In 2021, Pittsburgh had an awful set of relievers. Closer David Bednar was outstanding; he was able to easily strikeout batters and rarely allowed any baserunners.  

There were a handful of average relievers, those who could either allow a run or two or toss a scoreless inning. But, many of the members of the bullpen allowed hard contact and players had no trouble getting hits and finding other ways to reach first base.

Going into the 2022 season one could only hope it would get better from there. Even an average bullpen would have been seen as a huge success. 

No one could have predicted how good this bullpen would be to start the year.

They are allowing a .168 opponent batting average, the lowest in the MLB, a 2.78 ERA and a .904 WHIP. 

They have become so dominant that if the Bucs' starting pitcher can leave the mound with a lead, it is almost guaranteed that they will win.

And no one has been more dominant than Wil Crowe. 

Wil Crowe threw the most innings for the Pirates last season as a starting pitcher. He had a 5.48 ERA and allowed a lot of home runs. He showed some good stretches throughout the season, but he was at best a fifth pitcher in the rotation.

Pittsburgh relegated Crowe to the bullpen for this season, and he is having an All-Star start. He has thrown 12 scoreless innings to start the season. He has only allowed four hits, and opponents are hitting .103 off of him. He has a bullpen-high 15 strikeouts and a .667 WHIP. 

Bednar has continued his domination from last season. In six innings pitched he has allowed only two hits, zero runs and only two walks. He only has one save so far this season, but I expect that number to rise rapidly as the year goes on/

Heath Hembree, who was a free-agent signing in the offseason, has had great results to begin his Pirates tenure. The veteran has tossed 5.1 innings with only one earned run allowed. He has allowed five walks, but he doesn’t let the baserunners he puts on do any damage. 

Dillion Peters, who made six starts with the Pirates last season, is also thriving after switching to the bullpen. He has pitched 7.2 scoreless innings, and he hasn’t even allowed a single hit over that time. He has walked four batters, the only four baserunners he’s allowed this season.

Anthony Banda, who had a great two months after being claimed off waivers in early August of 2021, looks just as good as last season. In 26.1 innings pitched last season, Banda allowed 10 earned runs. Three of those runs came off of a bad outing against Philadelphia. This season, he has allowed one earned run in 4.1 innings pitched. He has struck out five batters and not allowed a single walk, showing the promise this season has for him.

Chris Stratton, who had a 3.63 ERA and a 1.298 WHIP with the Pirates in 2021, has allowed two runs on four hits in 4.1 innings of work. He has struck out four and not allowed a walk. He is already a solid middle of the bullpen arm, but he has the potential to be a high-end one as the season progresses.

Aaron Fletcher had a horrible start to the season, allowing two home runs and four earned runs on opening day against the Cardinals. Since that outing he has not allowed a single hit and he’s only walked one batter. 

Miguel Yajure, who is one of the highest-rated prospects in the Pirates system, has struggled as he begins his first full season in the majors. He has allowed six earned runs in six innings pitched with three walks and only two strikeouts. He has allowed a bullpen-high seven hits. 

Another highly-touted prospect, Roansy Contreas, was having a solid start to the season. He allowed three earned runs in 7.2 innings, but he also struck out 10 players. His ability to make batters swing and miss is unbelievable, and it should become a staple for him down the road. 

The Pirates, however, designated him to Triple-A in order to develop. This is a questionable move as he wasn’t struggling in the majors, and it often helps players more to develop up there rather than in the minors. 

Chase De Jong will now be in the bullpen. He had a nice start in Indianapolis, pitching 13 innings with a 2.08 ERA, 19 strikeouts and a .156 opponent batting average. 

If the Pirates can keep this kind of success up with their bullpen, they could exceed many people’s expectations for this season. Offense will be pivotal, and the starting pitchers have to give the bullpen a chance to maintain the lead each day. If Pittsburgh can start firing on all cylinders, it could be a surprising season.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference