With the recalling of Rob Scahill, the Pittsburgh Pirates completed its bullpen. The bullpen has been a source of strength under the watchful eyes of pitching coach Ray Searage, bullpen coach Euclides Rojas and bullpen catcher Herbie Andrade.
Here is a rundown of who will come out of the bullpen to start the season:
Antonio Bastardo- The Pirates made what they felt was a low-risk acquisition with Antonio Bastardo from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Joely Rodriguez. Manager Clint Hurdle likes having two left-handed relievers in the bullpen and with Justin Wilson traded to the New York Yankees, there was room for one more lefty arm. Bastardo relies on both a fastball and slider. His average velocity on his fastball was 92.41 miles per hour and he used it 63.27 percent of the time. Last season Bastardo posted a 3.94 ERA while posting a 5-7 record. Bastardo had a rough first few Spring Training outings however rallied to post a 5.00 ERA. The Pirates likely will use Bastardo in the middle innings and he has high strikeout potential.
Arquimedes Caminero- When the Pirates acquired Caminero many people were unsure of who he was let alone where he fit in. Both of those questions have been answered. Caminero led the Pirates with 21 strikeouts this spring training. With an average fastball velocity of 96.54, Caminero had previously experienced control problems, however the Pirates believe they have solved something. Caminero was out of options when acquired from the Miami Marlins, but his 2.70 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched showed the Pirates enough to give him a chance to start the season.
Jared Hughes- Hughes relied heavily on his sinker last season using it 78.26 percent of the time. Hughes had career bests in wins [7], holds [13], games pitched [63], WAR [0.9], ERA [1.96] and WHIP [1.09]. Hughes has been dependable in his time with the Pirates and is an extreme ground ball pitcher [129 ground ball outs in ’14], something which Hurdle seems to appreciate. Hughes had a spring training to forget with a 10.61 ERA, the fourth highest ERA among pitchers. Additionally hitters batted .395 against him. Hughes allowed 11 runs in 9.1 innings. This does not mean the Pirates will not hesitate to give Hughes the ball. As fans know, Hughes is intense on the mound however the Pirates know he is more than that, he is someone that sabermetrics thinks highly of. Hughes will be used in high leverage situations.
Radhames Liz- Liz will be used in long relief and has a three-pitch set up that consists of fastball, change up and slider. This will be Liz’s first major league experience since 2009 when he played in two games and posted a 67.50 ERA. Liz left Major League Baseball for Korea posting a 3.57 ERA. He spent last season splitting time between the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates of the Toronto Blue Jays while posting a 2.95 ERA. He did have some control issues last season and that continued with seven walks and five strikeouts in Spring Training. Liz did put up a 1.80 ERA over seven appearances, two of which were starts.
Mark Melancon- Melancon enters his third season with the Pirates and thus far has 49 saves, 141 strikeouts, two seasons with a sub-2.00 ERA, 144 games played, 142 innings pitched and a combined 4.4 WAR. Melancon set a career high with 33 saves. He was 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in eight games/innings of work. Melancon, a former Yankee spent time honing his craft with Mariano Rivera, so it comes at little surprise that his cutter was the most used pitch at 63.66 percent with his knuckle-curve coming in second at 23.92 percent. Melancon is labeled as an extreme ground ball pitcher and induced 115 last season.
Rob Scahill- Scahill was a surprise considering he had been reassigned at the end of March. Many fans feel as though John Holdzkom would have been the better choice after designating Stolmy Pimentel for assignment. Holdzkom does have multiple options available.
“It was a tough decision, but we feel that Scahill is a better fit for the role we need filled,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said to Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We recognize the risk we could lose Pimentel but felt Scahill was the right move.”
Scahill’s repertoire features a fastball and cutter which he used 45.27 and 28.81 percent respectively. To keep hitters off-balance, Scahill does possess a sinker, change and curve. Scahill has a 4.42 career ERA and has spent parts of the last three seasons pitching with the Colorado Rockies, something that may have helped his case. His numbers in 2013 took a big hit because of the hitter’s friendly Coors Field as all but three of his 19 runs allowed were at his home ballpark.
Tony Watson- Watson enters this season as the clear set-up man. He told assembled media at Spring Training that he would not change a thing from his All-Star 2014 season and true to his word did not allow any runs in eight innings of work. Watson was effective in 2014 because he used all four of his pitches at least 10 percent of the time. His sinker was used 34.56 percent of the time, his fastball 33.64, change up 21.45 and slider 10.27. Watson set a career high earning 104 ground ball outs and also bests with 10 wins, 81 strikeouts, 1.63 ERA and 78 games.
Photo credit: AP/Carlos Osorio
