SARASOTA, Fla. -- Felipe Vazquez had a fine 2018 season.
The Pirates closer converted 37 of 42 save opportunities, including 27 of 28 from June 1 until the end of the season. The left-hander also had a solid 2.70 ERA in 70 games while striking out 89 in 70 innings.
Vazquez was the Pirates’ lone representative at the All-Star Game, making the first appearance of his four-year career.
However, it wasn’t quite good enough for Neal Huntington and Clint Hurdle. They feel Vazquez is capable of more and they told him so during the final week of last season.
The Pirates wanted Vazquez to be in better shape in 2019. They also wanted the 27-year-old to become the leader of the bullpen. After all, he is the closer and has three years remaining on the four-year, $21-million contract extension he signed with the Pirates prior to last season.
Indeed, Vazquez has been dominant this spring while splitting his appearances between major-league exhibitions and simulated games. In five Grapefruit League outings, he has pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out 10.
His fastball has reached triple digits and he has showed pinpoint command with his secondary pitches.
“He’s been really sharp,” Hurdle said. “He looks great. I don’t think I ever remember a relief pitcher look this good in spring training. We gave him a list of things we wanted him to do at the end of last season and he’s checked them all off.”
That is saying something because Hurdle readily admits he does not put much stock in spring training results.
Scouts who have watched Vazquez, albeit in a small sample size, have been impressed.
“He’s always had a great arm and he’s shown he can close in the major leagues,” a scout from an American League team said. “But he’s taken it to a whole other level this spring. His stuff is not only nasty but he’s putting every pitch in a place where it’s impossible for the hitter to square it up.
“He’s throwing the ball like a premier closer. If I’m the Pirates, I’ve got to be pretty excited about it.”
The Pirates are as excited about Vazquez’s work ethic as they are his pitching. Despite blowing only one save opportunity in the last four months, Vazquez admits he got tired toward the end of last season and felt sluggish.
So, during the offseason, Vazquez got to the gym by 7 a.m. with his sister Prescilla Vazquez, who also serves as his agent. Felipe and Prescilla own a farm in Sorrento, Fla.
“Like all things, you kind of learn in life as you go along,” Vazquez said. “The game taught me a lot of things last year that I didn’t know. I started to understand better that I had to be in better shape and be stronger because it’s a long season and closer is more stressful on your body. I did what I had to do in the winter to make sure I’m ready to stay strong all the way through the season. I pretty much trained the whole offseason.”
The results have shown this spring. Though it is a term used all too often, Vazquez’s stuff has been electric, and he certainly seems ready for opening day, which comes Thursday in Cincinnati against the Reds.
“My arm is stronger than it was before, probably stronger than it’s ever been,” he said.
The Pirates knew they were getting a talented pitcher when they acquired Vazquez from the Nationals in a July 2016 trade for then-closer Mark Melancon. They haven’t been disappointed with what he has done on the field.
Vazquez is a free spirit, though. At times, he lives up to the stereotype of the eccentric lefty.
While Vazquez still likes to have fun and be one of the more visible figures in the clubhouse, he has also taken over leadership of the bullpen. He has dubbed the relief corps “The Pittsburgh WolfPak,” not to be confused with the semipro football team of the same name.
Vazquez believes the Pirates can have the best bullpen in the National League with him closing and being set up by Keone Kela, Richard Rodriguez and Kyle Crick.
“We’re like a pack of wolves,” Vazquez said. “We’re always on the attack.”
While it might be a stretch to think the Pirates’ relievers will be the best in the NL, Hurdle is happy to see Vazquez becoming the de facto captain of the bullpen.
“Some guys, it takes time and success before you even attempt to become a leader,” Hurdle said. “He was just trying to figure things out when he got over here. He’s a confident guy.”
That confidence was never on display more than following Vazquez’s roughest stretch last season in the last 12 days of May. Vazquez had four of his five blown saves in that span and took two losses while giving up nine runs and 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Vazquez had spent less than a full season as a closer at that point, replacing Tony Watson in mid-June 2017. There was a fear among the Pirates' brain trust that the high-pressure job might be too much for Vazquez to handle.
However, Vazquez was able to get through his slump both physically and mentally. Video analysis showed he was tipping his pitches, and he made some mechanical adjustments with Ray Searage that got him back on track. He also never lost faith in his ability.
“I think he was able to show some guts and some guile,” Hurdle said. “Going through that challenging time in front of his teammates, it showed how he worked and how he decided to go about things, I think that brought him some more street cred, as well. Last year, the challenges that he had early in the season helped develop his demeanor, his perseverance, his resiliency, which made him more of a guy that was able to lead later on.”
Vazquez says he had become complacent as the closer. He believed the job would continue to be as easy as he made it look when he converted his first nine save opportunities last season and 21 of 23 after becoming the closer in 2017.
“There (are) always going to be bumps in the road for everybody,” Vazquez said. “I have never seen a player who has not gone through a slump at some point. Nobody’s perfect, especially in baseball. I learned from it. I found out if you take it easy, the hitters are going to get to you. I learned never to take it easy again. Every time I go out there now, I’m at full intensity.”
