BRADENTON, Fla. – The Pirates’ rotation is still in flux and pitching plans are still being set, but one thing is certain. The first person up will be JT Brubaker.
Derek Shelton announced on the AT&T SportsNet broadcast Sunday that the 28-year-old right-hander will be the club’s opening day starter Thursday in St. Louis.
The Cardinals previously announced that Adam Wainwright will get their nod.
"We've talked about putting guys in the best position to succeed, and Bru's thrown the ball well and deserves the opportunity," Shelton said. "It sets ourselves up for the rest of that series and then moving forward. I'm very excited to be able to tell someone that they will pitch opening day."
Brubaker said Shelton played off the announcement to him, casually asking if he wanted to throw on Thursday.
“I was like, 'Yeah, give me the ball, let's go,'” Brubaker said roughly an hour after he was told. “It was kind of a speechless moment, really. I didn't know how to react. I wanted to jump through the ceiling, but at the same time, it's like, 'Alright, make sure you know what you're doing. Don't get too far ahead of yourself.' I was kind of speechless and in awe in that moment.”
As of Saturday, Brubaker hadn’t been told if he was in the rotation or what his role would be. He was reaffirmed in a big way.
“Definitely an awesome honor,” Brubaker said. “Hard work paid off this offseason. Just continuing to build. … When you go out and you actually have a clear sight of what you're wanting to work on in the offseason, or even in Spring Training, the hard work pays off when a moment like this comes.”
St. Louis holds a special place for Brubaker, having made his major-league debut there in 2020, pitching in what would be Shelton’s first win as a manager.
“When he told me that, it was kind of a perfect scenario right now,” Brubaker said. “Going back to the same place that I made my debut. It’s pretty cool.”
For the first half of last year, Brubaker was arguably the Pirates’ best pitcher, recording a 3.82 through June. The second half of the season was rougher, finishing with a 5.36 ERA over 24 starts due to injury and fatigue. After missing all of 2019 with injury and the abbreviated 2020 season, he had not pitched a full season since he was the organization’s minor-league pitcher of the year in 2018.
Going into the offseason, pitching coach Oscar Marin and the rest of the pitching team told him to emphasize being ready to pitch a full 162. Brubaker took that to heart this winter, readjusting his workout plan and diet to be better prepared to pitch over a full season.
"He's been through that first full year,” Marin told me. “He knows what it takes. He knows the adjustments he needs to make, which he's already started. ... I think that was the biggest growth for him that he learned from last year."
Marin said that just about everyone in the rotation will be stretched out for about five innings and 60-75 pitches in that first turn through the rotation.
Brubaker pitched 3 ⅔ innings Saturday against the Red Sox in his final spring tuneup. While he will be on full rest for the first start, José Quintana’s spot was in turn for that first start, going off of the spring training rotation.
"Q was great," Shelton said, revealing that he revealed the decision to Quintana before Brubaker out of respect to the veteran. "He had no issue with it whatsoever."
The rest of the Pirates’ rotation outside of Brubaker, Quintana and Sunday’s starter Mitch Keller is still in flux, with the Pirates considering non-traditional options such as piggyback starters, openers and six-man rotations. The last two spring games will be started by Bryse Wilson and Zach Thompson, in the somewhat unlikely event that the club sticks with a five-man rotation out of the gate.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Keller on Brubaker getting the nod: "I'm super happy for him. He had a great year last year. He started off really hot and then tapered off at the end, but he deserves it. I'm just super happy for him. We've come up through the minor leagues together, and just to see one of my teammates that I've known for the whole minor-league system come up and start Opening Day, that's awesome for him. So happy for him."
• Keller's final spring outing was the first that he looked human in, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks, striking out five.
Part of that was because he and Roberto Pérez opted to focus on throwing breaking pitches early in the count as part of their last ramp up. The breaking pitch wasn't as sharp, leading to some poorer results, but the experience and the conversations in the dugout showed that they are on the same page.
"We're already having those conversations," Keller said. "We're already on the same page. That's a good confidence boost, as well."
It brings to a close Keller's big spring, showing consistent upper-90s velocity, a new pitch in the slurve and a revamped approach.
"Probably the best spring I've ever had, looking back on it," Keller said. "I feel really ready to go, even giving up whatever it was today. I'm not worried about it. I felt good pitching, feel good with mechanics, ball's coming out good. Just elevated spin stuff a little bit. Other than that, ready to roll."
• Diego Castillo played five innings in the outfield, his first ever appearance in that role after working behind the scenes. He picked up an outfield assist from right.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Schedule
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• Anthony Alford, outfielder, is dealing with a right hand injury. He swung Saturday, but the expectation is he will not be ready for opening day and will start on the injured list.
• Greg Allen, outfielder, exited in the second inning with left hamstring discomfort after scoring on a sacrifice fly. He is considered day-to-day.
• Yoshi Tsutsugo, first baseman, also exited early with neck tightness. It was precautionary, and he is expected to play in the spring finale Tuesday. He is day-to-day.
THE ROSTER
Right-handed pitchers Chase DeJong and Eric Hanhold were reassigned to minor-league camp after the game Sunday. There are now 37 players in camp: 18 pitchers, four catchers, nine infielders, six outfielders.
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Cole Tucker, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Ben Gamel, RF
4. Yoshi Tsutsugo, 1B
5. Greg Allen, LF
6. Diego Castillo, 3B
7. Roberto Pérez, C
8. Michael Chavis, 2B
9. Josh VanMeter, DH
And for Kevin Cash's Rays:
1. Brandon Lowe, 2B
2. Mike Zunino, DH
3. Wander Franco, SS
4. Austin meadows, LF
5. Harold Ramirez, 1B
6. Francisco Mejia, C
7. Taylor Walls, 3B
8. Brett Phillips, CF
9. Grant Witherspoon, RF
THE SCHEDULE
Two games left this spring. Monday's will be against the Pirates' spring next-door neighbor in Sarasota. Bryse Wilson will go for the Pirates, and Bruce Zimmermann will for the Orioles. First pitch is 1:05 p.m. I'll be there for it.
THE CONTENT
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