Joe Musgrove is not viewed as a strikeout pitcher like Tyler Glasnow. He also wasn't rated as high as Glasnow in prospect rankings. But Musgrove, one of four players acquired from the Astros for Gerrit Cole, shares some similarities with the Pirates' former top prospect.
Like Glasnow, Musgrove made a quick ascent through the minor leagues, only to struggle once he was given a spot in a major-league rotation.
Unlike Glasnow, though, Musgrove, 25, proved he can get major-league hitters out once he moved to the bullpen. But the Pirates don't plan on using their new right-hander as a reliever. Instead, they're going to try to give him a spot in their rotation, hoping Ray Searage can help the ground-ball pitcher harness whatever he found during the final three months last season.
“Joe Musgrove fits the mold of most successful major-league starting pitchers,” Neal Huntington said.. “He is physical, athletic, has a multiple-pitch arsenal and aptitude to attack Major League hitters."
Although third baseman Colin Moran, ranked the Astros' No. 8 prospect by Baseball America, will likely be a starter for the Pirates, it's Musgrove who's the centerpiece of the trade.
The 6-foot-5 Musgrove was the Astros' minor-league pitcher of the year in 2015 after he posted a combined 12-1 record and 1.88 ERA between Low-A Quad Cities, High-A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi.
The former first-round draft pick led the minor leagues with a 12.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio, holding opponents to 21 earned runs over 100 2/3 innings. He was ranked by Baseball America as the club's sixth-best prospect following that season and was the No. 83 prospect in all of baseball.
Musgrove was projected by many to be a future workhorse starter in the major leagues. However, he struggled in that role after making his major-league debut in August 2016. In 25 career starts, Musgrove has a 5.37 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a .845 OPS against.
Following his major-league stint in 2016, he earned a spot in the Astros' rotation out of spring training this past season, and Musgrove had that spot taken away last July after only 15 starts — he recorded a 6.12 ERA in 78 innings.
Musgrove was first demoted to the minor leagues before lobbying Astros manager A.J. Hinch for a spot in the bullpen.
It helped resurrect his season. He had a 1.44 ERA in 33 1/3 innings as a reliever during the regular season, handling high-leverage situations by mostly working the seventh or eighth inning.
"There's no concern about having to plan out a longer approach," Musgrove told the Houston Chronicle last season. "It's about coming in and being nasty for an inning. You're not going to face these guys two or three times. You show them your best stuff right away."
Musgrove brought versatility to the Astros' staff, proving capable of working as a long, middle or late-inning reliever. Aside from a mechanical adjustment that alleviated pain from a hip injury, Musgrove had more success because of a simplified pitching repertoire.
He typically used a six-pitch mix as a starter, but relied heavily on his four-seam fastball and slider after moving to the bullpen. That led to a spike in velocity and more movement on his breaking pitches.
According to PITCHf/x data, Musgrove's changeup and curveball had two more inches of vertical break in September than July. But his four-seam fastball and slider usage increased nearly 10 percent in that span.
"His velocity's up," Hinch said in August. "His breaking ball's better. His aggressiveness is much better in the strike zone. He's come up with a cutter that's been good against lefties. Everything across the board has gotten better. He's embraced it."
The question is whether the Pirates can have Musgrove continue that success in the rotation. After all, opponents had a .990 OPS — an OPS+ of 151 — against him during their third plate appearance. He even had issues with the second time through the order.
But there are indicators that Musgrove can have success in the role. He has outstanding control, which allowed him to induce groundballs 44.9 percent of the time last season.
That's in stark contrast to Glasnow, who has a 7.24 ERA in 17 career major league starts.
The Pirates will lean heavily on both Searage and new assistant pitching coach Justin Meccage to try to help Musgrove transition back to the rotation.
Last month, Huntington told reporters at the Winter Meetings that Glasnow or Steven Brault — Musgrove's competition for a spot in the rotation — could begin the season in the bullpen to help them transition to the major leagues.
In years past, organizations often had young starting pitchers begin their career in the bullpen to serve somewhat of an apprenticeship, allowing them to learn from the coaching staff and discover adjustments at the next level.
The Pirates are hoping Musgrove's experience with the Astros — including seven postseason appearances during their run to the World Series — will have a similar effect.
"We look forward to helping Joe build upon his success as a leverage bullpen role for a championship club during his first full season at the big league level last year to become a quality major-league starting pitcher for the Pirates," Huntington said.
It's clear that whoever replaces Cole in the rotation will represent a significant risk, though. Gambling on Musgrove to be a formidable starter after all that went wrong last season is one of the reasons why the club has been criticized since the Cole trade became official Saturday night.
After all, trading an ace pitcher with two more years of club control for a package built around a fringe starter is questionable, especially when two of the Pirates' top three prospects — Mitch Keller and Shane Baz — are starting pitchers and young, plus controllable starters Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams are already in the rotation.
Huntington's remarks to reporters on a conference call Saturday night made it clear that this new-look club will grow with its newest additions. Perhaps no player involved in the trade will dictate the future of the Pirates more than Musgrove.
"Over the last 12-15 hours, I've come to a lot clearer mind on it," Musgrove told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart Sunday night. "It's a good opportunity for me to get back in the rotation and really try to grow as a pitcher and do some of the things I wanted to do here in Houston."
Analyzing the additions:
Wednesday: Colin Moran, third baseman
Thursday: Kyle Crick, reliever
Friday: Michael Feliz, reliever
Saturday: Bryan Reynolds, outfielder
Sunday: Jason Martin, outfielder
