One of the prospects the Pittsburgh Pirates added to their 40-man roster last offseason to protect from the Rule 5 draft was right-hander Wilber Dotel. Entering the 2026 season, Dotel was viewed as one of the Pirates’ most talented pitching prospects. Now Dotel is excelling in the Major Leagues. The Pirates should give him a chance to start some games before the end of the season.
Dotel has made ten appearances for the Pirates this season, all of which were outings out of the bullpen. However, nearly all of Dotel’s games have lasted more than one inning. In total, he has tallied 21.1 IP. His 5.06 ERA on the season is a bit deceiving. Ten of the 12 runs he allowed came in his two games before landing on the injured list. He still has a 27% strikeout rate, 3.34 FIP, and has allowed just two home runs all season.
Dotel has mostly pitched as a starter throughout the minor leagues. He tossed a career-high 125.1 innings last year at Altoona, working to a 4.15 ERA, 3.89 FIP, and 1.23 WHIP. Dotel struck out 24.5% of batters he faced while only handing out a free pass 8% of the time. So far this year, Dotel has appeared in nine minor league games, with five being starts (including two rehab bullpen appearances at Altoona).
There isn’t much of a question about the quality of Dotel’s Stuff. FanGraphs’ Stuff+ metric puts him at 103, which is above-average. The young right-hander is in the 94th percentile of fastball velocity at 98.1 MPH. Along with elite velocity, his fastball also has above-average movement. Both his upper-80s slider and low-90s cutter have induced a whiff rate of at least 35% so far in his MLB career.
The Pirates should have opportunities to give Dotel chances to start games later this year. Braxton Ashcraft is just a few innings away from reaching a career-high in workload. The Pirates could also occasionally skip one of Bubba Chandler’s starts. They’ll also likely limit Jared Jones late in the year after missing all of 2025 and the first few months of the 2026 campaign. The Pirates can skip some starts here and there, or roll with a six-man rotation during weeks where they have no off days. Instead of the occasional bullpen game, the Pirates could allow Dotel to work as a normal starter, rather than as a bulk reliever. The Pirates could ultimately do something similar to how they treated Braxton Ashcraft last year.
Dotel’s first look in Major League Baseball has been nothing short of outstanding, aside from a brief injury. He is going to be a long-term member of the Pirates’ pitching staff. While his work has all come out of the bullpen so far this year, the Bucs should give him some chances to start games before the 2026 season comes to a close. Dotel definitely earned that opportunity after how well he has pitched so far this year.
