Pasquale Mazzoccoli

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2016
R+:  0-0-0, 4.39 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 26.2 IP, 2.0 BB/9, 7.1 K/9

Mazzoccoli pitched out of the Bristol bullpen and, like almost all of the pitchers there, he struggled.  Opponents batted .319 against him, helped by a very high BABIP of .372.  He was scored upon in ten of his 16 outings.

2017
A-:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 9.0 IP, 1.0 BB/9, 13.0 K/9
A:  3-1-1, 1.75 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 25.2 IP, 2.5 BB/9, 7.7 K/9

The Pirates sent Mazzoccoli to Morgantown when the New York-Penn League opened play and he took a big step forward.  He was throwing in the mid- to upper-90s with a sharp breaking ball and better command.  He blew through five relief outings and the Pirates promoted him to West Virginia, where he continued to get great results.  He didn’t fan hitters at the same rate as he did at Morgantown, but they batted only .143 against him.  A lot of that resulted from an unsustainable BABIP of .175, but the sample sizes with Mazzoccoli are too small to draw a lot of conclusions yet, anyway.

It’s hard to get a read on whether Mazzoccoli could be a legitimate prospect.  He was 24 by the time he threw a pitch in pro ball and will open the 2018 season at 26.  Hopefully, he’ll start off at Bradenton or possibly even Altoona.  If he’s for real, the Pirates will probably push him aggressively.