OnlyBucs

Santana might not be ready yet

Thankfully, Watson came in and put out the fire

Some nice plays in the infield tonight -- two great ones by Freese at 3rd.



Kuhl doesn't do it for me. I would like to see Brault in that spot. He's been very good over his last 6 or 7 starts. I'd like a lefty out there once every five days. I haven't given up on Kuhl, but I think some AAA work would do him good. It's obviously been very good for Brault who is pitching much better.

Kuhl's new slider and curve are unreal. He has so much movement on those pitches. His biggest problem is his fastball command. He is throwing harder than ever, but with no command. He needs that fastball to be successful.

58535B575253480D0B7C455D545353125F533C0 wrote: Kuhl's new slider and curve are unreal. He has so much movement on those pitches. His biggest problem is his fastball command. He is throwing harder than ever, but with no command. He needs that fastball to be successful.


I know he's getting great movement, and some swings and misses on those pitches. But he seems to be hanging on for dear life to get through 5 innings. We've lost 10 of his 14 starts. He just needs to iron out those command issues at AAA. If we are going to claw our way back into the Central race, we need a better option as the 5th guy. Having Williams go every 5th day is iffy enough -- but his overall results are much better than Kuhl's. I think it's time to slot Brault in the starting 5 as it would solidify our starting pitching a bit more.

Yeah he's hurting us for sure.

04363A3A2E1C3F363B3E3136570 wrote: Yeah he's hurting us for sure. 


What does his run support look like?



Without looking at the stats, I would think he had more good starts than bad. I think he has only two Quality Starts considering he has only pitched six innings twice in a game all year. He isn't getting into the sixth anymore, which is not good, but he has pitched fairly well five out of his last six starts.



I fear he is turning into Charlie Morton minus the groundballs. He needs to get more command on that 99mph fastball.

I believe Kuhl should remain in the majors and likely in the rotation. With his growing assortment of pitches and his velocity he has a chance to be a good one. While he doesn't come with Cole's pedigree, he can throw as hard as Cole and I believe he has better movement on many of his pitches than Cole does.



I believe the real question is if the Pirates can actually climb back into the race, does Searage believes Kuhl can further grow into the role of being a starter in the majors this season? If he can, then keep him in the rotation.



And, if the Bucs fall out of the race, clearly keep him in the rotation so he can face the best hitters and refine his pitching.



I recognize that his short stints on the mound are putting a lot of strain on a struggling pen (He typically only goes 5 and looks like he could melt down at any point), but I'm not sure the Bucs have anyone better.



Also, if the Bucs do decide to use Brault or others rather than Kuhl in the starting rotation, and the Bucs are in the hunt, I believe he would have more value in the pen to the Bucs than many of the other relievers now on the roster.

I can see it both ways. His fastball is up 3-4 MPH this year over last year, which I am assuming is the source of his wildness. I could see them sending him down to work on controlling it in AAA but if they feel he is close to getting is handled then I could see him staying in the majors as well.

And also for someone throwing so fast, he seems to be getting a lot anyhow. And it's not he has some huge number of strikeouts either.

Here are Brault's last 8 starts:



May 6 @COL 5.0 H:5 ER:1 BB:2 K:7

May 11 NOR 6.0 H:3 ER: 1 BB:1 K:4

May 16 @COL 6.0 H:2 ER: 1 BB:3 K:6

May 21 TOL 7.0 H:3 ER: 0 BB:1 K:4

May 27 @ROC 4.2 H6 ER: 1 BB:5 K:5

June 1 LHV 7.0 H:5 ER: 0 BB:0 K:8

June 6 @TOL 6.0 H:4 ER: 1 BB: 1 K:8

June 17 @CHA 6.0 H:5 ER: 2 BB:1 K:8



I think Kuhl has a nice future, but he needs work outside of the starting 5. I believe we'd improve with Brault in his spot -- and I'd like to see us with one lefty starter too. From the way he is pitching, Brault has obviously figured something out from he last time we saw him.