Pittsburgh Pirates send Steven Brault to bullpen, Nick Kingham to rotation

The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Steven Brault to the bullpen so rookie Nick Kingham could join the rotation.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates being surprising contenders in the NL Central, they made a move they had to make this week. They sent Steven Brault to the bullpen so prospect Nick Kingham could get another start.

Steven Brault started five games in April and had a 2-1 record, but his 4.97 ERA and 5.05 FIP made him the odd man out of the rotation. He doesn’t strike out enough batters (5.6 K/9) and walks too many (4.7 BB/9). He’ll also give the team a lefty they can use as a setup man for the only left-handed pitcher currently in the pen, closer Felipe Vazquez.

The new man in the rotation is rookie right-hander Nick Kingham. He’ll make his next start on Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers, who trail the Pittsburgh Pirates by just a single game in the NL Central. The Pittsburgh Pirates are a half-game behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs after losing to the Washington Nationals on Monday.

Nick Kingham was incredible on Sunday. He was perfect for six-and-two-thirds innings, retiring the first 20 batters he faced in his major league career before Paul DeJong singled with two outs in the seventh inning. The Elias Sports Bureau confirmed that Nick Kingham set the post-expansion (1961-present) record for batters retired in a pitcher’s MLB debut. His teammates celebrated the feat by drenching him with mustard on his way to the showers after the game.

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Nick Kingham in the fourth round of the 2010 MLB draft. He worked way was through the low minor leagues before a breakout 2013 season split between High-A and Double-A landed him on the top prospect lists prior to the 2014 season.

Baseball America had him as the 64th-best prospect in baseball, and Baseball Prospectus ranked him 80^th. He made the Baseball Prospectus list again before the 2015 season, landing at 67^th.

Then injuries hit. Nick Kingham underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2015 and missed the rest of that season and much of the 2016 season. He came back last year and had a 3.95 ERA in 118.3 minor league innings but did not reclaim his status on the top-100 prospect lists. MLB Pipeline had him ranked No.12 among Pittsburgh Pirates prospects before this season.

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Nick Kingham started this year with the Triple-A Indianapolis club and was dominant in four starts, with 27 strikeouts and seven walks in 22.7 innings (1.59 ERA, 2.12 FIP). That got him the call to the big leagues to face the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday and he took advantage of the opportunity.

He’s projected by the Fangraphs Depth Charts to have a 3.92 ERA this season. The only starting pitcher currently in the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation with a better-projected ERA is Jameson Taillon. For reference, Brault’s projected for a 4.56 ERA. Kingham is a definite upgrade.

With a record of 17-12, the Pittsburgh Pirates won more games in April this year than they won in any month last year or any month during the entire 2016 season.

In fact, the last time the Pittsburgh Pirates won 17 games in a month was September of 2015, a season in which they won 98 games.

Also, it’s not like they haven’t deserved their current record. They’re 5-3 in one-run games and have a plus-20 run-differential. Their expected record is identical to their actual record. The most-recent projections at Fangraphs have the Pittsburgh Pirates finishing with 80 wins.

Next: Pirates top 10 rookie-eligible prospects for 2018

The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals are projected for the two NL Wild Card spots, with 86 wins each, and the Rockies are expected for 81 wins.

Reaching 80 wins at least put the Pittsburgh Pirates in the mix, so every little upgrade matters. Nick Kingham could be more than a bit of an upgrade.