Spring training stats simply do not matter. This is a universal truth that everyone accepts and then promptly ignores when they see a player they like go nuclear against 25-year-old pitchers who are still in Double-A. Ever since Kevin Newman had a .606 batting average in Spring Training only to follow it up with an abysmal 2021 campaign, I have known in my heart that the big gaudy numbers you see have zero correlation to success the following season. However, we can track some tangible data from these exhibition games. The pitch data on two projected future relievers from the first week of games is extremely intriguing, and findings like these are extremely important for a team that doesn’t spend much money.
The 2013-2015 Pirates were driven by a bullpen made up of guys making no money, and Wilber Dotel and Brandan Bidois are two guys who look like they have the elite stuff to contribute to the bullpen in the near future and are helping the Pirates continue this pitching lab they’ve recently put together.
Wilber Dotel
If you are a prospect sicko there is a decent chance you have heard of Wilber Dotel before, as he put together 125 innings in Altoona in 2025. He was respectable in a starting role, striking out over 9 batters per 9 innings. He also had a 4.15 ERA, nothing bad but would never excite you. What excites me is the display he was able to put on in the first Spring Training game of the season, where he was operating in more of a reliver/opener role.
He put on a display of electric stuff with this performance. A fastball that averages 96 mph with a stuff+ of 110 is incredible. When you add on top of that a plus slider that is the Pirates’ bullpen bread and butter. One of the more encouraging signs too is his control in this appearance, throwing strikes over 70% of the time. He is also currently working on developing a splitter, and a viable third pitch would go a long way in making him an effective MLB pitcher regardless of his role. I don’t foresee Dotel having a major league career as a starter; his numbers as one have been pedestrian, and while his changeup is fine, it has never been a pitch he can reliably depend on. Luckily, the Pirates do not need him to be a starter. He can easily find himself in a bullpen role this season as injuries and DFAs pile up when we approach July. Dotel is a find that cheap teams desperately need in their bullpen and hit so they don’t have to pay the big bucks for the top relievers.
Brandan Bidois
Bidois, one of the few Australian players in the sport, signed for the Pirates back in 2019 as an international signing and has been smoking batters since he debuted in the system. Command has never been his strong suit, but he did strikeout a whopping 34% of batters in AAA last season. Unlike Dotel, the Pirates have no desire to let him start, and his AAA proximity means he has a decent chance of making the MLB roster sooner rather than later.
Bidois’ slider is simply unreal. Posting a 121 Stuff+ on top of a 110 fastball that averaged 95 mph, you are looking at a guy who has future MLB closer stuff. Even if it is a small sample, the movement needed to get a 66% whiff rate on a fastball means it’s a fantastic pitch with wicked movement. These pitchers will play at a major league level, and if Bidois continues to impress like he did against the Yankees, I would break camp with him on the roster. You’re going to have frustrations with his walk rate, but the ability to have stuff that can shut down MLB hitters.
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