BRADENTON, Fla. — A noticeable storyline of spring training thus far has been the decent amount of competency found in the Pirates' starting rotation.
Offseason additions Rich Hill and Vince Velasquez have allowed just two runs over 10 innings. JT Brubaker is second in MLB with 15 strikeouts. Mitch Keller has permitted three earned runs in seven frames, while Roansy Contreras is off pitching for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.
But it doesn't stop there. Something that deserves more attention is the second cut of starting pitchers, guys who will start at Triple-A and challenge for spots during the regular season.
Assuming those first five comprise the big-league rotation, we're talking (maybe) Johan Oviedo, Luis Ortiz, Mike Burrows and Quinn Priester, plus a pair of spring training standouts in Kyle Nicolas and Carmen Mlodzinski.
"Collectively, we're at a much better spot than three years ago with our depth," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "We're seeing it with the number of arms that are going to impact us in Pittsburgh, some sooner, some later."
The competition for starting spots will certainly be fierce, but it's not nasty. Burrows, Mlodzinski, Nicolas and Jared Jones — a right-hander who will be chucking 99 mph fastballs in Double-A this year after striking out 142 over 122 2/3 innings this past season with High-A Greensboro — have been sharing a house spring training.
Priester has his own place with Colin Selby and Cam Alldred. Oviedo and Ortiz sit next to each other inside the LECOM Park clubhouse and joke around a lot. It's a close group, but the way Nicolas — acquired as part of the Jacob Stallings trade — sees it, the rising tide should lift all boats.
"If we're all doing our jobs and pitching well, we're all gonna get a chance," Nicolas said. "I just want to be as good as I can be each time out, and I want to see them be as good as they can be, as well."
It's a smart attitude. The results have also been evident during Grapefruit League action.
Nicolas appeared in two games before he was optioned to minor league camp, working three scoreless innings with two walks and two strikeouts. Jones and Priester combined for four scoreless frames, and Mlodzinski has potentially been the best of the younger group.
In four games, the right-hander has worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and no runs with two walks and five strikeouts. Whereas his fastball previously sat around 93-95 mph, Mlodzinski in his last outing — Saturday against the Yankees — averaged 96.3 mph and topped out at 97.8 mph.
Following an MLB trend, he has also split apart his slider into a harder cutter and a sweeper with slower, long break.
"He's been really good," Shelton said of Mlodzinski. "[Saturday] might've been the best he's looked. The ball came out hot."
A compensatory round (Round A, 31st overall) draft pick in 2020, Mlodzinski had plenty of peaks and valleys to what he did in 2022, when he had a 4.78 ERA in 27 games (22 starts) for Double-A Altoona, walking 40 and striking out 111 in 105 1/3 innings.
It was somewhat similar for Nicolas, who was also a comp round selection (Round B, 61st overall) of the Marlins in 2020. Nicolas had a 3.97 ERA in 24 games (22 starts) with the Curve, walking 47 and striking out 101 in 90 2/3 innings. The numbers were solid, but his occasional struggles taught Nicolas plenty of lessons.
Nicolas' fastball is really good, averaging around 94 mph with an above-average amount of vertical break, which tends to induce more fly outs or whiffs. The issue has been control. His career average of 4.6 walks per nine innings is far too high. Nicolas has found that he gets hit hard when he gets too fastball-heavy.
"Knowing I have good off-speed stuff and throwing it for strikes makes hitters more uncomfortable than when they're seeing a bunch of fastballs," said Nicolas, adding two more young-guy things when it comes to his development: better syncing his arm with the rest of his body during delivery and also channeling frustration the right way when things don't go as well as he wants.
"I feel like I've learned a lot about myself as a pitcher," Nicolas said.
It hasn't been by accident, either. The house Nicolas, Mlodzinski, Burrows and Jones rented was a three-month lease, January through March, and many have taken full advantage. They've enjoyed the camaraderie, and in the case of northerners such as Nicolas and Burrows, the better weather.
It's been a similar evolution for Priester, the Pirates' 2019 first-round pick. This represents his first normal spring training, and it's also the first where he feels like he belongs. Not that he's boisterous or obnoxious — Priester is actually the polar opposite, unfailingly polite and respectful — but he doesn't feel like he has to walk on eggshells.
No more nervousness or feeling in awe of the entire thing. Priester has also grown his pitch arsenal to five legitimate, separate options after thriving at Double-A (2.87 ERA, 75 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings) last season and getting a late-season taste of Triple-A.
"I know what makes me good and what has helped me have success this spring," Priester said. "I want to be a big leaguer, and I know I have the ability. I just want to see how good I can be."
It's a similar feeling for the rest of the group. Ortiz throws extremely hard, has a nasty slider and recently refined his changeup. With Jarlin Garcia hurt, Ortiz was added to the Dominican roster for the WBC.
Oviedo has shown flashes, too, most recently by twirling three scoreless innings Saturday. With plenty of velocity, two breaking balls and ongoing work to add a sinker and use his changeup more, the tools are there. It's just a matter of putting it together consistently, the same as Burrows and the slider he added this offseason.
Bottom line, when the Pirates started this rebuild, pitching prospects in the minor leagues were hard to find. It doesn't mean this will all work out perfectly, but they have added some important depth options, pitching prospects who can legitimately excite and compete for spots.
"There's gonna be a lot of internal competition, which is always great," Priester said. "It's really gonna help us build each other up and make each other better because we're all gonna be pretty darn good for Triple-A guys. It's just gonna be exciting to see how we push each other and how it all shakes out."
