Pirates' minor league relievers off to a good start

Bullpen pitchers off to a strong 2024 season in the Pirates' system

Photo Credit: WTM

Relievers don’t generally get much attention in the minors, but their roles are still just as vital. Starting pitchers don’t often pitch deep into games, so that leaves a lot of innings still to be covered daily.

In the Pirates’ system, a few pitchers coming out of the bullpen have had strong starts this season. Here’s a look at four of them.

Emmanuel Chapman

Signed out of Cuba for a reported $200,000, Chapman reportedly was hitting around 93-98 with his fastball and adding in a slider.

He struggled with his control while in Cuba, but Chapman currently has one of the lowest walk rates in the Pirates' system.

Among pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched (as of the morning of May 15), he has the 10th-best walk rate. He is among the system leaders in several major pitching categories, including xFIP (5th), ERA (9th), strikeout rate (5th), and Swinging Strike rate (12th).

There’s even an argument that he’s gotten a little snakebitten. Even so, he’s allowed just two home runs this season, both solo shots. He’s also allowed just three earned runs overall.

Luis Peralta

Although he has always been an interesting player due to his high strikeout numbers, this is the first year that Peralta has shifted to the bullpen, and it has been working for him.

Among pitchers in the Pirates’ system with at least 10 innings (as of the morning of May 15), no one had a better xFIP than Peralta (1.52). The walks have still been an issue (14.5%), but he is striking out over half of the batters he has faced (54.5%).

In fact, he has averaged more than two strikeouts per inning pitched (30 in 14 IP).

That’s good enough to have the second-best K-BB% among all pitchers in the Pirates’ system (again, with a minimum of 10 innings pitched).

Ben Heller

A minor league free agent signing during the offseason, Heller has been fantastic splitting time between Bradenton (rehab) and Indianapolis. He has the highest SwStr% among all Pirates’ minor league pitchers, with at least 10 innings pitched.

His xFIP (1.65) also supports his strong start.

The cutter and sweeper have been particularly effective for Heller this season. The cutter has posted a 79.5% whiff rate, the sweeper 70.8%. They both have a strikeout rate of right at 70%.

Yoldin De La Paz

The 22-year-old Paz is in his second year with the Bradenton Marauders and is taking advantage of his experience in the Florida State League.

He’s posted a 1.47 ERA in 18.1 innings pitched (2.95 xFIP) using a fastball/slider combination. While the fastball isn’t overpowering (averaging under 90 mph), it pairs well with the slider that has done most of the work.

It has a strikeout rate of 40% and a whiff rate of 30.6%. When facing the slider, opponents have an xwOBA of just .265.

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