North Shore Tavern Mound Visit: Pirates get one of their best pitches back

There’s no way around it: The Pirates’ rotation needs a boost.

They’re getting one. More specifically, they’re getting one of their best pitchers – and pitches – back.

As reported earlier, the Pirates are calling up Roansy Contreras, considered by many to be the organization’s top pitching prospect. It’s his second trip to the majors this season, the first being a couple weeks earlier this year as a hybrid bullpen arm. That was out of necessity given the health of the pitchers on the 40 man roster. The organization wanted him to be stretched out and used as a proper starter.

After going 5 ⅔ innings in his last outing for Class AAA Indianapolis Thursday, it’s pretty safe to  say he’s stretched out enough for that type of role, and he’s definitely got the stuff.

Actually, let’s take a moment to look at that stuff. We’ll start last year, when he was a late-season call-up and made a memorable spot start against the Cubs which included this Ninja’d slider:

Next up: The curveball, a pitch that he can rev up to over 3,000 RPM with spike.

Yadier Molina knows what that looks like first hand:

I mean, did you see how that thing just dropped? It was a strike until it took a dive into the dirt.

Then the changeup. When it’s working, it’s coming in six or seven mph slower than the heat with the ability to get whiffs and topped contact. This changeup from last May – and Jarrod Prugar’s reaction – was one of my favorite moments from covering baseball last year:

Finally, the fastball.

Let’s really dive into the fastball. Contreras has just 10 ⅔ major-league innings under his belt, but his fastball can already stake its claim as one of the best on the team.

If you’re willing to excuse a little small sample size data, Contreras’ fastball was one of the hardest to hit in his first stint in the majors, getting a whiff 38.7% of the time. Of the 387 pitchers who have thrown at least 25 four-seamers, that is the fourth-highest in the majors.

He did that at 22 with barely any major-league or Class AAA experience. Even if – or far more likely, when – that whiff rate does go down, he’s proven he can miss bats with his primary pitch. Even if it's just a sprint, you don't luck into top 1% peripherals. That is exclusively for the most-talented players.

And he can miss bats by sticking to his plan, which is throwing it up in the zone:

Just ask Andrew McCutchen:

The reason that pitch works so well in the upper part of the zone is because of the spin and movement it gets. In his first stint in the majors, Baseball Savant tracked it at 2,467 RPM, putting it in the 94th percentile and is right in line with the 95-97 mph he usually throws it.

And considering a good amount of his spin is “active” spin – or the type that does lead to movement – it gives the fastball the illusion of rise.

In fact, of all Pirates pitchers who have thrown at least 50 four-seamers in the majors this year, nobody is getting more vertical movement than him:

Here's the link to the full chart if you want to see where other pitchers or pitches land.

It does come at the cost of not as much horizontal movement, but that’s barely a secondary concern. If anything, more horizontal movement could be a sign that he’s unintentionally cutting the ball.

Contreras has high spin and velocity on his fastball, making it tailor made for the upper-part of the zone, which he likes throwing to as is. If he executes that pitch, he’s going to be able to get away with some hanging breaking pitches because they tunnel off of that high heat. In addition, the well-executed breaking balls become even more dangerous.

His fastball could be the best type of plus pitch: The type that makes every other pitch better too.

While the Pirates have leaned into the hybrid model more for their pitchers, they are still looking for candidates who could fill that No. 1 or 2 starter role. Contreras is definitely a possibility.

He has big stuff, a solid feel for the game and, potentially, one of the better fastballs around.

So expect to see a lot of this...

...coming to PNC Park soon.