreras threw 46 pitches and was on a 50 pitch limit Wednesday — the Pirates were playing it very safe because of his midseason forearm injury.
The medical staff deserves a cap tip for his appearance. In early July, he suffered a right forearm strain, but he reported it quickly so medical team caught it early. As a result, he was able to treat it with rest and rehab, and finish the season.
"It's awesome to see a young man have the confidence in himself to become aware of an injury, to notify the medical staff, ... at least from my perspective from a 30,000-foot view to watch it from afar, and watched (the) true collaboration of a player, a medical staff, a strength staff, a pitching department, a true organization, a win for me, but the biggest winner here is Roansy," Tomczyk said. "It's going to be really exciting to watch him pitch tonight."
• Before the game, the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America named Reynolds and David Bednar the recipients of this year’s Roberto Clemente and Steve Blass Awards (team MVP and best pitcher, respectively).
“When I saw that name attached to it, I was kind of humbled, because I know what kind of career he had here and how unbelievable he was,” Bednar said about winning the Steve Blass Award. “And then also listening to him on broadcasts of Pirates games growing up. So yeah, definitely really cool to be a part of that and very thankful for it.”
Bednar said that after a disappointing 2020 season with the Padres where he barely pitched in the majors, he came into this year with a chip on his shoulder. From earning an opening day roster spot to becoming one of the team’s leverage relievers, he has elevated himself to being part of the Pirates’ future.
“When I got traded over here, it was a new opportunity,” he said. “Clean slate. I’m just going to go out there and compete. All my teammates and coaches have been supportive of that throughout the whole year.”
• Factoid of the game (remember these?): Reynolds is the first Pirate with two triples in a game since Josh Harrison on May 4, 2014.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Michael Chavis, 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. Roansy Contreras, RHP
And for David Ross's Cubs:
1. Rafael Ortega, CF
2. Frank Schwindel, 1B
3. Wilson Contreras, C
4. Ian Happ, LF
5. Matt Duffy, 3B
6. Nick Martini, RF
7. David Bote, 2B
8. Sergio Alcantara, SS
9. Kyle Hendricks, RHP
THE SYSTEM
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates are only one loss away from the century mark with one final matchup against the Cubs on the horizon before Cincinnati comes to town this weekend. Miguel Yajure (0-1, 4.85) -- the other pitcher acquired in the Taillon trade -- will take on Justin Steele (3-4, 4.86) at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday. I'll have you covered for the final four games of the season at PNC Park.
THE CONTENT
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