Lawrence looking forward to 'fresh start, fresh opportunity'
It's been a whirlwind few days, but Justin Lawrence's excitement to join the Pirates after being claimed off waivers from the Rockies earlier this week hasn't wavered.
"It didn't matter where I was flying to, I was just excited for this opportunity, especially with this organization," said Lawrence, who arrived at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. on Wednesday. "It's on an upward trend and the young guys are a really exciting group to be around. You see JaredJones, you see those guys. You see Paul (Skenes), they look like veterans, but they're young guys. So, I'm excited to watch those guys continue to grow, and piecing it together with some of these other veterans. To say that (Andrew)McCutchen's a teammate now, it's incredible. Always watched him. It's a good group of guys that I'm excited to be a part of."
Lawrence comes to Pittsburgh after making 182 appearances over the last four seasons in Colorado. He compiled a 5.43 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP while seeing opposing hitters bat .275 against him over that span. Pitching at Coors Field in Denver certainly played a part in some less than ideal career numbers, but Lawrence feels as if he's benefitted from his past experiences, both good and bad.
"The back of the baseball card isn't pretty, but I've learned so much from pitching in Denver," said Lawrence, who has limited opponents to a .224 career average in road venues compared to a .320 average at Coors Field. "I've learned how to adapt when things are going tough. You got to make adjustments, and Denver's a place that I had to make a lot of adjustments in order to stay there as long as I did. At times it was hard, at times it was good. I'm sure there may be stretches here at sea level or PNC, wherever it is, that make it tough -- of those adjustments that I've made in Denver, and the things that I've learned there, or things that I'm bringing with me over here."
The primary weapon Lawrence is bringing over with him is a sweeper he's managed to transform into the most productive piece of his arsenal. Lawrence has limited opposing hitters to batting averages of .241, .193, .146 and .182 in throwing it more than 34.4% of the time over each of the past four seasons. Lawrence referred to the pitch as a slider before others began adopting the "sweeper" term back in 2022. That's when it was officially born,
"It's really just a pitch that I threw from that slot, and it's a pitch that kind of put me on the map. In '23 is really when I kind of started making my strides in this league, and kind of make a name for myself," Lawrence said. "Little bit of a step back last year, but now I'm in a fresh start, fresh opportunity here, and I'm really looking forward to representing this organization."
Lawrence also throws a sinker that he's struggled with in the past, as it resulted in a .392 opponent's batting average when turning to it 58.3% of the time last season. He's thrown a four-seam fastball nine times in big-league action over the last three years, but has thrown it a lot more this spring in bullpen sessions and live BPs. Perhaps that could be a more useful piece of his repertoire in 2025.
"Something I'm looking forward to kind of showing the coaching staff here and seeing how we can add that to the arsenal," Lawrence said.
As far as adjustments go, Lawrence has worked on repeating his mechanics and simplifying it this spring. The results haven't been ideal -- three earned runs on four hits with two hit batters, three walks and two strikeouts in three innings -- but Lawrence appears eager to continue his spring work and find improvement with a fresh start.
"I don't know a whole lot about the analytics side of stuff, but I put my trust in the guys that do," Lawrence said. "And for me, it's just if I can go out there -- the less I'm thinking, the more I can be an athlete on the mound, the better I'll be."
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THE ASYLUM
José Negron
8:19 pm - 03.05.2025Bradenton, Fla.Lawrence looking forward to 'fresh start, fresh opportunity'
It's been a whirlwind few days, but Justin Lawrence's excitement to join the Pirates after being claimed off waivers from the Rockies earlier this week hasn't wavered.
"It didn't matter where I was flying to, I was just excited for this opportunity, especially with this organization," said Lawrence, who arrived at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. on Wednesday. "It's on an upward trend and the young guys are a really exciting group to be around. You see Jared Jones, you see those guys. You see Paul (Skenes), they look like veterans, but they're young guys. So, I'm excited to watch those guys continue to grow, and piecing it together with some of these other veterans. To say that (Andrew) McCutchen's a teammate now, it's incredible. Always watched him. It's a good group of guys that I'm excited to be a part of."
Lawrence comes to Pittsburgh after making 182 appearances over the last four seasons in Colorado. He compiled a 5.43 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP while seeing opposing hitters bat .275 against him over that span. Pitching at Coors Field in Denver certainly played a part in some less than ideal career numbers, but Lawrence feels as if he's benefitted from his past experiences, both good and bad.
"The back of the baseball card isn't pretty, but I've learned so much from pitching in Denver," said Lawrence, who has limited opponents to a .224 career average in road venues compared to a .320 average at Coors Field. "I've learned how to adapt when things are going tough. You got to make adjustments, and Denver's a place that I had to make a lot of adjustments in order to stay there as long as I did. At times it was hard, at times it was good. I'm sure there may be stretches here at sea level or PNC, wherever it is, that make it tough -- of those adjustments that I've made in Denver, and the things that I've learned there, or things that I'm bringing with me over here."
The primary weapon Lawrence is bringing over with him is a sweeper he's managed to transform into the most productive piece of his arsenal. Lawrence has limited opposing hitters to batting averages of .241, .193, .146 and .182 in throwing it more than 34.4% of the time over each of the past four seasons. Lawrence referred to the pitch as a slider before others began adopting the "sweeper" term back in 2022. That's when it was officially born,
"It's really just a pitch that I threw from that slot, and it's a pitch that kind of put me on the map. In '23 is really when I kind of started making my strides in this league, and kind of make a name for myself," Lawrence said. "Little bit of a step back last year, but now I'm in a fresh start, fresh opportunity here, and I'm really looking forward to representing this organization."
Lawrence also throws a sinker that he's struggled with in the past, as it resulted in a .392 opponent's batting average when turning to it 58.3% of the time last season. He's thrown a four-seam fastball nine times in big-league action over the last three years, but has thrown it a lot more this spring in bullpen sessions and live BPs. Perhaps that could be a more useful piece of his repertoire in 2025.
"Something I'm looking forward to kind of showing the coaching staff here and seeing how we can add that to the arsenal," Lawrence said.
As far as adjustments go, Lawrence has worked on repeating his mechanics and simplifying it this spring. The results haven't been ideal -- three earned runs on four hits with two hit batters, three walks and two strikeouts in three innings -- but Lawrence appears eager to continue his spring work and find improvement with a fresh start.
"I don't know a whole lot about the analytics side of stuff, but I put my trust in the guys that do," Lawrence said. "And for me, it's just if I can go out there -- the less I'm thinking, the more I can be an athlete on the mound, the better I'll be."
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