Opener nod a step for Musgrove the leader

PITTSBURGH -- Talk to enough people around the Pirates, and you’ll hear a few words used to describe Joe Musgrove quite often. “Athlete” comes up a lot, because Musgrove loves hitting and playing defense, even though his job title is starting pitcher. “Competitor” is up there, too, because the otherwise laid-back Californian can get fiery on the mound. Another one? "Leader."

Last season, Musgrove emerged as a clubhouse leader, a role he carried into this spring and summer, and now he’ll get a chance to lead Pittsburgh’s rotation. On Friday, manager Derek Shelton named him the Pirates’ Opening Day starter.

“You have different people that lead in different ways, and he leads definitely by example. He works his butt off,” Shelton said. “He's prepared. He's diligent. He asks really good questions. He's extremely respectful. He embraces the fact that guys want to have conversations with him. And it's exciting to me to see how people are attracted to him, how people gravitate toward wanting to ask him questions.

“For being a younger guy and not having a ton of Major League time, that shows you know how special of a person he is.”

With Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer out for the year due to injuries, the 27-year-old Musgrove was the logical choice to make the first start of the season. After one final tuneup in an exhibition against Cleveland on Saturday night at PNC Park, Musgrove will scale the mound to face the Cardinals next Friday at Busch Stadium in his first Opening Day start.

“There’s only 30 guys in the world that get to do that every year, and to be one of them is pretty cool,” Musgrove said. “It’s something that every pitcher wants to experience at least once in their career, and being able to get it going into my fourth year, I hope I can carry it on through the rest of my career.”

Musgrove received the news from Shelton and pitching coach Oscar Marin earlier this week. He knew it was possible that he’d get the nod, especially with the way the Bucs' rotation has lined up throughout Summer Camp. So Musgrove sat down in Shelton’s office, and the first-year manager made it official.

“I didn’t really know what to say. I just kind of sat there. I had a smile under my mask,” Musgrove said. “I was happy about it. He’s like, ‘You know, this is my first time doing it, so I don’t really know what to say or how to do it.’ I said, ‘It’s my first time, too, man. So we’ll do it together.’

“It was just a cool moment for both of us. His first time on the managing side getting to tell someone that it’s their Opening Day, and for me being my first one. It was very exciting.”

Last season, Musgrove was the only consistent presence in a rotation plagued by injuries. He led the team in starts (31), innings (170 1/3) and strikeouts (157) while posting a 4.44 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. For the third straight year, Musgrove put up peripheral numbers -- including his 3.82 FIP -- that indicate he’s due for better results.

“Some guys are quiet leaders, some lead by example and some guys are more vocal. To me, Joe is the stereotypical, prototypical leader on the field,” said catcher Jacob Stallings. “I just love going out and competing with Joe. He's one of the top competitors I've ever played with.”

The most promising part of last season for Musgrove, though, was the way it ended. He shortened his arm action as part of some modifications he made to his delivery, and over his last five starts, he went 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA and 32 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .240/.277/.365 slash line in 28 innings.

When reviewing video from last year, Marin saw “two different guys” -- and he’s excited about the version of Musgrove he saw down the stretch.

"That takes athleticism, that takes just ... You know what, that takes some grit to be able to do that. And it worked,” Marin said. “The stuff got better. He felt better physically. And that's something that he wanted to continue throughout the offseason, and he did.”

Musgrove has looked sharp throughout Summer Camp workouts, and he reported to PNC Park clearly ready to not just pitch but work deep into games. During his most recent intrasquad outing, he worked six innings, and Shelton noted that his “feel on his pitches tonight was about as close to being ready for the season, I think, as you can see out of a guy.” Musgrove agreed that his confidence is now “the best it's been in a while.”

Musgrove has grown into a leadership role off the mound as well, reminding teammates to follow MLB’s health and safety protocol. Earlier in camp, he said that he’s wearing his mask as often as possible to remind other players to wear theirs, and if they don’t, he joked, they might put one on when they see him because “they’re not going to want me to yell at them.”

“When we’re having conversations about making sure we take care of ourselves at the ballpark and away from the ballpark, he’s the first guy who is wearing his mask when he walks in and is making sure. I definitely think he is going to step into that role on the mound and also in the clubhouse,” Shelton said. “That’s important. He has the traits and abilities to lead, players look to him to do that. I’m excited he’s taking that next step in his development.”

"He leads by example. That's one of the things. And when he speaks, guys listen,” Marin said recently. “I think part of the leadership he brings is what he does, how he presents himself and that little aura that he does have of being that guy for them last year."