{"id":115122,"date":"2026-03-04T23:18:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T04:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=115122"},"modified":"2026-03-04T23:18:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T04:18:21","slug":"pirates-mike-clevinger-shockingly-good-start-spring-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/04\/pirates-mike-clevinger-shockingly-good-start-spring-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Minor League Signee Off to (Shockingly) Strong Start"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed veteran right-hander Mike Clevinger<\/a> to a minor league contract at the start of February. He is currently in spring training as one of Pittsburgh’s non-roster invitees<\/a>. Expectations going into the spring were low for Clevinger. The 2020s have not treated him well. He hasn\u2019t pitched 100+ innings in a season since 2023. On top of that, he has dealt with off-field issues. However, Clevinger is doing a lot better in spring training than many likely expected.<\/p>\n

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Mike Clevinger Paving the Way to a Bounceback Season with the Pirates<\/h2>\n

Dominant Start to Spring<\/h3>\n

Clevinger has pitched five innings in Spring Training. That is only two-thirds fewer frames than he tossed in the Major Leagues in all of 2025. It\u2019s a small sample size, but Clevinger has already struck out four opponents. He has also yet to allow an earned run. On the downside, Clevinger has also handed out four free passes.<\/p>\n

Stuff Left in the Tank<\/h3>\n

Clevinger\u2019s bottom-line results aren\u2019t what\u2019s important here. The important, and most surprising, thing is that his pitches look significantly better. Clevinger\u2019s fastball regained a significant amount of velocity. The right-hander is now averaging 95.3 MPH. Last year, he sat at 93.5 MPH, and hasn\u2019t averaged out above 94 MPH since 2020. On top of that, the pitch gained two inches of horizontal break at 8.5 inches and has a better ride through the zone, with only 12.7 inches of drop. The last time Clevinger threw his fastball with less than 13 inches of drop was in 2020.<\/p>\n

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Mike Clevinger showed why he\u2019s an MLB vet at our Pro Day.
\nFB avg 95.6 mph with 18.3\u201d IVB (+2\u201d vs last year).
\nMixed an 81.3 sweeper, firmer slider\/cutter (88.6), and a 88.6 CH with 14.1\u201d vert. separation from FB.<\/p>\n

The stuff is there. The velo is up. Ready for the next opportunity. pic.twitter.com\/JAW6ESwBpT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Anthony Becerra (@becerra_bsbl) February 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n