SARASOTA — When Wilber Dotel got word that he would be the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting pitcher for the Grapefruit League opener, his mind drifted to his days of watching spring training games as a fan.
Now, the 23-year-old right-hander is a prospect on the doorstep of the major leagues. After developing a devastating splitter and recording 131 strikeouts last season at Double-A Altoona, he is one of the Pirates’ top 10 prospects and was added to their 40-man roster this offseason.
“Definitely feels good to be part of it not from a distance now,” Dotel said through translator and Pirates coach Stephen Morales. “The other thing that changed: Everything counts, just the professionalism up here, and just to go up here and take advantage of every pitch and every situation.”
Beforehand, Pirates manager Don Kelly said he’s excited about Dotel and his electric arm and physical presence after watching him throw a few times this spring, including once inside on the force plate mounds.
“One time was really impressive,” Kelly said, noting Dotel’s attention to detail. “You see the physicality, you see the velo but when he’s spinning it, working on the split he’s been trying to master, he did a good job that day. Really just looking forward to him being out there competing and staying in the zone.”
The 6-foot-4, 243-pounder did just that in the first inning of an 8-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, following two four-seam fastballs with a pair of sliders to strike out leadoff batter Taylor Ward
“It felt really good, that first hitter,” Dotel said, crediting catcher Endy Rodriguez for his pitch calling. “As soon as I threw that first strike I was in attack mode. Endy helped me a lot there to put that hitter away as well, but felt really good and had confidence in my stuff.”
Dotel got Adley Rutschman to ground out to second and Ryan Mountcastle to line out to shortstop Nick Gonzales in an eight-pitch first inning that included five strikes.
“I went out there with confidence to make my pitches and trust my stuff,” Dotel said. “It definitely helps the first inning just throwing eight pitches.”
Dotel gave up a pair of singles to start the second, with Blaze Anderson’s grounder going off the glove of second baseman Nick Yorke and Gunnar Henderson following with a sharp hit through the middle. Alexander scored from third when Dotel got Dylan Beavers to ground into a 4-6-3 double play and Leody Taveras to fly out to left.
The final line was solid, as Dotel gave up one run on two hits with one strikeout and no walks on 18 pitches (13 strikes) to earn the win.
“Wilber looked pretty good,” Rodriguez said. “I think he has pretty good stuff. When he has confidence in himself and he trusts his pitches, he will be good. When he’s able to come to the plate with all his pitches, he’s going to be good. He’s going to be a dangerous pitcher.”
