Pitching Leaders through May: Pirates have several relievers off to strong starts

Luis Peralta among the pitching leaders in several categories through May

The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the best groups of pitching prospects in all of baseball and looking through the leaders currently at the end of May; you can see the competition from within.

Even though he’s up in the majors, Paul Skenes is still leaving his mark, for now, and even some less heralded names are making an impact.

For the pitchers, the minium amount of innings pitched here will be 20, up from 10 after April.

Swinging Strike% (SwStr%)

1. Ben Heller - BRD/IND - 23.2%

2. Luis Peralta - GBO - 19.3%

3. Darvin Garcia - GBO/ALT - 18%

4. Paul Skenes - IND - 17.3%

5. Michael Kennedy - BRD - 17.3%

6. Geronimo Franzua - IND - 16.9%

7. Drake Fellows - GBO/ALT/IND - 16.2%

8. Emmanuel Chapman - GBO/ALT - 15.6%

9. Braxton Ashcraft - ALT - 15.5%

10. Patrick Reilly - GBO - 15.3%

Ben Heller is having a sneaky strong start to the season, with 12 of his 17 appearances being scoreless and him averaging nearly two strikeouts per inning pitched.

Get use to seeing Luis Peralta’s name at the top, he’s here often tonight. He’s always been an intriguing name, someone capable of getting a lot of strikeouts, but always held back by walks.

He’s made the move to the bullpen and while the walks are a little high, he’s striking out 50% of the batters he’s faced.

Michael Kennedy is putting in a lot of work despite averaging right 90 mph with his fastball, but he’s showing a very advanced feel for pitching compared to his age.

Drake Fellows has missed a lot of time due to injuries, but has quickly made up for it this year, moving from High-A all the way up to Triple-A recently. Patrick Reilly saw his SwStr% drop a bit from last month, but it’s still at an above-average mark.

xFIP

1. Luis Peralta - GBO - 1.86

2. Paul Skenes - IND - 2.07

3. Ben Heller - BRD/IND - 2.12

4. Michael Kennedy - BRD - 2.88

5. Braxton Ashcraft - ALT - 3.00

6. Yoldin De La Paz - BRD/GBO - 3.03

7. Derek Diamond - GBO - 3.05

8. Emmanuel Chapman - GBO/ALT - 3.08

9. Hunter Barco - GBO - 3.14

10. Peyton Stumbo - BRD - 3.17

There’s Peralta and Heller towards the top of the list once again. Greensboro isn’t the easiest place to pitch and Peralta making quick work there. Braxton Ashcraft has looked fantastic being stretched out further as a true starting pitcher.

Hunter Barco is another pitcher dominating in Greensboro, and Peyton Stumbo is having a quietly solid season in the bullpen for the Bradenton Marauders.

After a couple of years in Bradenton, Yoldin De La Paz got the bump to Greensboro and was good in his first game there.

Strikeout rate (K%)

1. Luis Peralta - GBO - 50%

2. Ben Heller - BRD/IND - 46.1%

3. Paul Skenes - IND - 42.9%

4. Peyton Stumbo - BRD - 33.3%

5. Patrick Reilly - GBO - 32.9%

6. Emmanuel Chapman - GBO/ALT - 32.1%

7. Geronimo Franzua - IND - 29.6%

8. Hunter Barco - GBO - 29.5%

9. Isaac Mattson - IND/ALT - 29.4%

10. Michael Kennedy - BRD - 29.2%

That’s not a typo, Peralta has struck out half of the batters he’s faced this year. An insane start for the lefty, and certainly someone making a really strong case for a promotion up to Double-A.

Heller isn’t that far off, and there is a lot of familiar names on this list. Chapman was a minor league free agent signing this off-season, and he’s been very solid so far this year.

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