4-1-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
March was not a good start for the Pirates but as the calendar turns, could their luck turn as well? They’ll have to hope so as they face off against former Pirates first round draft pick, Shane Baz.
The 12th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Baz was the “add-in” piece as part of the infamous 2018 trade with the Rays that sent Chris Archer to Pittsburgh and Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to Tampa Bay.
Baz was moved swiftly through the system of his new organization, making his MLB debut on September 20, 2021 after just 236 minor league innings pitched, posting a 3.06 ERA over that time with 278 strikeouts.
He made three starts for the Rays following his promotion with a 2.06 ERA through 13.1 innings, as well as pitching one game in the postseason for Tampa, and looked poised to take firm hold of a rotation spot heading into 2022.
Unfortunately, elbow pain led to an arthroscopic surgery in late-March 2022, resulting in an extended delay to the start of his season.
He was activated in June but struggled, eventually getting demoted before an eventual Tommy John surgery that September, which would eliminate his 2023 season.
He returned last year and made 24 starts between Triple-A Durham and Tampa Bay, posting a combined 3.43 ERA with 113 strikeouts across 118.2 innings pitched.
Baz has a prototypical 4-pitch mix in his repertoire: fastball, slider, changeup and curve.
His velocity is down a tick from prior to his surgery but still hits mid-90s on his fastball running up in the zone. He drops down in the zone on his off-speed stuff, sitting high-80s with both the slider and changeup and low-80s on his curve.
Fastball, naturally, has been his main pitch averaging 48% of his total pitches last season. He works in the slider/curve as supplemental offerings against righties and curve/changeup when facing lefties as he tries to work inside on hitters and prevent extension – because when hitters make contact against Baz, it’s typically pretty loud.
His average exit velocity of 90.5 MPH was the 10th highest among pitchers with as many innings as he had last year while his BABIP (.229) and batting average against (.198) both are likely unsustainable given his middling strikeout numbers and below average ground ball rate.
Bucs batters will need to crowd the plate and look for elevated fastballs to drive.
Last season, opposing hitters batted .252 against the offering with average exit velocity of 92.7 MPH.
The team will get a jolt of energy with Thomas Harrington debuting today. Back him up with some big offense. Jump on Baz and build a lead early so you’re not stuck battling a tough bullpen.
Steel City Pirates 