MLB

Brandon Morrow Is A Perfect Fit With The Pittsburgh Pirates

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By @Tweets_ByJ

Brandon Morrow

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The Pittsburgh Pirates come into the MLB offseason with many goals that they need to accomplish. One of those goals will be to upgrade the starting rotation. The Pirates tend to do this by signing a player down on his luck and rebuild him into a star pitcher. If the Pirates stick to that precedent, a pitcher that fits this mold perfectly is Brandon Morrow.

When the Pirates target players they think could be a bargain down the line, they usually look for three things: high walk rate, high strikeout rate and high ground ball rate. When the Pirates locate these players, coaches work with them to lower their walk rate while keeping up the strikeouts and ground balls. This was what the Pirates and their staff did with pitchers Edinson Volquez and Francisco Liriano when they were first signed one and two years ago. And with Volquez and Liriano likely taking their successes to another team this offseason, the Pirates will have to turn to a new pitcher. That pitcher could possibly Morrow.

Morrow fits the same mold as Volquez and Liriano. He has been having some trouble the past few seasons pitching with the Toronto Blue Jays, but it could be attributed to his high walk rate last season. Morrow walked on average five players every nine innings last season before getting injured and missing most of the season. But while he carried that high walk rate, he struck out an average of eight men per nine innings and induced ground balls 50 percent of the time. Those are the exact stats the Pirates look for in a pitcher, making him an under-the-radar target for the team. And because of his rough few years, the Pirates should be able to sign him for cheap like they did Liriano and Volquez.

Looking at Morrow’s perspective, Pittsburgh is exactly where he would want to go. He sees the success that other players have had in Pittsburgh and likely wants to recapture his good form from a few years ago where he went 10-7 while striking out eight batters for every nine innings and posting an ERA that was less than 3.00. Pittsburgh is not the only place Morrow could accomplish that task, but it is a good bet given the team’s recent success in rebuilding pitchers.

This is just an ideal match for both parties involved.  The Pirates get another reclamation project for cheap and Morrow gets to rebuild his career while gaining value for his next run at free agency. The match is so perfect that it would not be surprising if Morrow was pitching in Pittsburgh next summer.

Justin Broyles is a Pirates writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @Tweets_ByJ, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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