Pirates pitcher JT Brubaker making up for lost time

JT Brubaker called it a “hiccup.”

No pain, just “tightness.”

Yet the strain in his right forearm robbed the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 26-year-old right-hander of all but four starts in Triple-A Indianapolis last season. No doubt, he has some catching up to do in spring training 2.0.

He was the Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2018 and began the ’19 season in Indianapolis with great hope. He won two of three decisions, compiling a 2.57 ERA and 1.10 WHIP while striking out 20 in 21 innings.

Then, he got the “hiccups,” the type a little sip of water can’t cure.

After a season of rehab, he reported Monday he has no limitations, with the regular season starting in 11 days.

“I believe I’m full-go,” he said. “I feel like I’m ready to go, as much as I need to go. I feel healthy. I’m ready for competitive baseball to start back up.”

He said he entered last season with an aggressive mindset of “going right at hitters.”

“It was basically me versus the hitter,” he said. “When I had the hiccup, I went back out, and it was the same process: me versus the hitter. Nothing else mattered. I wasn’t trying to be cute, fancy or anything by locating pitches. I was just going right at him.

“I don’t feel like I’ve ever lost it. I felt like when I was coming back (in rehab), I felt like the same pitcher.

“That was my one goal going into rehab, don’t change anything, throw the way that you know how to throw. I knew what type of test I could put on my arm and it worked out.”

Where he fits in manager Derek Shelton’s pitching staff is to be determined, but four of the starting spots are locked down by Joe Musgrove, Trevor Williams, Mitch Keller and Derek Holland. Chad Kuhl and/or Steven Brault could be No. 5.

The piggyback role — multiple pitchers following each other in short bursts of innings — could be Brubaker’s initial ticket to the majors. But don’t try to read Shelton’s mind.

“Like I told you guys before, you guys keep making assumptions of who’s in that piggyback,” Shelton said. “There’s a lot of people who could fill into that role.”

Of Brubaker, he added, “Been very happy with him. He’s done a nice job. He threw the ball well again (Sunday). He threw three innings. He was extremely efficient. He threw 32 pitches, put the ball on the ground.

“Last time he threw, I was able to sit behind the plate, and he executed some really good pitches inside to left-handers. (Sunday), it was just as sharp. It’s good to see that he continues to build up and he’s maintaining his sharpness.”

Brubaker has been developing a four-seam pitch that keeps left-handed batters guessing.

“If I just spin my two-seam away to them, they can sit on it outside,” Brubaker said. “If I’m able to pitch in to them, they’ve got to own up to it and honor it.”

So far Brubaker has stretched out to only three innings. But with a 30-man roster for the first two weeks of the season (four more than what was expected pre-pandemic), Brubaker’s odds of sticking with the Pirates increase.

He has pitched in 152 games since his freshman season (2013) at Akron — all but 11 as a starter. He hasn’t pitched in relief since the Arizona Fall League in 2017, when he recorded a 2.63 ERA, with 16 strikeouts and two walks in 13²⁄₃ innings.

For several reasons, Shelton is expecting to take a nontraditional approach while handling his pitchers.

“I think you’re going to see roles be changed for a couple reasons,” he said, not speaking specifically of Brubaker. “Number one, the 30-man roster in terms of how people are going to deploy them, and then with the three-batter rule this year, and again, no one knows how that’s going to work out.

“So you’re going to see guys have different roles.”

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NOTE: The Pirates signed right-handed pitcher Parker Brahms as a non-draftted free agent. Brahms compiled a 1.14 ERA in four starts at Sacramento State this season and was one of two qualified pitchers at the NCAA Division I level who didn’t walk a batter.