One of the benefits of the Arizona Fall League is that two of the six parks have Pitch F/X data, which allows us to get some accurate radar readings of how the Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers are throwing. This year we didn’t see everyone in a Pitch F/X park, with the big omission being top prospect Gerrit Cole. That wasn’t a huge loss, since we were provided with a lot of radar readings from Cole throughout the year, with the right hander working in the upper 90s and hitting triple digits in pretty much every outing, while also displaying strong secondary pitches.
We did get some Pitch F/X data on Michael Colla, Nathan Baker, and Jeff Inman.
Michael Colla
Colla only pitched in one game where Pitch F/X data was available. He threw 14 pitches, with 12 fastballs, throwing 10 strikes and four balls. Here were the breakdowns:
Fastball – 12 pitches (8 strikes, 4 balls), 90-92 MPH, 90.67 MPH average
Changeup – 2 pitches (2 strikes, 0 balls), 80 MPH, 80 MPH average
Nathan Baker
Baker pitched in two outings with Pitch F/X data. The first one came on October 13th, with the second one coming on November 16th. In the first outing he worked 90-93 MPH, throwing 29 pitches, with 23 fastballs. He was 90-93 the second time around, but threw more sliders, and only threw 21 fastballs out of 32 pitches. Here were the overall breakdowns:
Fastball – 44 pitches (27 strikes, 17 balls), 90-93 MPH, 91.77 MPH average
Slider – 13 pitches (10 strikes, 3 balls), 83-86 MPH, 84.38 MPH average
Changeup – 4 pitches (2 strikes, 2 balls), 80-82 MPH, 81 MPH average
Jeff Inman
Inman joined the league late, but still managed to pitch in two games with Pitch F/X data. His velocity was strong the first time around, working in the 94-96 MPH range on October 25th. It dipped in the second game on November 8th to the 91-93 range. He pitched in a televised event after the 8th, which saw him back up in the mid-90s. Here were the overall breakdowns:
Fastball – 19 pitches (12 strikes, 7 balls), 91-96 MPH, 93.37 MPH average
Curveball – 1 pitch (0 strikes, 1 ball), 79 MPH, 79 MPH average
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
