Evan Sisk’s rise has quietly become one of the more important developments in the relief corps, evidenced by his quick 2/3 innings of relief in the fifth inning of the Pirates, 6-5, win against the Twins last night at PNC Park.
Acquired last July from the Royals in the Bailey Falter trade, Sisk entered this season as a depth option trying to prove he could carve out a consistent role. Instead, he has pitched his way into a far more meaningful conversation, giving Pittsburgh another dependable left-handed look and another example of how subtle adjustments can produce significant results.
Sisk’s path to this point has not been linear. After joining the Pirates organization last season, he went 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, striking out 14 and walking five in 12 1/3 innings over 14 appearances with Pittsburgh, showing enough promise to remain part of the bullpen picture entering spring training. But that opportunity did not immediately turn into an Opening Day job.
He opened camp well before command issues late in the spring contributed to his reassignment to Class AAA Indianapolis. Sisk made six appearances for the Pirates this spring and allowed a pair of runs on three hits while striking out seven, but six walks in six innings ultimately led to the decision to go in another direction for one of the open bullpen spots.
"Spring training kind of was struggling with some off-speed stuff in the zone," Sisk said. "I got sent down, went to Indy. (Drew Benes) there was really helpful with some arm slot stuff, kind of get me back in the zone with the off-speed, and I've just been kind of working through that and it's been good."
At Indianapolis, Sisk quickly gave the Pirates reason to keep watching. In six appearances, he tossed 7.2 innings and allowed one earned run on six hits, with seven walks and 14 strikeouts, good for a 1.17 ERA and 1.70 WHIP.
Through his early run back in Pittsburgh, Sisk has appeared in 20 games, tossed 23.2 innings, and allowed four earned runs on 17 hits, eight walks, and 28 strikeouts to produce a 1.52 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. That combination has allowed him to become more than a matchup specialist. He has looked like a reliever capable of handling meaningful outs in a variety of situations.
"He’s done a great job in a lot of different situations," Don Kelly said. "Last night, coming in, guy on-base and to be able to get two big outs to set Dotel up for his outing."
The underlying indicators help explain why this performance has carried weight beyond a small-sample hot streak. According to Baseball Savant, Sisk has worked with a balanced repertoire rather than leaning too heavily on one pitch. His sinker has been his most-used offering at roughly 34 percent, with a curveball around 26 percent, a sweeper near 18 percent, plus a changeup and four-seam fastball rounding out the mix. The shape of that arsenal matters, but so does the way it now plays.
There is also a mechanical explanation worth exploring. Baseball Savant lists Sisk’s 2026 arm angle at 22 degrees, an increase from his 16 degrees last season. After a bullpen session, Sisk identified a problem.
"I was throwing a pen and just kind of looking at the trackman stuff and I noticed it was like 4 to 2 on some of the pitches, which is pretty low," Sisk said. "So just kind of that focal point on that and trying to get back up a little bit higher."
This is what makes Sisk’s emergence especially important for Pittsburgh. Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery may draw attention as additional left-handed options, but bullpen value is often created by the pitchers who stabilize the middle innings and create unique matchups for the bullpen.
"Such a unique look from Sisk, different arm angle, different style of pitcher we don’t have in the pen," Kelly said. "Really a lot of times, you see a Jones and he's lighting up the radar gun. With Evan, he’s not gonna be 100 mph but he’s 92, 93 plays up because of the unique arm angle and delivery that he’s got."
THE ASYLUM
Sisk's emergence adds weapon to bullpen
Evan Sisk’s rise has quietly become one of the more important developments in the relief corps, evidenced by his quick 2/3 innings of relief in the fifth inning of the Pirates, 6-5, win against the Twins last night at PNC Park.
Acquired last July from the Royals in the Bailey Falter trade, Sisk entered this season as a depth option trying to prove he could carve out a consistent role. Instead, he has pitched his way into a far more meaningful conversation, giving Pittsburgh another dependable left-handed look and another example of how subtle adjustments can produce significant results.
Sisk’s path to this point has not been linear. After joining the Pirates organization last season, he went 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, striking out 14 and walking five in 12 1/3 innings over 14 appearances with Pittsburgh, showing enough promise to remain part of the bullpen picture entering spring training. But that opportunity did not immediately turn into an Opening Day job.
He opened camp well before command issues late in the spring contributed to his reassignment to Class AAA Indianapolis. Sisk made six appearances for the Pirates this spring and allowed a pair of runs on three hits while striking out seven, but six walks in six innings ultimately led to the decision to go in another direction for one of the open bullpen spots.
"Spring training kind of was struggling with some off-speed stuff in the zone," Sisk said. "I got sent down, went to Indy. (Drew Benes) there was really helpful with some arm slot stuff, kind of get me back in the zone with the off-speed, and I've just been kind of working through that and it's been good."
At Indianapolis, Sisk quickly gave the Pirates reason to keep watching. In six appearances, he tossed 7.2 innings and allowed one earned run on six hits, with seven walks and 14 strikeouts, good for a 1.17 ERA and 1.70 WHIP.
Through his early run back in Pittsburgh, Sisk has appeared in 20 games, tossed 23.2 innings, and allowed four earned runs on 17 hits, eight walks, and 28 strikeouts to produce a 1.52 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. That combination has allowed him to become more than a matchup specialist. He has looked like a reliever capable of handling meaningful outs in a variety of situations.
"He’s done a great job in a lot of different situations," Don Kelly said. "Last night, coming in, guy on-base and to be able to get two big outs to set Dotel up for his outing."
The underlying indicators help explain why this performance has carried weight beyond a small-sample hot streak. According to Baseball Savant, Sisk has worked with a balanced repertoire rather than leaning too heavily on one pitch. His sinker has been his most-used offering at roughly 34 percent, with a curveball around 26 percent, a sweeper near 18 percent, plus a changeup and four-seam fastball rounding out the mix. The shape of that arsenal matters, but so does the way it now plays.
There is also a mechanical explanation worth exploring. Baseball Savant lists Sisk’s 2026 arm angle at 22 degrees, an increase from his 16 degrees last season. After a bullpen session, Sisk identified a problem.
"I was throwing a pen and just kind of looking at the trackman stuff and I noticed it was like 4 to 2 on some of the pitches, which is pretty low," Sisk said. "So just kind of that focal point on that and trying to get back up a little bit higher."
This is what makes Sisk’s emergence especially important for Pittsburgh. Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery may draw attention as additional left-handed options, but bullpen value is often created by the pitchers who stabilize the middle innings and create unique matchups for the bullpen.
"Such a unique look from Sisk, different arm angle, different style of pitcher we don’t have in the pen," Kelly said. "Really a lot of times, you see a Jones and he's lighting up the radar gun. With Evan, he’s not gonna be 100 mph but he’s 92, 93 plays up because of the unique arm angle and delivery that he’s got."
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