It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled to find consistency in their bullpen. They’ve struggled, and it also seems like they can’t find anyone to stick in the Majors. Brandan Bidois, Wilber Dotel, and Antwone Kelly have all been demoted to Triple-A at least once this year after making their MLB debut. The Pirates have also moved roles around to try to find something to work, but nothing has. They need to keep trying something, and their next call-up to try and fix the pen should be a minor league signee from this past winter, right-hander Noah Murdock.
Murdock made his MLB debut last year after the Athletics selected him from the Kansas City Royals in the Rule 5 draft. He allowed 25 earned runs with 20 walks over just 17 innings of work. While he did not allow a single home run, he did allow six hits.
Despite his struggles last year, the Pirates opted to take a low-risk shot on Murdock. So far, he has tallied 26.1 innings between A-Ball Bradenton, Double-A Altoona, and Triple-A Indianapolis. He owns a 3.42 ERA with a 0.99 WHIP. He has struck out nearly 30% of batters with a 29.8% K%. Walks have given Murdock next to no issues with a 5.8% BB%. He has excelled at limiting home runs and inducing ground balls. He owns just a 0.34 HR/9 ratio, and his 65.1% ground ball rate is the 7th highest of any minor league reliever with at least 25 innings pitched this year.
The lack of walks is the most promising part of his game. When the A’s selected Murdock in the Rule 5 draft in the 2024-2025 offseason, he was coming off a year where he walked 15.4% of batters over 62.2 innings in the Royals’ minor league system. The walks followed Murdock into MLB, as he walked 20.4% of the batters he faced in a 17-inning sample size. Murdock was then returned to the Royals and continued to post a 13.1% BB% over 21 innings at Triple-A. That low BB% leads to a 24% K-BB%, a massive step forward from the 7.1% mark he posted last year.
There has also never been a question of whether Murdock had the stuff to become an effective reliever. The right-hander put up a 105 FanGraphs Stuff+ last year thanks to his low arm slot, above-average extension, and mid-90s sinker. He reworked his sinker, adding more deception while maintaining his 95 MPH velocity. His sweeper and cutter also have different movement profiles compared to last season.
Murdock’s low BB% also makes him stand out from other Triple-A relievers the Pirates have at their disposal. Cam Sanders has a 17.5% BB% at Indy this year. Bidois handed out a free pass to 15.7% of Triple-A batters. Jaden Woods has performed well, but has an 11.1% BB% between Altoona and Indy. Beau Burrows and Justin Meis also have a BB% over 10%. Meanwhile, Murdock has the lowest BB% of any Pirates minor league reliever, and he and Woods are the only ones with a K-BB% over 20%.
The Pirates need to try something different. Nothing seems to stick in the Pirates’ bullpen. Murdock has made more progress this year than any Pirates minor league pitcher. They need relief help badly, and should see if Murdock can break out after cutting down on the free passes this year.
