Scouting the Pirates system 2023: Best Off Speed Pitch

Looking at some of the best off speed pitches in the Pirates system.

‘Scouting the Pirates system’ is taking an in depth look at the players in the organization, and how has the best tools. Each article will highlight a different tool, with each writer on the site pitching in who they believe has the best.

A good off speed pitch is often overlooked as a weapon for pitchers, but a lot of times it determines who can stay a starter and who ends up as a reliever.

Having that reliable third pitch that can change speeds with a fastball helps keep hitters off balance can go a long way in getting hitters out a second, potentially third, time in a single game.

It isn’t uncommon for pitchers to struggle with a change up originally, as a lot of times before turning pro they won’t need it to get batters out. Some prep pitchers don’t even through it just because they can get their competition out with a fastball/breaking ball.

That being said, the Pirates do have a decent crop of pitchers that already have very effective off speed pitches in their arsenal.

Bubba Chandler

When talking about Chandler, the attention immediately turns to his fastball, for good reasons, as he was mentioned in that article as well.

He throws a really good change up as well, which has good fade and his arm speed really helps sell the deception. It’s a pitch that Keith Law graded as ‘double-plus’ in his July prospect rankings update.

It maybe isn’t something that you would expect Chandler to have such a great feel for, given this was his first year focusing solely on pitching, but it’s arguably as good as a pitch as his fastball.

Po-Yu Chen

You can make an argument that Po-Yu Chen had one of the most under the radar seasons by a Pirates’ pitching prospect. He struck out 124 batters in 119.2 while pitching in one of the more hitter friendly parks in the minors.

Chen throws upwards of 5/6 pitches, but his best is by far the splitter. Even going back to Bradenton, he’s shown the ability to not only get hitters to chase and miss, but also throw it for strikes.

Paul Skenes

Attention immediately turns to his fastball that regularly hit triple digits in college, and sometimes even to his wipeout slider - but you can make the case the change up is Paul Skenes’ best pitch.

One of the reasons it played immediately at the pro level was the Pirates having him throw the sinker more, with the two tunneling well off of each other.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the change up is one of his better pitches, as there were times in high school where he wasn’t allowed to throw a slider, forcing him to put focus on his off speed.

WTM: Carlos Jimenez

He got on the map with a big first half last year, and the change was his big pitch.  His 2023 season was mostly wiped out by a stay on the injured list, but his stuff when he returned late in the year looked as good as before.  Command is a different matter, but hopefully that will come around.

Other notables

To add on to what WTM said, it may be easy to forget about Jimenez, but the change up still remains one of the best pitches in the system. He had 22 tracked change ups in Bradenton last year and produced a 75% miss rate on them.

Going back to last year, Jimenez put up a miss rate of over 50% with the off speed pitch.

Early in the season I wrote an article on P2 about Owen Kellington’s curveball, and how it may be one of the best in the system. At the time the metrics and results were just as good, if not better, than some of the best curves in the system.

Turns out, by the end of the season, it would be a different pitch that would become his go-to offering.

Kellington picked up a near 50% miss rate (47) with his change up, showing some great fade when he’s really throwing it well.