BRADENTON, Fla. -- The radar gun at LECOM Park wasn’t working on March 4, so David Bednar didn’t get to take a peek at how hard his final pitch of the inning was.
He knew it would be high, and that Austin Riley of the Braves had just swung through the pitch that hit the top, inside corner of the zone. But he would have to wait until he watched the video postgame to get an official reading.
When he did, he almost couldn’t believe it:
99 mph.
He’d never thrown that hard before.
“I’m usually a guy who comes into spring feeling good, but the velo is not quite there yet, and it climbs as the season goes on,” Bednar told me in Bradenton on Thursday. “So to have it there, to be where I am right now, is an encouraging sign for sure. Hopefully I can continue to build as the season goes on.”
Could we see triple digits some time then this year? “That’s the goal,” Bednar responded with a chuckle.
At this point, he just might.
Bednar has done more than just surprise himself this spring. He’s wowed just about everyone at Pirates camp, both in terms of stuff -- throwing in the upper-90s consistently with plus secondary offerings -- and results, striking out 11 with only three baserunners allowed in his six innings.
“He’s been a really pleasant surprise,” catcher Jacob Stallings told me, naming Bednar first when asked which pitchers have impressed him in camp. “I didn’t know much about him coming in. He’s been lights out.”
Most of the buzz coming into camp around Bednar was with his splitter, which he learned to throw and refine from former All-Star Hideo Nomo while in the Padres’ farm system. It has looked good, but with all due respect, it buried the lede that Bednar has three plus pitches, including the four-seamer and curve.
“It’s definitely a pitch that helped me get to the big leagues,” Bednar said about his splitter. “It’s been an out pitch for me when it’s been good. I definitely think you can’t skip over it, but I have confidence in all three of my pitches to just go in and attack guys.”
Bednar has always had that approach, and that confidence is a big reason why he was able to rise through a talented Padres' farm system. He was selected in the 35th round of the 2016 amateur draft, and with Major League Baseball shortening the draft going forward, he may be one of the last Pirates to ever play who was picked that late.
It was a motivator.
“Being a late-round guy, nothing was given or anything like that,” Bednar said. “Just going out and proving everybody wrong and earning each opportunity that I’m given.”
The Padres liked that approach and his stuff, which is why they added him to the 40-man roster in late 2019, but they were aggressive this offseason to try to win now. So they packaged Bednar along with four other players to the Pirates for Joe Musgrove in January.
It was a homecoming for Bednar, who grew up in Mars, Pa. In his introductory Zoom call with Derek Shelton and Ben Cherington shortly after the trade was completed, Bednar opened in the most Pittsburgh way possible:
“How yinz doing today?”
“It was just so pure,” Shelton said. “It’s exciting anytime you put your hometown uni on, but with the chance to play in the big leagues, it’s pretty cool.”
It looks like the Pirates are a good fit for Bednar, beyond the hometown angle. Rather than being just depth for the Padres this year, he could earn a chance at pitching leverage innings for the Pirates as the season progresses.
There’s always some mystery for a new player coming into camp, so Oscar Marin opted to watch Bednar in person first before they really worked on anything new. As it turns out, the only adjustment they have made is a slight tweak to the splitter grip. Other than that, Bednar has just been attacking on the mound.
“The mindset he preaches is, ‘just go after guys,’ and that’s how I like to go about it,” Bednar said.
The rest of the stuff is playing up along with the splitter. The fastball didn’t just hit 99 mph once, he’s getting more heat than usual. Over 17 appearances in the majors with the Padres, Bednar hit 97 mph 11 times. In the five games this spring that Bednar has pitched and Baseball Savant tracked, he’s eclipsed that velocity 15 times.
Then there is the curveball, which is getting a little more spin than usual, ranging from about 2,300 to 2,500 RPM. More importantly, Bednar has been able to cut down on the clunkers.
“I think in years past, I would get too excited with it and yank it,” Bednar said. “Now I think I’ve gotten more comfortable with my release point and have been able to be more consistent with it.”
The mix makes Bednar a rare three-pitch reliever where all three can get whiffs and strikeouts. The question is when will he get a chance to do that in the majors.
Going by how he has performed this spring, Bednar would seem to be a shoe-in for the opening day staff. However, there’s one key factor working against him: He has minor-league options remaining, while many members of the bullpen -- like Michael Feliz, Chris Stratton and Rule 5 pick Luis Oviedo -- do not. It’s a spring training of competition, but circumstance could keep him off the team to start the year. If that happens, he will surely be one of the first men up from the minors this season.
Bednar doesn’t know if his parents have opening day tickets at PNC Park, or if they should expect to see him there if they do. It would be “truly special” if that happened. If not, he’ll go back to trying to earn that opportunity.
“I try hard not to get into that. It’s all part of it,” he said. “This year, especially, I’ve just been trying to go about my business the right way and control everything I can control, as cliche as that sounds. Just go out there and attack, try to get better each day and try to make it a tough decision for them.”
