Pittsburgh Pirates Season Preview: Bullpen

With Spring Training Quickly approaching, I will be taking a look at each position group on the field and how they will contribute to this Pirates team throughout the 2016 season.

Last season, one of the driving forces of this Pittsburgh Pirates team has been the bullpen. Led by closer Mark Melancon and set-up man Tony Watson, The Pirates bullpen was the best in baseball in terms of bullpen ERA with a 2.67 mark. The bullpen has been a strong suit for the Pirates over the last several seasons, and will be looked upon to be strong again in 2016.

With players such as Antonio Bastardo and Joakim Soria gone, the Pirates will look to be filling some holes left in their bullpen due to these absences. However, when you have a leader like Melancon in the back end of the bullpen, you look to have a solid team. And this team will need to step-up again in 2016 with a rotation full of questions.

We will take a look at who I predict will be in the bullpen come opening day 2016, a review of their stats from last season, and a look ahead to my 2016 prediction. This group of guys will be called on for relief a lot this year, and they look to do their job in supporting the team throughout the season.

Mark Melancon #35 Closer

Melancon is coming off one of the best seasons as a closer in Pittsburgh Pirates history. He set the franchise record for saves in a season last year with 51, while pitching to a 2.23 ERA, and only blowing two saves over the course of the season. His strikeout numbers from a year ago took a hit with only 62, but he only walked 14 batters all season.

Melancon was shaky at times allowing some high drama situations to almost get out of hand, but he always found the way to get the job done. One thing Melancon has to improve upon in 2016 is the number of hits he is allowing. Last season he had a hits per nine inning stat of 6.69. He was almost allowing 7 hits for every nine innings he threw. If he can limit the number of hits he gives up, it will make for an easier and less hectic time late in games.

Pittsburgh has had no shortage of good closers over the last few seasons with the breakout years of Joel Hanrahan and Jason Grilli preceding Melancon. However, Melancon has put together the best season of those three in 2015 and looks to again stabilize the back end of the rotation. While many fans thought he would be gone after last season, he is here to stay and ready to close again for Pittsburgh

2016 Prediction

In 2016, I see Mark Melancon's productivity right back where it was during the 2015 season. I have him at 46-49 in save attempts with an ERA of 2.30. With the weakened rotation this year, Melancon will not get as many save opportunities as were presented in 2015. However, look for him to still be a force in the bullpen giving Pittsburgh that reliability that they need at the end of the game.

Tony Watson #44 Set-Up Man

Last season was another great season for Watson.He had another good season in 2015 pitching to a 4-1 record with a 1.80 ERA. His big break with the Bugs was in 2014 where he was named an all-star for the first time 

Watson has been an integral part of the Pirates bullpen over the last couple of years. Since his call up in 2011 he has a career 2.67 ERA and has a record of 24-8. Over his time in the majors he has been effective against both left and right handed batters

Last season, he had a strikeout per nine ratio of 7.41 last season. He has been getting batters out by any means possible. Watson along with closer Melancon have anchored this bullpen and helped them build up the bullpen to what it is today. In 2016 Watson could be thrust into a closer role if need be and is a very reliable option. With two closer type pitchers in the bullpen the back of the Pirates bullpen looks to be set.

2016 Prediction

In 2016, look for Watson to continue the successes that we have seen through the Last couple of seasons. I see him pitching to a 4-1 record again with an ERA around 2.10. Watson has been a great pitcher to this point in his career and I see nothing changing again in 2016.

Jared Hughes #48 Middle Relief Pitcher

Hughes has been one of the more underated pitchers in the Pirates bullpen over the last few seasons. Last season he pitched to a 3-1 record and an ERA of 2.28. He did an effective job of getting batters out in big situations.

Last season Hughes stranded 47 inherited runners last season only allowing 9 to score. Of a starting pitcher was in trouble, it was Hughes's job to bail them out and he did so effectively.

Known for his Sprint in from the bullpen, Hughes brings fire to the mound and sets a fire to the field. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.80 which is respectable for a major leaguer. The right handed indices alot of ground balls and doesn't strike out alot of batters. If he can improve upon his strikeout numbers from last season He could be an even more effective pitcher.

2016 Prediction

In 2016, Hughes will not have quite the success he had in 2015 but he will still be a good pitcher. I have him with a record of 3-2 and an ERA at 2.40. As the guy called on in big situations, Hughes will be called upon I'm many big situations in 2016. I am personally a big fan of Jared Hughes and I think he will be successful in 2016.

John Holdzkom #43 Middle Relief Pitcher

After an injury plagued 2015 season, Holdzkom will be back in 2016. His debut back in 2014 took the Pirates by storm. His transition from Independent League to the Majors was a great story and his on field talents backed him up.

It is an extremely small sample size but in 2014 He pitched to a 1-0 record with a 2.00 ERA in 9 innings of work. It was enough for him to make the post season roster in 2014. 

With Holdzkom, the big key will be how he bounces back from injury. With a year out of the big leagues can he come back and be effective in 2016.

2016 Prediction

In 2016, look for Holdzkom to go through some growing pains in what will be his first full season in the major leagues. I have him going 4-3 With an ERA of 3.20. He will be used in the not so high leverage situations especially early on to ease him into his role. I feel Holdzkom will be an effective major leaguer it will just take some time for him to get used to his role.

Arquemides Caminero #37 Middle Relief Pitcher

Caminero came to Pittsburgh from the Miami Marlins and had an up and down season in 2016. He pitched to a record of 5-1 With a 3.62 ERA. Caminero struck out a lot of batters but also have up a lot of hits 

He had a hits per nine inning ratio of 7.59 Last season. However he had a total of 73 strikeouts last season. When Caminero is on he can strike out any batter on any day. However, if Caminero struggle it could be a long night at the ball park.

In 2016 Caminero need a to work on limiting the number of hits he gives up. Also, he has to avoid the big inning. When he did get in trouble it started to snow ball on him last season. If he can limit the hits given up and strikeout more batters, he could be a quality major league pitcher.

2016 Prediction

In 2016 I expect Caminero to make major strides from his 2015 season. In his second full big league season and his second season working with Ray Searage, he will be able to fix some of his mechanic problems. I have him pitching to a 3-1 record with an 2.50 ERA. I think he will be a major find for Pittsburgh and could possibly close for this team when Melancon's time is up in Pittsburgh.

Juan Nicasio #12 Long Relief Pitcher

Nicasio came over in free agency this off-season as starter depth and long relief help. He had a rough time of things in Los Angeles last season with a 1-3 record and an ERA of 3.86. The one time starter, Nicasio was moved to the bullpen after struggling last season and looks to restore himself in 2016.

Nicasio was efficient in striking batters out last year when he struck out 65 batters in 58.1 innings pitched. Nicasio and Caminero look to lead the bullpen in the strikeout department in 2016 

The other benefit of Nicasio is his starting experience. Of someone in the rotation gets hurt or falters, Nicasio can step in and be a quality starter in their absence. Look for Nicasio to make a spot start here and there whole mostly doing long relief work out of the bullpen.

2016 Prediction

In 2016, I feel Nicasio will be the underdog in this Pirates bullpen. I look for him to have a good season. I have him pitching to a 6-3 record with an ERA of 3.20. Nicasio will make 3 or 4 starts over the season but will primarily be used in the bullpen. He will be an addition the Pirates really need especially to eat up innings.

Kyle Lobstein #53 Long Relief Pitcher

The final man in my predicted 2016 bullpen is lefty Kyle Lobstein. Lobstein came over from Detroit over the offseason where he was also used as a starter and long relief help. In his first major league experience he pitched to a 3-8 record with a 5.94 ERA. 

Again a very small sample size for Lobstein He made 11 starts for the Tigers last season and had 39 strikeouts in 63 innings of worked. He is more of a contact pitcher and with the Pirates infield defense he should be able to rely on defenders to make plays.

Lovers in would be the only other left handed pitcher besides Watson in this bullpen. So, Lobstein could see some one batter work as well being a lefty specialist. Again he is another option for starting depth if someone goes down.

2016 Prediction

In 2016, look for Lobstein to be mostly a lefty specialist for Pittsburgh. I have him pitching to a 5-3 record with a 4.10 ERA. He might make 1 or 2 starts over the course of the season. Having a second lefty in the bullpen will be crucial for this team.

Bullpen Grade: A

I feel the Pittsburgh Pirates 2016 bullpen will be a strong suit again. It will be called upon to back up these starters and could be thrust into a lot of work. If guys like Vogelsong and Locke struggle, they will be asked to log alot of innings. With the season approaching soon, the bullpen will be warming up and getting ready to succeed again in 2016.