Pittsburgh Pirates: Quick Thoughts On Each Of The Pitchers

Bullpen/Shark Tank

May 5, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher

(44) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

What was a strength of the 2013 edition of the Pirates has suffered regression. The bullpen has blown several leads to the frustration of Pirates fans and also was the reason for the departures of Bryan Morris and Jason Grilli.

Ernesto Frieri– Hard to say at this point despite a -1.5 WAR with the Pirates. He allowed five runs in his second appearance but has not allowed a run in his past four outings. The Pirates need for him to rediscover his off-speed pitches. Grade: INC

Jeanmar Gomez– His rough April [5.27 ERA/was scored on in five of his seven appearances] had fans calling for him to be designated for assignment, however the Pirates remained patient and it has paid off. Gomez allowed one run in 11 appearance to result in a 0.75 June ERA. After allowing two runs July 3 vs Arizona, Gomez has pitched three scoreless appearances. Gomez has not been talked about much since April, however I think he is once again becoming an important part of the bullpen. Grade B-

Jared Hughes– After such a disappointing 2013 season, Jared Hughes was on the outside looking in at Spring Training. That held true although come the end of April, Hughes had stint both with the Pirates and Triple-A Indianapolis. Hughes has served as an innings eater throwing 40.1 in 37 appearances. He has had a bounce back season and a quiet one at that. His WAR has gone from -0.3 in 2013 to 0.9 this season and his statistics are better than his 2012 breakout season. There’s no reason why Hughes cannot continue this pace and I feel that he will. Grade A

Mark Melancon– After last season, my expectations for Melancon were high coming into this season. The WHIP is slightly down but the ERA has increased and the WAR has fallen a bit. Melancon had 17 saves and 14 holds and once again has been used a lot, 45 times to be exact. I was concerned last season that he was overused and this season I have my worries as well. In a time though when many relievers are one season wonders, Melancon is proving he is anything but. Grade B+

Stolmy Pimentel– Pimentel like Melancon was acquired in the trade that sent Joel Hanrahan to the Pirates. His injury put a damper on the Pirates plans of seeing what he had. Pimentel is kind of like a Rule-5 draft selection because he is out of options [Jeanmar Gomez is in the same situation] and at 24 teams would likely be willing to take a chance on him via the waiver wire. Now the Pirates are a little behind with him because of his injury. Unless Pimentel has a bad stretch, the Pirates seem likely to let him pitch for the remainder of the season and see what they have so that they can make a more informed decision. Pimentel has thrown longer outings and the shortest rest he has received was two days in April. The Pirates have not used him as much since. His 2.38 ERA in April was his high point but since his injury, he has not returned to that form. He has not pitched since July 13 and I don’t think it’s because he’s working with Ray Searage on something. This is probably the toughest grade because it’s been a tale of two Pimentels. Grade C

Tony Watson The trip to Minnesota is really all you need to know here. Like Hughes, Watson calmly goes about his business and does not make many mistakes in the process. Watson ranks second in the league with his 22 holds. Have there been a couple of blips [the last Cincinnati series/June 15 at Miami]? Yes, but no one is immune from those. Watson has allowed more hits than he had before, however that comes with being more of a strikeout pitcher. In 46 appearances and 45.1 innings, Watson has 51 strikeouts. When Watson comes in, fans normally feel that the game is in hand and for good reason. You can sit in your chair and by the time you adjust the volume, the inning is over. That’s how good Watson has been this season. Grade A

Justin Wilson– I was expecting a lot from Wilson this season and have come away disappointed. The ERA is at 4.62 a far cry from last season’s 2.08, the WAR went from 1.7 to -0.4 and the WHIP is up by .35. He is similar to Pimentel since April was his best month at a 1.86 ERA. In the three months since, the ERA’s in order are 4.09, 8.10 and so far 5.10. I hope the scoreless outing July 12 versus Cincinnati helped him turn the corner, he has pitched two scoreless innings since. Clearly, Wilson has not been the same guy that he was in 2013. Grade C-

Jason Grilli– Grilli came into this season with high hopes. To paraphrase what he said at an off-season Pearl Jam concert he was going to pitch with everything he had for the Pirates. Grilli, I’m sure wanted to prove himself but never grabbed his footing. With the Pirates he had an April ERA of 5.14 and then got injured again. In June, his ERA was 6.52. His WAR with the Pirates was -0.4. Grilli had a tough time with the Pirates and Ryan Braun. Grilli gave everything he had in Pittsburgh, but once he was injured in Washington, D.C. in 2013, that was pretty much the end of what was offered, which is a shame. Grade D

Brandon Cumpton Bryan Morris and Wandy Rodriguez were not given a grade. Cumpton has been up and down and I want to see a little more before I get a grade. It would not be fair to grade Morris and as for Rodriguez, sometimes the the nicest thing to do is not say anything at all.