'The steal of the draft:' Hartle, Pirates' third-rounder, returning to first-round form

Wake Forest pitching coach Corey Muscara couldn't contain his excitement. 

Muscara had watched Pirates third-round pick Josh Hartle throw a bullpen in Winston-Salem, N.C. the previous day and said, "It was the best I've ever seen him throw in his life. It was absolutely sensational." 

Ben Cherington and Justin Horowitz should be smiling from ear to ear as Hartle, who was considered to be a first-round pick heading into his junior season and out of high school as well, tumbled down draft boards this past week after going through the worst season of his collegiate career and fell to the Pirates at the 83rd overall pick.

"It was shocking to me that he was in the third round," Muscara said.

The two front office executives saw something in the crafty lefty from Wake Forest who had carved up hitters as a sophomore, shared weekend slates with No. 2 overall pick Chase Burns -- who signed an MLB-record $9.25 million signing bonus Friday, topping Paul Skenes' deal from a year ago -- and led the Demon Deacons on a special run in 2023. Their belief in Hartle may pay off as he could be considered the steal of the draft.

Here's why.

As a sophomore in 2023, Hartle was extraordinary. He went 11-2, started in 17 of the 18 games he appeared in, threw 102 1/3 innings, tallied a career-high 140 strikeouts and limited opposing batters to a .236 average. Wake Forest put together a 54-12 record and earned a No. 1 seed in the College World Series.

Hartle beat Lousiana State in the quarterfinals by throwing six innings of four-hit ball while striking out nine and allowing two earned runs. However, the Tigers eventually took out Tennessee and then beat Wake Forest in the semifinals. Skenes pitched the second game of the series and worked eight innings of an 11-inning thriller while only allowing two hits, but that's beside the point. Hartle had established himself as a potential first-round draft pick ... again.

The King, N.C. native had all the attributes. He could hit spots with precision, had great off-speed stuff and knew how to get weak contact and induce ground balls. He was a lefty who knew how to win ball games. Something every manager wants. The only criticism Hartle received was his lack of velocity as he sat in the high 80s and low 90s

"Everybody and their mother wanted him to throw harder," Muscara said. 

So heading into this past season, that's what Hartle tried to do. 

Hartle is a natural supinator, which means he comes around the baseball rather than from behind it. It's what makes him so special and deceiving as a lefty. When he made adjustments to try and throw harder, he was getting more behind the baseball and he was kind of pushing it, Muscara said. It affected the control he had on his cutter which was getting thrown lower in the strike zone so hitters were laying off his breaking stuff.

Muscara and the rest of the Wake Forest staff didn't notice it right away because Hartle was still having success in his first three starts of the season. He worked 17 2/3 innings and put together a 2.04 ERA while allowing 13 hits and four earned runs. He also struck out 17 and walked just four. 

"It kind of hit us like a brick wall against Duke and Virginia back-to-back," Muscara said. "We realized he was trying to make the adjustment because he was kind of getting a little bit stuck in his delivery and he was getting a little bit pushy. It wasn't allowing him to whip and be around the baseball."

In 3 2/3 innings against Duke, Hartle gave up 11 hits, six earned runs and walked two en route to an 8-5 loss. In his next start against Virginia, he allowed six earned runs and eight hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. Then, in a win over Louisville, he threw six innings and allowed seven hits and seven earned runs.

Over the span of those three starts, Hartle's ERA sky-rocketed from 2.04 to 7.14 and while he lowered it slightly, it never dipped below five. So a three-start stretch inflated his numbers and while he did have a few more out-of-character starts, he finished the season with a 6-3 record and gutted through a few games by eating up innings and putting his team in a position to win. That's always who he's been though.

"All he's ever done is eat innings. All he's ever done is throw strikes," Muscara said. "So now you're dealing with a dangerous dude because he's had some adversity, he's dealt with the adversity and he knows how to deal with it. He's tackled it head on and he's handled it like a true pro."

Hartle came out of his junior season strong and Muscara said he's probably a better pitcher because of it. In his struggles, Hartle had to develop his changeup, which gave him another pitch to lean on and mix into his arsenal. Now, the pitcher who Muscara described as "the face of their program" is on the way to becoming the pitcher he once was.

He's fixed his delivery, he's back to getting on the side of the baseball with his cutter and his breaking ball has great shape, according to Muscara. All signs are pointing up.

"I actually think in my heart, I believe he's probably the steal of the draft," Muscara said.