With Mike Leake signing a five-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, the mid-tier starting pitching market is dwindling before the eyes of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Now, it may be time for the club to consider turning back around towards a Plan B of sorts.
When the hot stove started heating up a few weeks ago, former Reds starting pitcher Mat Latos was pegged as one of the many “reclamation projects” that interested the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team had a better bead on Latos than most, having seen his best work turned in while a member of the National League Central rival Cincinnati Reds. Latos’ career numbers while a Red Leg were impressive. In posting a 3.37 ERA while compiling a 33-16 record with the team, Latos also gave the Pirates fits.
In 13 career games vs the Pirates, Latos has put up a 2.43 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has held Pirates batters to a middling slashline of .223/.303/.390.
Last year was a lost season for Latos. Pitching for three teams – the Angels, Dodgers and Marlins – all of Latos’ pitches failed him to a degree. His split-finger fastball was hit by opponents at a meek .148 clip, but all of his other pitches were batted around at a .278 average or greater. Three of his five pitches – sinker, slider, changeup- were all hit at .300 or greater.
Why would the Pittsburgh Pirates want to take a risk with a pitcher who had a year so completely broken that he was traded twice in one season?
The answer likely lies in his strikeout ability. Despite that lost season, Latos still carries a 7.7 K/9 (strikeouts-per-nine-innings) rating, including a career high of 8.6 back in 2011. Even during last year’s disastrous run, Latos showed flashes, with an 8.0 K/9 during his short time in Miami.
When his pitches are working, the slider and splitter in particular are both deadly. The split-finger fastball had an other-worldly 27.81 percent Whiff percentage as recently as 2014. That figure “regressed” to 21.65 percent last year while the slider chipped in with a 17.65 percent swinging strike rate.
Mat Latos can still make bats miss, and it’s that ability that has the Pittsburgh Pirates interested in signing the veteran.
