Yohan Ramirez was one of the most integral pitchers on the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2026. He pitched 85 innings, working to a 2.86 ERA, 3.36 FIP, and a 1.19 WHIP. He struck out 28.2% of batters and walked 12.2% of them. He excelled at limiting hard contact, as he was above the 90th percentile of both exit velocity (84.7 MPH) and barrel rate (4.5%).
However, Ramirez didn’t enter the 2026 season with high expectations. From 2020 through 2025, Ramirez served as an up-and-down depth reliever, pitching just 202.1 innings with a 4.71 ERA over his first six MLB seasons. He donned eight different teams’ jerseys, including two stints with the Pirates. The next depth reliever who could become a quality relief pitcher may already be on the Pirates’ roster: Noah Murdock.
The Royals selected Murdock in the seventh round in the 2019 draft. In 2024, the right-hander had a 3.16 ERA and 27% strikeout rate, albeit with a 15.4% walk rate for the Royals’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. That was enough to impress the Athletics during the Rule 5 draft, who took him fourth in the draft. Murdock’s control issues continued in MLB, as he pitched 17 innings in 2025, allowing 25 earned runs on 20 walks before the Royals sent him back. He spent the rest of the season at their Triple-A team, walking 14 batters in 21 innings.
After Murdock hit minor league free agency, the Bucs picked him up in mid-November. He spent most of the year in the Pirates’ minor league system and performed well. In 52 innings, Murdock owned a 3.71 ERA, 2.52 FIP, and a 1.08 WHIP. He allowed just a single home run all season, and led all minor league pitchers in ground ball rate at 67.2%. Murdock continued to get strikeouts at a strong rate of 30.7%; however, the most impressive part of his season was his decrease in walks.
Murdock only allowed 10.7% of batters to reach via free pass. He upped his called strike rate from 17.3% at Triple-A last season to 19.7% this year. His in-zone pitch rate also increased from 48.7% at Triple-A in 2025 to 51.1% in 2026. Murdock also got batters to swing outside the zone much more frequently, as his chase percentage rose from 19.4% to 26.2%.
Murdock’s primary pitch is a 94-95 MPH sinker with about 15 inches of armside break. This year, his go-to breaking pitch was a low-90s cutter with about 25 inches of drop. He also began throwing a mid-80s curveball this season that got a whiff rate of 31.5%. Murdock rounds out his pitch arsenal with a mid-90s four-seam fastball and upper-80s splitter; however, he used both pitches less than 5% of the time this year.
There are certainly some similarities between Murdock and Ramirez. Ramirez’s primary fastball is a mid-90s sinker, just like Murdock. He also specializes in limiting home runs via ground balls and soft contact. Both Ramirez and Murdock have a 26-degree arm angle and similar release-point extension, with Ramirez at 6.9 feet and Murdock at 6.8 feet.
Murdock is still on the Pirates’ 40-man roster as we approach the offseason. Given how well he pitched in the minor leagues in 2026, he has a chance at sticking on the roster. The Pirates were able to turn Ramirez from a depth reliever to a lockdown setup man. Murdock could very well be the next project they take from an up-and-down depth arm to a quality bullpen hurler in MLB.
