Brett Lorin

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2008
A-:  1-0-0, 2.82 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 22.1 IP, 3.6 BB/9, 11.7 K/9
A:  0-2-0, 4.80 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 30 IP, 4.8 BB/9, 9.6 K/9 

After signing, Lorin made five starts in short season ball and pitched very well.  He moved up to low A for the remainder of the season and had some control problems, but he still fanned more than a batter per inning.

2009
A (Sea):  5-4-0, 2.44 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 88.2 IP, 2.5 BB/9, 8.8 K/9
A (Pgh):  3-1-0, 1.57 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 34.1 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 7.6 K/9

Back in low A before the trade, Lorin pitched very well, allowing very few baserunners and striking out just under a batter an inning.  He continued to pitch well after trade, although he gave up more hits (.264 opponents’ BA, compared to .192 with Seattle) and didn’t strike out as many.  In seven starts for the Power, he allowed two earned runs once, one four times, and none twice.

2010
R;  0-0-0, 1.29 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 7 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 12.9 K/9
A:  2-3-0, 5.18 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 41.2 IP, 1.9 BB/9, 6.9 K/9 

Lorin missed the opening of the 2010 season due to a hip injury.  He didn’t return until mid-season, then went to West Virginia after rehabbing in the GCL.  He pitched well occasionally after returning but got hit hard a lot; opponents hit .298 against him.  His control was still very good, but his K rate dropped.  He only averaged about four innings a start, so it’s likely that he was recovering slowly from the hip problem.

2011
A+:  7-6-1, 2.84 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 117.1 IP, 1.5 BB/9, 7.6 K/9 

Lorin tweaked a hamstring in camp and missed the beginning of the season, but joined Bradenton in early April.  After a shaky start–he had a 4.29 ERA in April–he dominated for much of the season.  In May, June and July, he had an ERA of 2.12, opponents’ average of .199, and K/9 of 8.3.  He seemed to run out of gas a little in August, which isn’t surprising because he was close to triple his innings total of the previous year.

It was a little surprising the Pirates didn’t promote Lorin to AA in 2011, but they may have wanted him to pitch in the FSL playoffs.  He’s eligible for the Rule 5 draft and was not added to the 40-man roster.  He’ll open the 2012 season at age 25 without having pitched above class A, a factor that, combined with his injury history, may deter other teams from selecting him.  The Pirates haven’t pushed him aggressively, but I don’t know whether that’s because of inexperience and health issues, or because they’re not that impressed with his stuff.  Even though it’s not overwhelming, he’s consistently gotten good results with it when he’s been healthy, possibly because his size gives him a good angle on the hitter.  If he’s still with the organization, he should be at Altoona.