A disappointing season in Pittsburgh may result in changes. One unfortunate, underserving casualty might be pitching coach Oscar Marin. That would be regrettable because amid the frustration of the five-year Ben Cherington/Derek Shelton regime, the Pirates pitching coach has had more successes than failures, despite working mostly with a collection of castoffs and young, inexperienced pitchers for five years.
Amid Cries for Changes, Pirates Pitching Coach Marin Should Remain
With a record of 65-74 in a year when owner Bob Nutting expected the Pirates to contend, surely heads will roll after the season. The guess here is that Cherington is safe for another year or two. However, with each additional loss, it gets harder to imagine Shelton and hitting coach Andy Haines surviving this mess. Shelton seems to be feeling the heat. Uncharacteristically, he showed his anger in front of the media on two recent occasions. After the Pirates blew a 10-3 lead to the Chicago Cubs last week, calling into question the continued use of David Bednar as a closer, Shelton told the media, “I don’t know if I’ve been as pissed as I am right now.” Then Shelton got testy after the Pirates were no-hit by the Cubs on Wednesday.
Derek Shelton snaps in his postgame media session in Chicago after being asked about Rowdy Tellez pitching again
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Nutting is rarely available to the media and thus there’s no window to what he might be thinking. He might want to make wholesale changes, in which case Shelton’s entire staff would be dragged down with him. However, Nutting should carefully consider whether dismissing his pitching coach is warranted.
Marin as Pitching Coach: The Numbers
As of the close of Wednesday’s action, among the 30 major league teams, the Pirates’ team ERA of 4.15 ranks 17th. They rank 23rd in WHIP allowed with 1.312 and 25th in opponents’ batting average at .252. Of course, there’s plenty of room for improvement in those figures. Nonetheless, they’ve shown marked improvement from 2019, the year before Marin became the pitching coach. In 2019, the team had a 5.18 ERA (ranking 26th in the majors), 1.415 WHIP (25th), and .268 opponents’ average (25th).
Getting a little geekier, the Pirates rank 12th with 16.28 pitches per inning, a measure of pitchers’ efficiency. They rank 18th in average exit velocity allowed (89.0 mph), which could be better, but nonetheless is also better than four postseason-bound teams. More encouraging is their 7.9 percent ratio of “barrels” to “batted ball events” and 5.4 percent ratio of “barrels” to plate appearances, which rank 15th and 14th, respectively.
Marin as Pitching Coach: Beyond the Numbers
There’s a human side to this, too, of course. When Nutting fired pitching coach Ray Searage after the 2019 season, he cited pitchers who had improved after moving on from the Pirates. He didn’t name names, but he didn’t have to. They were Gerrit Cole, Charlie Morton, and Tyler Glasnow, although people forgot Cole won 19 games for the 2015 Pirates. Glasnow was the one who was vocal about how the coaching staff didn’t help him. He’s since backed off and cites his youth and inexperience when discussing his failures in Pittsburgh. In any event, it’s important to look at how Marin has fared with certain individuals.
The First Big Test
Marin’s first big test as Pirates pitching coach was Mitch Keller. Keller was a highly regarded prospect who struggled at first. From 2019-21, he had a 6.02 ERA and 1.732 WHIP. The last thing Nutting wanted to see was for Keller to flourish with another team. Marin had to fix him. In 2022, Keller had a 6.61 ERA after seven starts. He was sent to the bullpen for a few days. After two relief outings, he finished strong and lowered his ERA to 3.91. In 2023, Keller was an All-Star and had a strong case for a second selection in 2024.
Marin as Pitching Coach: Failures and Successes
That’s not all. Jose Quintana came to the Pirates after a 2019-21 stretch where his ERA was 5.13 and WHIP was 1.471. As a Pirate in 2022, he had a 3.50 ERA and 1.272 WHIP and became a desirable commodity on the trade market. Hard-throwing lefty Jose Hernandez was a Rule 5 draftee who had to remain with the big club for all of 2023. He had growing pains but was a useful reliever who Shelton turned to in plenty of key situations. Another lefty reliever, Ryan Borucki, joined the Bucs last year after a mediocre four years that produced a 4.45 ERA and 1.400 WHIP. All he did in 2023 was post a 2.45 ERA and a major-league-best 0.774 WHIP.
After struggling last season, Luis Ortiz has bounced back to become one of the Pirates’ better and most underrated pitchers in 2024. Starting and relieving, his record is 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA and 1.097 WHIP. Rookie Kyle Nicolas, a hard-throwing right-hander with a reputation for wildness, has excelled lately. Since June 12, his ERA is 2.57 and he’s struck out 34 in 35 innings. Marin also oversaw the emergence of Bednar as a two-time All-Star closer and Colin Holderman and Carmen Mlodzinski as useful high-leverage pieces. All three have struggled this year, but one likely reason might be their willingness to pitch through injuries.
The New Guys
Looking at this year’s additions, recent acquisition Jalen Beeks is putting up the best numbers of his career so far, albeit in a small 13-inning sample size. A pleasant surprise has been Dennis Santana. His selection from the New York Yankees on waivers was greeted by a collective yawn from Pirates fans. But after a rough second outing with Pittsburgh, since June 18, he’s had an ERA of 1.44 in 26 games. Opponents are hitting .202 against him in that time. He’s unscored upon in his last 11 appearances.
Finally, there are rookie sensations Paul Skenes, who started in the All-Star Game, and Jared Jones. Cynics would suggest, correctly, that their talent is off the charts and who their pitching coach is, whether Marin or somebody else, doesn’t matter. For those cynics who believe that a pitching coach can’t ruin a talented pitcher, I have two words: Jim Colborn.
Failure’s No Success at All
No doubt, Marin has had failures, too. Since Clay Holmes was traded from Pittsburgh, he’s pitched well for the Yankees, notching 73 saves despite recent struggles. All Marin could coax from highly regarded Quinn Priester was a 6.46 ERA over two seasons. Roansy Contreras and Miguel Yajure were notable prospects acquired from the Yankees in 2021. Neither is with the Pirates now. But that’s how it goes. No matter how good one is at his job, there will always be people who don’t respond. The opinion here is that Marin deserves to stay regardless of what other changes may be made.
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