Will one of the Pittsburgh Pirates' top pitching prospects help shore up their bullpen?
With young arms making up most of their starting rotation and a trio of top pitching prospects knocking on the door of the big leagues, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have some decisions to make.
Pittsburgh could opt to use their pitching depth to add a much-needed bat or two, or they can shift a starting pitcher or two to the bullpen, which would address another key need after they ranked 27th in ERA.Pirates reliever David Bednar was removed from the closer role after struggling for much of last season and blowing seven saves. Pittsburgh was tied for second in blown leads in the ninth inning last season.
In MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects, the Pirates are the only team to have three pitching prospects make the list, with Chandler coming in at No. 15, Ashcraft is No. 85 and Harrington is No. 91. Ashcraft being the one of the three to make the move to the bullpen makes plenty of sense. His stuff plays well in relief, as Baseball America listed the hard-throwing right-hander as having the best slider and curveball in the Pirates' farm system and he's struck out over nine batters per nine innings in each of his last three seasons.
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