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Morning Report: A Make or Break Situation For the Pirates’ Bullpen

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The area where the Pirates have the weakest depth might be the bullpen. And that depth could get a major test if things don’t go well with Felipe Vazquez.

Vazquez has struggled in the last week, and now has forearm discomfort. There should be an update on his condition today, but we don’t need an update to realize how important Vazquez is to the bullpen.

Without Vazquez, Michael Feliz probably steps up as the closer. Feliz has looked good this year, although he has struggled in his last few outings. I think he could be as good as Vazquez eventually, but I don’t think he’s reached that consistency level yet.

The Pirates have guys like Kyle Crick, Richard Rodriguez, Edgar Santana, and Tyler Glasnow pitching well in relief, but none of them have really been tested in the final innings of the game. Santana is the only one who has come in with higher leverage situations, while the other three have been in lower leverage roles.

I think the bullpen has potential. Those five pitchers are all hard throwers with a lot of strikeout potential. But they’re also very unproven. And while the Pirates have other interesting guys in Triple-A like Clay Holmes, Tyler Eppler, or relievers like Tanner Anderson, they don’t have that established reliever that really adds comfort.

Not that comfort is a necessary thing. There was a time when we weren’t comfortable with Vazquez, and that only came over time with more consistent performances. If Vazquez does miss time, then we’re going to get a good chance to see what the other relievers behind him can do, and hopefully, see if a few of them can bring the same comfort over time.

PLAYOFF PUSH

Bradenton is in third place in their division, four games behind the leader with 21 games remaining in the first half.

West Virginia is in fourth place in their division, five games behind the leader with 21 games remaining in the first half.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 6-4 to the St Louis Cardinals on Sunday. The Pirates now take on the Cubs at PNC Park. They will send Chad Kuhl to the mound for his 11th start today. He allowed one run on five hits and one walk in six innings against the Cincinnati Reds in his last start. The Cubs scheduled starter is TBD as of last night.

The minor league schedule includes the second start from Max Kranick, who threw five shutout innings in his debut with West Virginia last Monday. Due to rain over the weekend, he was pushed back two days to today. Altoona starter Austin Coley was demoted from Indianapolis last week and makes his first Double-A start since last year.  Indianapolis starter says TBD, but it should be Clay Holmes, so I put his name/stats down below. Bradenton has off today. All three games are early afternoon games today.

MLB: Pittsburgh (28-24) vs Cubs (26-22) 1:35 PM
Probable starter: Chad Kuhl (4.52 ERA, 53:19 SO/BB, 55.2 IP)

AAA: Indianapolis (25-22) vs Charlotte (19-29) 2:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Clay Holmes (4.37 ERA, 40:23 SO/BB, 35.0 IP)

AA: Altoona (22-23) @ Harrisburg (23-24) 12:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Austin Coley (0.00 ERA, 0:0 SO/BB, 0.0 IP)

High-A: Bradenton (26-22) @ Daytona (27-20) 7:05 PM 5/29 (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD (0.00 ERA, 0:0 SO/BB, 0.0 IP)

Low-A: West Virginia (25-21) vs Kannapolis (31-17) 2:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Max Kranick (0.00 ERA, 1:1 SO/BB, 5.0 IP)

HIGHLIGHTS

From Altoona’s five home run night, all five home run swings in one GIF. In order, they are Christian Kelley, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jordan George, Jason Martin and Bralin Jackson.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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