Pittsburgh Pirates acquire Kyle Lobstein from Detroit Tigers

The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired pitcher Kyle Lobstein from the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations. Lobstein had been designated for assignment by the Tigers last week.

The 26-year-old lefty is a roll of the dice for the Pirates, who have had success with pitching reclamation projects in the past. Lobstein’s two major league seasons have been a mixed bag for the most part, but with only 20 appearances thus far in his career, it’s difficult to make a definitive evaluation on his future prospects.

Lobstein pitched to a 4.35 ERA over seven outings (six of them starts) in 2014. He started the most recent campaign with a chance to prove himself in the absence of injured staff ace Justin Verlander.

Things began well enough, as the young southpaw posted a 3.00 ERA through his first five starts of 2015. Lobstein’s best outing of the year came on May 7 against the division rival White Sox, as he tossed 7.2 frames without allowing an earned run.

Lobstein’s season took a very sour turn from there. He made eight more appearances (six starts) and sputtered to the tune of a 9.10 ERA during them. Opponents slashed a beefy .354/.406/.631 against him in that span, and he finished the year with a bloated 5.94 ERA.

The main sources of Lobstein’s struggles this year were inflated 11.0 H/9 and 3.3 H/9 rates along with a meager 4.5 K/9 rate. The inability to strike out hitters usually make matters worse when you already tend to fill up the bases.

The Pirates evidently hope they can recover some of what once made Lobstein a promising Tigers prospect. Earlier this year, Rob Rogacki of Bless You Boys highlighted Lobstein’s ability to mix up his pitches (changeup, slider, curveball) and change speeds as keys to his success. If he can better accomplish that moving forward, he may be able to get back on track in Pittsburgh.

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The Bucs will also enjoy some flexibility in terms of how they handle Lobstein. If he doesn’t make the roster next year, he can serve as minor league depth in case of injury. They can give him looks as both a starter and reliever as well.