The early season synopsis for the Pittsburgh Pirates was that their starting pitching would be what carried them to success. After a few trips through the rotation that prediction was fairly accurate, as the Pirates rotation led the league in ERA. Then, as per usual, injuries started popping up. What was once their biggest strength showed us the Pirates glaring weakness, their starting pitching depth.
The starting five, when healthy, persists of Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Trevor Williams, Joe Musgrove, and Jordan Lyles. That rotation however, has only been fully healthy for a few times through. The Pirates lead the league in players sent to the Injured list with 19 (closest team is the Los Angeles Dodgers with 16).
Lyles started the season missing a few starts and has since returned. Archer spent time on the IL with an injured thumb. And now Taillon was placed on the 60 day DL with an elbow injury. While the latter two of those three have been out, their starting duties have gone to Steven Brault and Nick Kingham, neither of which has shown a reason to stay in the rotation.
In the four combined starts the two have made in the past few weeks, neither of them have made it past four innings. During Brault’s starts the Pirates have fortunately gone 2-0, but that is mainly in spite of his performance not because of it. Kingham hasn’t fared much better in his two games, the most recent being in Arizona where he gave up seven runs on 10 hits in just four innings of play. The injuries to the Pirates top two starters has taught us that these two are not reliable enough to sit as the 6th and 7th starters, but where else could the Pirates turn?
Thankfully, Archer returned to the lineup today in Arizona, taking what seems to be Kingham out of the rotation. With Taillon on the shelf for a couple months, who can take 5th starter duties?
One possible answer could be in the form of former starter turned reliever Francisco Liriano. Liriano has found some success being a mid-reliever for the Pirates this season as he has just a 0.95 ERA in 19 innings of work. He has been the Pirates best mid reliever this season and I’m not sure they should mess with that, especially in a position that has been so troublesome for the Pirates for so long. Besides he struggled heavily in Detroit last season as a starter, so maybe it’s best to leave him where he is.
Who else could be the 5th starter then? The Pirates newest reliever help Chris Stratton may be a possible answer. He started five games for the Los Angeles Angels this season, but only found minimal success with a 7.05 ERA in those games.
Looking to the minors for reinforcements isn’t too viable of an option either. Many of the pitchers there are struggling to find their AAA game, let alone step into the MLB and be effective as starters.
This begs the question, is it to early to start thinking about calling up Mitch Keller?
Keller is the Pirates top prospect and the 21st highest prospect in the league according to MLB.com, but it is still entirely too early for his call-up. He is still polishing off his game in AAA, and interrupting that to help fill a 5th starter role in May would be a mistake. The Pirates can’t be impatient with him, especially with their recent track record with top starting pitching prospects entering the majors, specifically Kingham and Tyler Glasnow. Keller needs to be left in the minors to refine his game and maybe be brought up in the tail end of this season.
That leaves free agency as the best possible source for a 5th starter. No, I’m not talking about Dallas Keuchel. There are a few veteran starters that could fill in for this season to help bridge the gap between now and Taillon’s eventual return, as well as Keller’s eventual debut. Pitchers like Doug Fister, Brandon McCarthy, hell maybe even Bartolo Colon. Both Fister and McCarthy had sub 5.00 ERA’s last summer which would wok out okay for a rental 5th starter. Even Colon had a 5.68 ERA as a starter last season, which would be a step up from both Brault and Kingham.
When looking for the solution I don’t want anybody to get lost on what the problem is. The Pirates starting pitching depth drops off a cliff after their original starting 5 with the only flash of hope being Keller. When injuries happen, and they’ve already happened a lot this year, the Pirates do not have the depth to keep their rotation afloat. Not to mention the added pressure it puts on an already shaky bullpen. For a team that came into this season relying on their starting pitching to lead them, that is a glaring issue that could cost the Pirates this season.
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