Pirates using more simulated games this spring

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- It will probably be another week or two before fans can see some of the Pirates' more established pitchers and position players in regular spring games.

Manager Clint Hurdle said the plan to ease those players in through simulated games at the Pirate City complex in Bradenton, Fla., is going well. Right hander Chris Archer threw 38 pitches in a two-inning simulated game Thursday and Hurdle has others in the Bucs’ projected rotation scheduled to do the same this weekend.

“[Jameson] Taillon is throwing three innings tomorrow,” Hurdle said. “[Trevor] Williams is also throwing three innings tomorrow. [Joe] Musgrove is throwing, I think, two innings [Sunday].”

The plan is to get the starting pitchers more controlled work on the back fields without the pressure of dealing with a game. Hurdle feels like being in control of the situations the pitchers face and how they structure their outings is the right thing for Spring Training.

“A large volume of the work in Spring Training is done for the pitchers,” Hurdle added. “You’ve got starting pitchers that people want to see in these games, and if he throws 25 pitches in an inning, he’s out.

"[In simulated games] we can control the temperature. If he gets to 25 pitches, we can stop it or sit him down and bring him back the next inning. We stop worrying about the volume and work on the content, work on the execution. You can create situations. You can put runners on. You can do a host of things you can’t necessarily do in these games.”

To help the pitchers get the most out of their simulated games, the Pirates are letting their more established hitters, like outfielder Corey Dickerson and second baseman Adam Frazier, take part in the games and provide more challenging at-bats. Hurdle would like to get the pitchers in spring games once they hit four innings and can go through a lineup at least one time.

The position players, Hurdle says, are also likely playing in more games in the spring than they need to get ready for the season. Instead he wants them to get more of their at-bats in spring when he feels the games take on a little more intensity and the players can get more innings in.

“Position players, the amount of at-bats they need to get ready for a season ... you’ll hear anywhere from 30 to 50,” Hurdle said. “Well, I’ve been in camps where guys have gotten 70. So we’re trying to intensify the productivity of it on the back side of Spring Training, where we’ll really gear things up the last couple of weeks.”

Will the benefits of this plan come to fruition during the season? Hurdle says he’ll know at the same time as the rest of the baseball world by seeing how the Bucs come out of the gate to start the year.

“Time will tell, because this is the first time we’ve done it this way,” Hurdle said. “We’ll see what our results are getting out of the box and how it carries through the season. Right now it’s working out for the pitchers very well and the position players very well. We’re really happy with it. I’m just looking forward to seeing how it works out.”