9-1-24 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
Looking for a chance at a series win against a strong Guardians team, the Pirates will square off against Alex Cobb, who has spent much of the 2024 season the injured list between the San Francisco Giants and a trade deadline deal which sent him to Cleveland.
The 36-year old veteran Cobb enters play with only two games pitched for the Guardians with a 4.35 ERA in 10.1 innings so far but over his 13 MLB seasons, he has a 3.85 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 1,321.1 frames.
A first-time All Star in 2023, Cobb leans heavily on a low-90s splitter and mid-90s sinker, adding in a mid-80s knuckle-curve as a secondary offering with all of these pitches generating ground-balls while minimizing free passes.
His 5.7% walk rate in 2023 was tied for the 11th lowest mark among pitchers with at least 150 innings while his ground-ball percentage was 2nd only to then-teammate, Logan Webb.
His splitter has been his most effective pitch dating back to the start of 2023, with opponents hitting just .238 against the pitch, an offering which this Pirates offense has consistently struggled to square up. I would advise Bucs bats to target the sinker – which has an oBA of .290 in that same stretch and has the lowest whiff rate (12.8%) of his offerings.
He won’t beat you with velocity but he locates well, gets chases and puts the ball on the ground. Find ways to elevate the hanging sinker, waste the pitches on the edges and stay off the breaking junk.
Let’s Go Bucs!
Steel City Pirates 