Five spring training notes: The word for this staff is 'smother'

BRADENTON, Fla. -- When talking to Oscar Marin this offseason, one of the things he said this pitching staff was still searching for was their "identity."

After spending time together as a group at Pirate City, the pitching coach has an idea for what that identity is.

"When someone comes in to play the Pittsburgh Pirates, they’re going to smother you in the zone," Marin said. "That’s something we’ve been talking about a ton. Some of the acquisitions that we’ve made have those mentalities and some of the changes that have happened with guys that we already have, that’s what they’re trending toward."

The rotation and staff certainly do look poised to take a step forward this year, with Rich Hill and Vince Velasquez coming via free agency and prospects like Mike Burrows and Quinn Priester more or less set to make their debuts this year.

And yeah, they could probably benefit from some smothering.

According to FanGraphs, Pirates pitchers threw in the zone on 39.7% of their pitches last season, 28th in the league. Granted, there range between the best in the league (the Dodgers at 43.3%) and the worst (the Rangers at 39%) is only a handful of points, but limiting walks has been a difficulty for years now. Last year, the Pirates issued 586 walks, the third most in the majors. Staying on the attack is a way to potentially drop those numbers.

It's also a message Marin is confident can resonate with those young pitchers coming up this year.

"You guys have seen it," Marin answered. "You’ve been here with us the last couple of years. You saw Luis Ortiz and what he did. When he competes in the zone, he got major league hitters out. Before that, Max Kranick, his first couple outings. In St. Louis, I think he threw less than 60 pitches through five innings. It works. It correlates. We’ve put the objective data behind it. It correlates to winning. It correlates to performance. It’s more so maintaining that confidence of the pitcher they are, that in the big leagues, yeah, there are better hitters. But don’t give ‘em too much credit."

• Now that the Pirate City portion of spring training is in the books, let's take a look at a couple guys in competition for roster spots.

I'll be simple with the first one: Jose Hernandez. 

The 25-year-old lefty reliever was taken in the Rule 5 draft this winter, and while the reports I got on him praise the fastball (which can ramp up to upper 90s and flirt with triple digits), the breaking ball doesn't have a ton of depth. I watched one live batting practice here, and while the sample size is way too small to base any sort of opinion, my first impression was that I can see where those reports are coming from.

I'll also say that he probably had more front office/coaches watching his live BP than any other pitcher in camp. So much so that I couldn't get a head-on view from behind home plate to video. So please settle for this side look at his mechanics:

Hard-throwing lefties aren't quite the unicorns they were 10 or 15 years ago -- 22 southpaw relievers averaged at least 95 mph on their fastball velocity last season compared to just two in 2009 (min. 100 fastballs thrown) -- but it's still relatively rare to find one. That doesn't guarantee Hernandez anything, but it's something that needs to be kept in mind while making a roster decision.

• If Hernandez doesn't make the team, it opens up a potential bullpen spot for a non-roster invite. The Pirates have several southpaws who fit this bill: Angel Perdomo, Daniel Zamora, Rob Zastryzny and Caleb Smith.

That is assuming Smith doesn't start. He signed earlier this month because the Pirates were willing to give him a look as a starter again rather than just a reliever.

"That was the main seller for me," Smith told me. "They're gonna stretch me out in spring to be a starter, and if it doesn't work out, I can always go back to the bullpen."

The opening day rotation may not be as clear-cut as I predicted in my spring training preview, but if anyone here is the spoiler, it has to be Johan Oviedo or Ortiz first because of what they did last September. Depth is good, but unless Smith amazes or is willing to go to Indianapolis, I don't see a path for him to start with the Pirates because of the depth they've built.

• Chris Owings is about as defensively versatile as anyone in camp. A shortstop by trade, he says now second fits him best, but he can also play third, first and the outfield.

Being that versatile wasn't the plan coming through the minors. It thrust upon him when he was with the Diamondbacks. 

"I was learning all of this in the big leagues," Owings said. "I wasn't in the minors they were like, 'hey, go take some fly balls in the outfield.' [Center fielder] A.J. Pollack broke his elbow two days before the season and they were like, 'we don't have any money. Hey, you get out there.' "

Being versatile has served him well, though, and he's gone on to have a 10-year major-league career. He's in the mix for a bench job this spring as a non-roster invite. It's the fourth straight year he's had to try to break camp as an invite, but so far, he's 3-for-3.

"It's not something you want to brag about, right?" he said with a smile. "I don't think there's a key to it. I think it helps with me being able to play different positions. For me, it's just stay healthy. I've been hurt, I've had some inconsistent years where I just didn't stay on the field. Be able to get at-bats."

• The first cut this spring training is, unsurprisingly, Termarr Johnson, who was sent to minor-league camp Friday.

The 18-year-old never had a chance to make the opening day team, and after straining his right hamstring strain earlier this week, the focus is on making sure he is in the best position to recover ahead of the season. Talking with him yesterday, he doesn't seem all that concerned about it.

There will be 66 players making the 3.4 mile drive west to LECOM Park for the first spring game against the Blue Jays Saturday.