Wilber Dotel was one of the Pittsburgh Pirates' top pitching prospects entering the 2026 campaign. The right-hander broke out in 2025, and Baseball America ranked him as the Bucs' 10th-best prospect. Dotel, who primarily pitched as a starter throughout the minor leagues, worked as a long reliever for the Pirates this year, so what role will he fill in 2027?
Dotel pitched to a 4.46 ERA, 3.22 FIP, and 1.37 WHIP over 42.1 innings in the Major Leagues in 2026. His 22.5% K% and 8.8% walk rate were roughly league average; however, the right-hander excelled at limiting home runs. Dotel held batters to a 0.64 HR/9 ratio, with a 4% barrel rate. Despite his pedestrian ERA, underlying metrics liked his overall performance. Dotel posted a 3.79 xFIP, 3.76 SIERA, and 3.81 xERA.
Dotel appeared in 22 games this year, with 14 lasting two or more innings. In six appearances, he pitched at least three innings. Two of his appearances were starts; however, the Pirates used Dotel more like an opener in those two outings than a traditional starter. Entering 2026, however, he had 52 minor-league appearances in 2024 and 2025, all starts, pitching over 105 innings in both seasons.
There's no question Dotel has the stuff to pitch in whatever role he needs to. His four-seam fastball sat at 98.3 MPH in MLB this season, topping out at 100.8 MPH. He threw the pitch with above-average induced vertical break (16.1 inches), along with above-average arm-side break (8.9 inches).
Dotel relied almost equally on two breaking pitches. The first is a low-to-mid-90s cutter. The pitch has about average movement and induced a 31.2% whiff rate, but batters hit it for a .398 xwOBA. It graded out as his worst pitch by FanGraphs Stuff+ metric at 90. His upper-80s slider, by contrast, was very effective. Dotel's slider flashed above-average movement, with 34.3 inches of drop and 5.4 inches of glove-side break. He held batters to just a .197 xwOBA, with a 28.8% whiff percentage against it. It was his best pitch by FanGraphs Stuff+ at 112. He also occasionally mixed in a splitter, sinker, and change-up; however, he threw each offering less than 40 times this year in MLB.
Why Dotel Should Be A Starter
Aside from the fact that Dotel came up as a starting pitching prospect, he showed plenty of talent in a long relief role in 2026 in MLB. Dotel has a deep enough arsenal to become a starter as well. Baseball America projected his fastball as a 60-grade offering, his slider as a 55-grade pitch, and his splitter at a 50, with above-average control. If he can improve his cutter, a pitch that already has solid velocity and average movement, he'd have an arsenal good enough to go through a lineup twice.
While Dotel may lose a tick of velocity on his four-seam fastball as he shifts from a long-relief role to a traditional starting pitcher role, he'd still be one of the hardest-throwing starters in baseball. Of the 109 pitchers who threw at least 120 innings in 2026, only 13 had a fastball that averaged 97+ MPH. He arguably has the highest ceiling among the Pirates' rookie pitchers from 2026 not named Bubba Chandler.
Why He Should Stay In The Bullpen
The Pirates aren't desperate for Dotel to start games. Most of their rotation is already set between Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, and Jared Jones. Mitch Keller should return healthy in 2027. Dotel isn't their only young pitcher on the 40-man roster who can start games if asked. They still have Khristian Curtis and Antwone Kelly, and they could stretch Lake Bachar for starts. Left-hander Connor Wietegrefe could also play a role in the Pirates' rotation next year. Even if the Pirates opt to move Keller in the offseason to free up payroll, they could pursue a lower-cost back-end rotation option to add some veteran stability to a young core of starting pitchers.
Letting Dotel stay in the bullpen also lets his stuff play up. Maintaining a 98-99 MPH fastball could eventually lead to more higher-leverage work. His fastball, slider, and splitter
The Middle Ground
Dotel may best fit into a swingman role for 2027, akin to Luis Ortiz in 2024 and Braxton Ashcraft in 2025. Both were hard-throwing right-handers and former top-ten prospects in the Pirates' system. Both also started their seasons out as long relievers in the Bucs' bullpen, but by the end of the year, they were getting starts on a mostly regular basis.
This could be the best role for Dotel to open 2027. The Pirates already have a decent amount of starting pitching depth. As we saw in 2026, having a quality long reliever and someone who can make spot starts can be very valuable to a pitching staff. Dotel may eventually work his way into a starting pitcher role, but he'll likely start 2027 as a swingman.
