Pirates A to Z: Did Steven Brault's strong finish secure a spot in the starting rotation? - TribLIVE

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During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Trevor Williams. (The only MLB player with a surname that starts with Z is Detroit Tigers pitcher Jordan Zimmerman).

Player: Steven Brault

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Left

Age: 28

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 195 pounds

2020 MLB statistics: 1-3, 3.38 ERA, 1.195 WHIP in 42 2/3 innings over 11 appearances (10 starts).

Contract: Enters first year of eligibility for arbitration in 2021.

Acquired: From the Baltimore Orioles, along with pitcher Stephen Tarpley, as the player to be named to complete the Travis Snider trade in February 2015.

This past season: Steven Brault pitched a perfect game and a complete game, even if his perfect game wasn’t over a complete game.

The season started with Brault being brought along slowly while building back up from a shoulder injury that forced a six-week shutdown in spring training. It ended with Brault earning the Steve Blass Award as the Pirates’ pitcher of the year.

“Honestly, I’ve never finished a big league season on a high note,” Brault said. “I’ve always gone into the offseason thinking there’s something I have to work on or something I’ve really got to do. I’m excited to go in this year with kind of the feeling of, like, time to perfect my craft – which I never will do, nobody ever will do. … It’s been a lot of fun, so I’m excited. It’s going to be a different offseason than years before.”

Brault was a success story for the Pirates, even if they lost eight of the 11 games he pitched. He pitched in piggyback with Chad Kuhl, who was returning from Tommy John surgery, and only threw more than three innings once before September.

His struggles with consistency saw Brault follow his best performance with his worst. He threw three perfect innings, striking out four of nine batters, in a 2-1 loss at the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 2. But Brault couldn’t get out of the fifth inning in relief against the Detroit Tigers five days later, allowing four runs on three hits and three walks in a 17-13 loss.

But Brault credited the mentoring of Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin and the trust of catcher Jacob Stallings for his highlight of the season, a two-hit shutout in a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 17 to snap a season-long eight-game losing streak. Brault decided beforehand not to shake off Stallings’ signs, placing his faith in his pitch calling, and registered eight strikeouts with only two walks in nine innings. It was the only complete game of the season by a Pirates pitcher.

Afterward, Brault joked that he was a “freaking throwing machine.” In his final start, he looked the part. Brault finished the season with seven shutout innings, striking out six while allowing two hits, three walks and two hit batters in a 3-2 win over the Cubs on Sept. 22.

“Yeah, (his) last two starts were outstanding,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He threw the ball really well, competed. He struggled with some arm-side command at times and he was able to get himself back into counts and execute pitches. Definitely a good sign, really something to build off of the last two starts, going nine and going seven and was in control. … Outstanding. Nice step for him to end the year.”

The future: After bouncing between the starting rotation and the bullpen in his first four seasons, Brault made a strong bid to show that he should pitch once every five days.

After starting in only nine of his 56 appearances in 2017 and ’18, Brault has started 29 of 36 games over the past two seasons. He has added value as the Pirates’ lone lefthander in the starting rotation.

After making mechanical changes to his delivery last spring, Brault blossomed under the tutelage of Marin. Opponents batted .149 against his four-seam fastball and .152 against his changeup. He allowed only two home runs, and the average exit velocity on batted balls (85.8) was the lowest of his career.

Brault he still has control issues, as his 22 walks and five hit batters attest, but his final two starts were a sign that he can pitch deep into games without surrending many hits or runs.

Was it enough for the Pirates to save a spot in the rotation for him?

“I don’t know. That’s up to them,” Brault said. “I feel like I proved it to myself, and I think that’s what matters the most. Proved to myself in these last two starts that I can go deep in games if I’m over the plate consistently.”

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports