As expected, the Pittsburgh Pirates added pitcher Vance Worley to the roster on Sunday and they sent infielder Michael Martinez back to Indianapolis. Worley will make the start for the Pirates today against the Florida Marlins.
Worley has made seven starts for Indianapolis this season, posting a 4.30 ERA in 46 innings, with a 4/43 BB/K ratio. He has been added to the 40-man roster.
Martinez went 0-for-3 with a walk in his brief stay with the Pirates.
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
He could have pitched the eighth inning. 15 more pitches would not have hurt him. They took him out too soon and they blew it, and you could see it coming a mile away.
Agreed. I don’t understand why it was necessary that he come out of the game.
Nah- I’d trust Tony Watson in any situation – just not his day. Wonderful job by Worley – welcome to the ‘Burgh!
Marte and Polanco streaking around the bases in the top of the 3rd inning – unreal that speed. Our crazy outfield got another 5 hits and two walks in 15 plate appearances today. By my count, they’ve been on base 30 times in 68 plate appearances in 4 games (.441 OBP), and have a combined line of .406/.441/.594/1.035. If Russell Martin had batted fourth instead of Ike Davis we probably would have won today. Hurdle sure better give that 4-spot to Walker when he’s healthy.
Should the Pirates expect Walker back soon? I remember when Jack Wilson had his appendectomy, he was pretty weak for quite a while after the procedure. That being said, I wouldn’t expect Walker off the DL, let alone batting cleanup, before July 1.
In this environment where every pitcher is expected to throw 97 mph and strike 10 batters per 9 innings, I have to wonder if the next market inefficiency is pitchers who limit walks. Pitching is very different than 5 or 10 years ago, and Ks are the flavor of the day. If teams overvalue high K% and undervalue low BB%, then teams could find productive pitchers on the scrap heap.
I know he cannot sustain his AAA level, but he his BB/9 this year is 0.78. That is amazing. Even if his K/9 is unimpressive, he might be a productive pitcher we obtained for free.
He’s looking pretty good so far. Pounding the strike zone – 5 of every 7 pitches are strikes. Efficient too. One start doesn’t mean all that much, but yeah, could be a very good pickup.