Pirates A to Z: JT Brubaker focuses on forward steps taken in 1st full season in majors

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 Miguel Andujar to pitcher Miguel Yajure.

Player: JT Brubaker

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Right

Age: 28 (Nov. 17)

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 185 pounds

2022 MLB statistics: Went 3-12 with a 4.69 ERA and 1.47 WHIP, recording a team-best 147 strikeouts against 54 walks in 144 innings over 28 starts.

Contract: First-year arbitration eligible.

Acquired: Drafted in the sixth round in 2015 out of the University of Akron.

This past season: Brubaker’s record wasn’t reflective of the growth he made as a starting pitcher this past season, the closest he’s come to a full season in the major leagues.

Brubaker led Pirates starting pitchers with 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings and was on pace to lead them in starts and innings before a late-September stint on the injured list with right arm inflammation.

“I think it goes all the way back to I hadn’t had a full season since 2018,” Brubaker said, noting the 2020 season shortened by the covid pandemic and a season-ending spell on the IL last year. “Personally, in my mind or the way my body felt last year or even this year, it was just the aspect of you didn’t realize how much the covid season and me getting hurt in ’19 put on my body and how quick it got tired last year compared to this year.

“I got three-quarters or five months under my belt last year. This year rolling in, yeah, this flared up but moving along it was nothing. I didn’t think anything was going to come up. My body was feeling good. It was strong. So that’s the difference. I think it goes back to 2019-20, not having full seasons.”

The injury was the setback in a season that saw signs of forward progress. Brubaker went at least five innings in 20 of his 28 starts, throwing 100 or more pitches three times and recording a career-high 10 strikeouts in a 7-0 loss at the Chicago Cubs on May 17.

“You have Brubaker getting deeper into games as well, being that guy that, up until the end of the season, is taking the ball every five days and keeping us in games as competitive as possible,” Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin said. “Had a couple rough ones but he competes his butt off every single time he’s out there and gives us a chance.”

JT Brubaker, Nasty 94mph Two Seamer. ???? pic.twitter.com/KmftxzuRVw

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 19, 2022

Brubaker’s best performance of the season, if not his career, came in an 8-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 18. He tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, recording seven strikeouts and no walks.

Brubaker learned how to use his five-pitch repertoire, relying on his sinker and slider but balancing them with a curveball, four-seam fastball and changeup. Opponents hit his four-seamer at a .417 clip and batted .320 against his changeup, but the breaking pitches proved more effective.

“More learning pitch mix, feeding off pitches, being in the zone. It’s a cumulative of things,” Brubaker said. “What I wanted to focus coming into the year was that glove-side two-seam, and I feel like that became a really good weapon and pitch for me, learning how to use that in right counts. Then we started mixing in that curveball. That’s another takeaway that I’m not just a two-pitch pitcher. I do have the stuff to be a full arsenal mix. That is definitely something that’s confidence boosting and I’m able to realize what I need to do or what the game’s telling me for certain pitches.”

Pirates RHP JT Brubaker discusses throwing a live BP today, his goal of returning to make another start this season after stint on IL. pic.twitter.com/JDxKk63PCe

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) September 26, 2022

Most important to Brubaker, though, was his ability to avoid finishing a second consecutive season on the IL. He worked back to make his final start in the penultimate game, pitching 2 2/3 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.

“It’s important for both parties,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “For us, to make sure he pitches before the end of the season, just going into next season knowing where he’s at. For him personally, there has been a ton of growth. There’s been some ups and downs, there’s been some challenges. The beautiful thing I really like about ‘Bru’ is when we first talked about going on the IL because we knew we were going to miss one start, we would have to skip one start, and so putting on the IL was only going to affect the start. But it was very important to him, that ‘I want to finish the year pitching.’”

The future: Entering his first year of arbitration eligibility, Brubaker is projected to earn $2 million next season by MLBtraderumors.com.

The Pirates have him pegged as part of their rotation, though there is an emphasis on Brubaker staying healthy and providing more consistency. Marin mentioned that the IL stint allowed Brubaker to find out what type of preparation he needs to do to avoid fatigue and injuries.

Brubaker knows that nothing is promised, as he will have to compete with Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, Zach Thompson, Bryse Wilson, Johan Oviedo and Luis Ortiz for a spot in the starting rotation. The Pirates also have top-10 prospects Mike Burrows and Quinn Priester, their minor league pitcher of the year, at Triple-A Indianapolis.

But the Pirates pushed the positives with Brubaker, focusing on the forward steps he took this past season.

“It’s extremely encouraging because we’ve seen some of our young pitchers have to go through that growth, and sometimes you have to go through areas of struggles or frustration to get better,” Shelton said. “In the long run, it makes the journey challenging. But the end of it can be very rewarding. I think that’s one of the things we’re hoping to see with JT.”