Pirates A to Z: JT Brubaker challenged to improve durability after sophomore struggles

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 Miguel Yajure.

Player: JT Brubaker

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Right

Bats: Right

Age: 27

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 180 pounds

2021 MLB statistics: Brubaker was 5-13 with a 5.36 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 124 1/3 innings over 24 starts.

Contract: Not yet eligible for arbitration.

Acquired: Selected in the sixth round of the 2015 MLB Draft.

This past season: Brubaker got off to a good start, going 4-4 with a 3.74 ERA and a .249 batting average against in his first 10 starts.

His best performance came in a 7-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on May 29, when he allowed four hits and one walk while striking out five in six scoreless innings.

From there, it went downhill.

Brubaker didn’t win another game until Aug. 24, a string of 12 consecutive starts, when he tossed four perfect innings and tied a career high with nine strikeouts in a 4-2 win over Arizona.

“Really, it didn’t weigh on me too much because I was always thinking that the next start was going to be good,” Brubaker said. “I was always focused on the next start. The last start was done, it was over with. I had five, six days to get over it, make sure I get my bullpen, get my work in to prepare for that next start. And there for a while, it felt like a continuous cycle but … just being able to focus on one pitch at a time really got me in more of a mindset, into a groove, like I was at the beginning of the year.”

As Brubaker attempted to explain his struggles, it became apparent that much of it was his mental approach to the mound. Allowing a team-high 28 home runs, including 18 in that stretch, affected the right-hander.

“Felt like I was throwing like I was at the beginning of the year,” Brubaker said. “I think it goes back to that mentality thing, one pitch at a time. I think I kind of got away from it, where it got a little bit bigger on the scale of, ‘Now this hitter. Let’s get this hitter. Let’s get this hitter’ instead of just focusing on executing the pitch that (catcher Jacob) Stallings calls or I shake to. Making sure I execute that one. Try not to get too far ahead in this game, because then things happen, like that stretch I went on where you’ll hang some stuff, you’ll give up some long balls, you’ll give some big numbers in certain innings. Just being able to simplify back down to one pitch at a time really helped me.”

Brubaker went on the 10-day injured list with a thumb contusion, jamming his thumb in an at-bat. The thumb injury affected his grip on his slider, reducing the effectiveness of his putaway pitch.

“We just wanted to give him enough time to heal up before the next start,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

Brubaker’s next start would be his last.

He was removed after throwing 52 pitches in three innings at the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 4. The Pirates placed Brubaker on the IL with a right shoulder impingement, and he never returned to the rotation.

The future: Despite leading the team in innings pitched and making the second-most starts, the Pirates expressed concern over Brubaker’s durability.

As opposed to other starting pitchers, workload volume wasn’t so much the issue with Brubaker as it was his inefficiency. His sophomore season was a clear setback to his chances of remaining in the rotation, though Brubaker has overcome injury hurdles before.

The Pirates are looking for Brubaker to get stronger and increase his stamina. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff — his fastball and sinker both average 93 mph — but he was hit hard this past season.

“One of the things we’ve told Bru,” Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin said, “is … what it takes to be an everyday, maybe a 200-inning starter, and that’s really focusing on his body, focusing on his strength, so that he’s able to hold his stuff for as long as he possibly can, because he does have great stuff.

“We just happened to see a little trend of dropoff from the beginning of games to the end, and that’s something we need to address with him physically. With his mindset, he’s definitely going to be able to do that.”