Five pitchers who missed all or most of the 2023 season

Injuries are a big part of the game, and five pitchers missed the majority of the 2023 season due to them.

Photo Credit: WTM

Injuries are an unfortunate and unavoidable part of baseball, especially regarding pitchers. The throwing motion naturally strains the arm, so it’s not uncommon at this stage in the game to have a few pitchers go out with an injury and miss most of the season.

We’ve already seen Johan Oviedo get Tommy John surgery, which will keep him out for the entire 2024 season.

The Pirates had a few pitchers miss all or most of the 2023 and will be looking to find their footing after a long layoff. We saw Braxton Ashcraft miss the 2022 season before returning this year, pitching well, and eventually getting added to the 40-man roster.

Here are five key pitchers who missed either all or most of the 2023 season and will be looking to return in 2024.

Mike Burrows

There was a time when you could have made a straightforward argument that Burrows was the best pitching prospect in the Pirates system. If you are into pitch metrics, Burrows has probably been on your radar for quite some time.

After dominating Double-A in 2022, Burrows moved up to Indianapolis, where he struggled a bit, but overall, it was a strong season. After the season, he was added to the 40-man roster and began 2023 with Indianapolis again.

Burrows added a slider coming into Spring Training. Still, he didn’t have much of an opportunity to use it, as his season ended after just two games, eventually needing Tommy John.

The biggest question with Burrows will be staying healthy. He’s missed time with an injury in his last three years. His fastball/curveball combination would make him a strong option out of the bullpen, but his progress with the change-up (and slider) still makes him intriguing as a starting pitcher.

With the major league team so starved for starting pitching, he could get a look as soon as they deem him ready to pitch.

Jun-Seok Shim

Shim was one of the top pitching prospects to come out of his International class, with some saying he would have been in the first-round conversation if he had to go through the draft in North America.

With a fastball that could get to the mid-90s and three other pitches to go with it, he was a young arm that some thought the Pirates could push a little aggressively early on.

He started in the Florida Complex League and looked like the advanced pitcher they thought he was in his first start, striking out eight batters over four no-hit innings. Shim left his second start after 1.2 innings on June 17 and didn’t see the mound again until August. He pitched twice, and then that was it for him.

There was a cloud of mystery surrounding Shim last year, as we never really got an actual update that kept him out, but whatever it was, it canceled out most of his first professional season.

He’ll turn 20 at the beginning of April, and going off the only game we knew he was 100%, it would seem safe to assume he could make the leap to Bradenton to begin 2024.

Carlos Jimenez

Jimenez jumped on to the scene in 2022 with the Bradenton Marauders, flashing some excellent stuff, including one of the best change-ups in the entire system.

His issue was control, walking 14.6% of the batters he faced.

Then, a lot like Shim didn’t pitch much in 2023 without much explanation. He finally found his way onto a mound in late July and made only seven total appearances between the FCL and Bradenton.

For a player with great stuff but a lot to work on, losing this much time really hurt. He’ll turn 22 during the 2024 season, so he’s still young, but there is a lot to do.

What the Pirates do with Jimenez will be interesting. Without missing time, he’s probably starting this year in Altoona but has yet to pitch in High-A. He could get eased back into things in Bradenton for the first couple of weeks before getting pushed to Greensboro.

Scott Randall

Randall was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Diego Castillo trade but has yet to appear in the Pirates season.

He doesn’t have the most overpowering stuff, with a below-average fastball, but a plus change-up.

In his last full season, 2022, he posted a 3.82 ERA over 108.1 innings pitched in High-A for the Diamondbacks.

Depth pitching is always key, as we even saw Altoona turn to some bullpen games towards the end of the year and Nick Dombkowski switch to the rotation to help support things.

The Double-A rotation is expected to be stacked this coming year, so Randall - if he’s ready for the start of the year - could start in Greensboro to build innings until a spot opens up in Altoona.

Brennan Malone

During the 2019 draft, some publications had Malone as the second-best prep right-handed pitcher behind Quinn Priester.

Priester made his major league debut this past season, while injuries have limited Malone to 27 professional innings since being drafted.

The latest torn labrum kept him out of the 2023 season. In August, he posted on his Instagram page throwing his first bullpen session since the surgery, so he’s making progress.

Talent has never been the question with Malone, it’s just that he’s been plagued injuries. He may be the best example of how cruel the game can be regarding injuries.