During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster.

Player: Luis Ortiz

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Right

Age: 24

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 235 pounds

2023 MLB statistics: Went 5-5 with an 4.78 ERA and 1.70 WHIP, 59 strikeouts and 48 walks in 86 2/3 innings over 18 appearances, including 15 starts.

Contract: Not eligible for arbitration until 2026.

Acquired: Signed as an international free agent in 2018.

This past season: After a dynamic debut that saw him touch triple digits six times and average 99 mph on 50-plus fastballs, Ortiz reported to spring training with a focus on sharpening a new pitch.

Ortiz had thrown either a four-seamer or slider on 80% of his pitches for the Pirates in 2022, so he knew he needed to add an off-speed pitch to his repertoire.

“That was a definite focus,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “That was to the point of what his repertoire is. You cannot rely on one pitch in the big leagues. You cannot rely on one pitch without lack of execution. The foundation of that, besides the delivery, was execution of pitches. Not just the fastball but all three pitches.”

The directive from Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin was to add a changeup so Ortiz would fare better against left-handed hitters.

“Oscar last year told me I needed to throw that changeup more against lefties,” Ortiz said through translator Stephen Morales. “I was kind of not afraid of throwing the changeup but I was leaving up in the strike zone, but I know I’ve got to throw that changeup to lefties more.”

But Ortiz foreshadowed his season’s troubles when he talked about his four-seamer, a pitch he went from throwing 42.9% in 2022 to only 24.8% in 2023.

“It can work both ways with my fastball,” Ortiz said. “I know I throw hard with the fastball, but it can get me in trouble because I can throw it too much or I can try to overthrow it and lose control of the fastball. I work really hard on the fastball to make it the way it really is right now.”

Ortiz had designs on joining the starting rotation but after pitching for his native Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, he was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis to start the season. The Pirates recalled Ortiz on May 9, when Vince Velasquez encountered elbow trouble.

On May 22, Ortiz earned his first major league victory by holding the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers to five hits and two walks while striking out four on a career-high 93 pitches over 7 2/3 innings.

Texas entered the game leading the American League standings and with an MLB-best .272 batting average and 6.5 runs per game, but Ortiz threw his four-seam fastball with conviction to keep them off-balance. He mixed a heater that topped out at 98.5 mph with 16 changeups at 89.5 mph, generating 45 swings, including 14 called strikes and 10 whiffs.

“It’s a reflection of hard work and working through the week in-between starts to make it better,” Ortiz said. “I just have to continue to work on it and hopefully it’s like it was tonight every night.”

Ortiz took a comebacker off his leg but recovered to throw Marcus Semien out at first, then struck out Corey Seager with a nasty changeup. Ortiz executed with efficiency, throwing 10 pitches in the second, 11 in the third, 10 in the fourth and only four to complete the fifth.

“I think it just shows the quality of his stuff, it really does,” Shelton said. “Through seven, he was at, what, 67 pitches? You don’t see that very often. You definitely don’t see it against a team as good as they are.”

Ortiz was 2-3 with a 4.86 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 53 2/3 innings, giving up 11 home runs in as many appearances before being optioned July 5 with the directive to work on his delivery.

“It’s a learning process,” Ortiz said. “Things happened for a reason. All I can control is to go out there and do my best and pitch my arm off.”

Luis Ortiz racked up the strikeouts!

The No. 8 @Pirates prospect fanned seven across 4 2/3 frames for the @indyindians: pic.twitter.com/EYLXcz9jBP

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 7, 2023

Ortiz was 4-4 with a 4.61 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 13 games at Indy, holding opponents to a. 236 batting average. He was placed on paternity leave from Aug. 3-12 for the birth of his child, daughter Shania. The Pirates recalled Ortiz on Aug. 22.

“One of the core messages was just to make sure that his foundation was similar to the way it was last year when we saw him come to the big leagues,” Shelton said. “We feel like we’re making progress toward that. Working on the fastball, the fastball velocity has been there. Overall, the delivery has been cleaner. And foundationally, he’s in a way better spot.”

He saw a decrease in velocity from 98.4 mph, which ranked in the 98th percentile, to 95.9 (83rd), per Statcast, and went from holding hitters to an .074 average to being hit at a .392 clip.

“I think we’re going to see more 95-98 than we are 100,” Shelton said. “Last year was a little bit of adrenaline from a kid who went from Double-A to Triple-A in the big leagues. There are very few guys who sit at 100 and even sit at 99. If he’s 95-98, I think we’re gonna be in a good spot.”

Luis Ortiz striking out Giancarlo Stanton with some high and inside heat

96.7 MPH fastball, 2270 RPM, 17 inVB, 12 inHB pic.twitter.com/H7pQNnnZMY

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 16, 2023

That’s where Ortiz was sitting at the end of the season, when he won three of his final seven appearances. Ortiz posted a 4.64 ERA but had almost as many walks (22) as he did strikeouts (25), as he struggled to find the strike zone.

For Ortiz, the keys were to stay in control of his delivery and show the confidence in his stuff to compete.

“Just a matter of hard work,” Ortiz said. “Some of the stuff you can’t control, but it’s just a matter of continuing to work hard. Whatever decisions they make, just be ready for it.”

Luis Ortiz getting himself out of the jam with a slider for the K pic.twitter.com/gEqEFfm4df

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) November 4, 2023

The future: Where Johan Oviedo edged Ortiz out for the final spot in the starting rotation when JT Brubaker required surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in April, Ortiz now could benefit.

With Oviedo electing Tommy John surgery and the Pirates in desperate need for starting pitching, Ortiz should be at the top of the list for in-house candidates to join the rotation.

Ortiz needs to maintain the velocity on his four-seamer and find the strike zone with consistency. His fastball spin dropped from the 83rd percentile (2369 rpms) to the 53rd (2273), and Ortiz ranked among baseball’s worst in hard-hit rate (49.1%), average exit velocity (92.4 mph) and expected ERA (6.86). His 14.8% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate also ranked in the bottom 10th, per Statcast.

Instead, Ortiz relied more on his slider, throwing it on 32.7% of his pitches despite his whiff rate dropping from 47.3% to 31.2%, and threw the sinker more than the four-seamer for a 48.5% ground ball rate.

If Ortiz wants to solidify a spot in the starting rotation, he has to rediscover the stuff that allowed him to rise through the minor league ranks so fast in 2022 and blow hitters away in his debut.

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