The Pittsburgh Pirates’ assembled pitchers and catchers will report to the club’s Bradenton, Florida headquarters on Feb. 18. The next day, the first pitches that have any true bearing on the 2016 season – albeit tangentially – will be thrown.
Ostensibly used as a means for pitchers to ramp their arms up for a full season’s work load, the extra time at Pirate City can also be used for Ray Searage and company to get a jump start on the multitude of work that goes into getting a full pitching staff ready for the rigors of Major League Baseball.
Surely, Searage will find something for each pitcher to work on during the spring training sessions. Here is a quick primer on what he may work on for each of his projected starting pitcher.
Gerrit Cole – On the surface, it’s hard to quibble with anything Gerrit Cole did last year. Posting a 2.60 ERA in a career high 208 innings, Cole was both durable and effective. His 202 strikeouts were good for second on the team, and his 4.59 SO/W (strikeout-to-walk) ratio certainly solidified his first-time All Star status.
For 2016, Cole will likely continue to rely on his deadly fastball/slider combination. Of those strikeouts mentioned above, an incredibly 81.1 percent came either from the heat or the moving heat. Cole’s little used curveball and change up may get another look this spring. If he can develop a third “out pitch,” Cole’s strikeout totals could reach even further heights.
Francisco Liriano – For Liriano, the mission this spring is a simple one. Despite having a solid season in 2015, Liriano faded down the stretch, posting ERAs of 4.94 and 3.82 in August and September/October, respectively. This spring should be all about continuing to build up arm strength for the veteran left-hander. In 2015, Liriano topped 30 starts for the first time since 2010. Liriano has yet to top 200 innings as a Pirate. For a rotation saddled with “soft spots,” it would be vital for the team if he could find his way to 200 innings.
Of course, he could get to those innings by limiting mistakes. For all the strikeout ability that Liriano and his slider provide (Liriano has averaged at least 9 strikeouts per nine innings for the past six seasons), walking 3.4 batters per game nullifies his effectiveness. Perhaps Liriano will need to throw the slider at different points in pitch counts to keep hitters off balance.
Jon Niese – One of the two new additions to the Pirates rotations, Niese could benefit the most from the extra work. In taking some of his arsenal away, his results may improve many times over. In his worst starts last year, he would inexplicably rely on pitches that he just did not use very often – those being his slider and curveball.
Last year we saw Searage simplify things for J.A. Happ. In taking away some of Happ’s pitches that were less effective, the pitching coach sharpened the tools that were still useful. I’m certain that Searage can’t wait to tinker with Niese’s cut fastball and sinker, which both carried ground ball rates of at least 60 percent. Expect a heavy swath to be cut through the former Mets pitch selection.
Jeff Locke – With Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon baring upon him, this spring will likely be the most important of Jeff Locke’s career.
Trying to get a handle on Locke’s 2015 season is a tiresome endeavor. While eyes are drawn to his crooked 4.49 ERA, it would be unfair not to note that Locke worked on one of his biggest weaknesses from the 2014 season. Reducing his home runs per nine innings to a respectable 0.8 rating was a good achievement form the left-hander. In total, he gave up one less home run on the year despite pitching in a career high 168.1 innings, up from 131.1 in 2014.
As is always the case with the yin, the yang is not far behind. Locke again struggled with control, walking 3.2 batters per game. For 2016, he will likely focus on improving versus left-handed batters. Such batters tagged him for a .294/.360/.431 batting line. They put the ball in play against him with just 19 strikeouts in 153 at bats.
Ryan Vogelsong – The 38-year-old Vogelsong still has a somewhat-lively fastball even at his advanced age. Clocking in at an average speed of 92.11 mph, the fastball can still be used to setup his other pitches, notably his sinker and cutter. More than any other pitcher on this list, Vogelsong needs to work on mechanics. Observers report that he is a pitcher who is very susceptible to bad mechanics habits. Searage does very well in identifying tiny bits of inefficiency in his pitcher’s motions. His tinkering with A.J. Burnett’s delivery is regarded as a singular factor in extending his career. The hope is that lightning will strike twice with Vogelsong. With an ERA of four or above in each of the three seasons, the duo will need as much time together as is allowed.
Soon the air in Bradenton will be filled with the sound of catcher’s mitts popping from repeated tosses. In the first spring in recent memory that will not feature the presence of departed pitching guru Jim Benedict, Searage and his staff will have an extended spotlight on them as they prepare for the season to come.
