Stratton hopes to build on his success
Right-handed reliever won trust of manager in shortened season
BRADENTON, Fla. — One could argue the Pirates bullpen has been their most encouraging unit this spring.
Part of that is because of some of their newest pieces. Right-hander David Bednar has turned heads after coming to Pittsburgh in the Joe Musgrove trade with the San Diego Padres this offseason. Left-hander Chasen Shreve has been good for the most part, too, as have right-handers Chase De Jong and Wil Crowe. All are new arrivals to the Pirates.
Really, though, there were reasons to be encouraged about that unit last season. Contributions came from somewhat unexpected places, like right-hander Chris Stratton, who led the bullpen in appearances and pitched to a 3.19 FIP, or fielding independent pitching, and a career high 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Obviously, Stratton’s goal is to continue to improve on that performance. He also recognizes that there’s a lot of talented arms in the bullpen these days, and while he isn’t at risk of being sent to the minor leagues, it’s still unclear who all will begin the season as part of the opening day bullpen.
“I think that our bullpen is going to be one of our biggest strengths,” Stratton said. “I think some of the acquisitions that we made in the offseason, some of the additions are really making noise in camp. I truly don’t know who’s going to be on the team to start the year, but I know that we have a lot of good options to pick from and whoever does end up going to the alternate site, or however the Class AAA season happens, we’ll have guys to come up and fill in with good innings. Not just eat up innings but give us quality innings.”
Stratton isn’t likely to become a pitcher with a defined role. Though it isn’t clear if the Pirates will even have a designated closer at this point, Stratton probably won’t be the guy there.
The only role he’s really hoping to earn is simply being a trustworthy option for manager Derek Shelton. Last season was the start to that, as evidenced by his teamleading 27 appearances. He’s also fine -tuning his arsenal at the moment, specifically his curveball.
As Stratton explained it Friday, his previous curveball grip resulted in more of a two-seam-type of spin. The adjustment aims to make the pitch blend in more with his four-seam fastball, playing off that action better.
So far, Stratton is satisfied with the results, but he’s also had some inconsistent work so far this spring. He took some time off to be with his wife, who recently gave birth to their second daughter and third child.
Obviously, that’s a good thing. As for the curveball progress, Stratton still is trying to figure out exactly where he needs to start the pitch to make it most effective.
“We’ve been going with four-seam and
I’ve been throwing only four-seam this spring, and I’ve gotten some good swings on it that I wanted, but it takes a little bit shorter than the other — I’m not sure how else to say that — but it’s not as big,” Stratton said of his curveball. “It’s more of a short one, and I’ve got to figure out where to start it, more or less, for it to be able to get to the plate and for it to look like a strike longer. Like today, I feel like I threw some good ones, but I don’t feel like they were quite long enough to get to the plate. They were too quick to get down, if that makes sense.”
If it works, who knows how much more effective Stratton can be? Again, he isn’t exactly in danger of losing his role, but he also feels like there’s more for him to prove. After all, with that turnover in the bullpen and the new faces around, he’s
become one of the older Pirates’ relievers.
He joked Friday that he’s sort of the granddad now, a sentiment that isn’t helped by the fact that he’s now a father of three.
Call him whatever you want to in terms of defining a role. Stratton just wants to be dependable.
“I think any pitcher, they want to be that guy,” Stratton said. “They want to be the guy you give the ball to and go get your big outs. Last year was a shortened season, so it was a little strange at times. Definitely had to get it going early and often. But I enjoyed it. I enjoy the niche I’m in right now. Hope I can continue to build on last year.”