Pittsburgh Pirates first half grades for pitching staff
By Matt Shetler
Vin Mazzaro (4-2, 39.1 IP, 2.97 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 23 K, 9 BB)
Jun 15, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Vin Mazzaro (32) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eleventh inning at PNC Park. The Los Angeles Dodgers won 5-3 in eleven innings. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Similar to what I said about Gomez, Mazzaro has practically come out of nowhere to have a positive impact on this team. Mazzaro was awful in Kansas City and give Huntington credit for acquiring another low-risk, high-reward type guy in the pen. He has taken the ball in any role and especially performed big when Hurdle has needed innings out of him to save some other arms in the bullpen. Grade: B+
Bryan Morris (4-2, 37.0 IP, 2.68 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 25 K, 16 BB)
I called Wilson the Unsung Hero of the bullpen, but in reality that title could go to Mazzaro or Morris as well. Morris probably should have gotten a look last season, but he has certainly taken advantage of his opportunity this year. His walk total is a little higher than I would like, but he has been very good and could be a guy along with Wilson that could be considered the Pirates closer of the future. Grade: B+
Jarred Hughes (1-2, 16.1 IP, 4.96 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 14 BB, 10 BB)
Hughes is a guy who was very good as a rookie last season and was expected to play a big role in the Pirates bullpen this year. However he struggled early on and never really recovered. He spent some time on the DL and looked good in Triple-A, but he seems to have been passed up on the depth chart for the time being. Even though he didn’t pitch great, Hughes is still a quality arm to call on if needed in the future. Grade: D
Ryan Reid (0-0, 1 SV, 11.0 IP, 1.64 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 7 K, 3 BB)
I like what I have seen from Reid in his brief stint. He dominated while in Indianapolis and you can he has a future in the Bucs bullpen. He’s just another power arm who is consistently around the plate. It’s too small of a sample size to give him that high of a grade though. Grade: C+
Jose Contreras, Mike Zagurski, Chris Leroux and Duke Welker all made less than seven appearances out of the Bucs bullpen and all except Welker would get failing grades. Welker gets an incomplete after two scoreless appearances.