A-listers prepare offstage

Taillon and Co. work in B games

BRADENTON, Fla. — Pirates fans hoping to see their favorite starting pitchers in action won’t have to wait much longer.

Right-handers Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Trevor Williams and Joe Musgrove, the core of the team’s biggest strength, have been noticeably absent through Pittsburgh’s first nine spring training games.

The talented crew isn’t taking the spring off. They are simply working behind the scenes by design.

The heart and soul of Pittsburgh’s pitching staff have been toiling away in simulated games at the ballclub’s minor league complex at Pirate City. While 28-year-old right-hander Jordan Lyles took the mound against the New York Yankees in the A game at LECOM Park on Saturday, Taillon and Williams were scheduled to pitch three innings each in a B game at Pirate City.

The impressive quartet have made their first spring appearances far from the crowd.

“I think it is perfect for the starters to go out and have a chance to really work on things without a concern of what the results might be,” Musgrove said. “When you get into an A game, it’s really easy for the mentality of a competitor to try to overpower the hitters and hamper your ability to work on things.

“Say you go out there in an A game and you want to work on your change-up. You’re throwing it in counts you might not necessarily throw it in. If you give up a homer and a couple of doubles in a game, it might make you shy away from trying to work on your game.”

Musgrove wasn’t particularly thrilled with the idea when the coaches approached the staff with the idea.

“We kind of shied away from it,” said Musgrove, who gutted out much of 2018 with a stress fracture in his hip. “You can’t really simulate gametype energy and adrenaline. The only way to really prepare for the season and those intense moments is to get into the A games in spring training.

“But these first couple of short-inning outings have gone well.”

Williams is also on board with starting quietly. The 6foot-3, 26-year-old from San Diego is coming off a stellar 1410 season with a 3.11 earned run average and 126 strikeouts in 170⅔ innings.

“It gives us an opportunity to work on stuff that if we were in the A games, our competitive nature might get in the way,” Williams said before his outing at Pirate City. “We have the luxury of knowing we’re on the team, so we don’t have to come out with guns a blazing for camp.

Pirates hurlers also benefit from the fact that they can get instant feedback from teammates when they throw at Pirate City. They face plenty of Pirates position players.

“You can’t go up to the opposing teams and ask, ‘how did that pitch look?’ Musgrove said.

Taillon was tabbed as the opening-day starter in Cincinnati before the spring games even began. The 6-foot-6 ace of the staff was 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 191 innings last season.

“You have to make sure you get all your pitches right,” Taillon said. “You kind of round out your game so you’re ready to pitch when they say play ball.”

As for fans waiting to see their favorite Pirates on the mound, it shouldn’t be too much longer.

“We’ll still have an opportunity to play in games,” Williams said. “We’ll get three or four starts this spring.

“The reason for spring training is it’s the time to prepare for the regular season.”