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Felipe Rivero pitches against the Reds in the seventh inning Aug. 5 at PNC Park.
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2017 Pirates Prospectus: Felipe Rivero

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

2017 Pirates Prospectus: Felipe Rivero

Each weekday until pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Bradenton, Fla., Post-Gazette baseball writers Bill Brink and Stephen J. Nesbitt will deliver a primer on a player or two on the Pirates’ 40-man roster. The countdown will rank players in order of impact and importance to the Pirates’ chances in 2017, plus their on-field abilities, off-field concerns and the likelihood of their inclusion on the active roster on opening day April 3 in Boston and beyond. For the full list, click here


Felipe Rivero, LHP

Bats/throws: L/L

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Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 210 pounds

Age: 25

How acquired: Traded to the Pirates by the Washington Nationals with minor league left-hander Taylor Hearn July 30, 2016, in exchange for closer Mark Melancon.

2016 stats: 1-6, 4.09 ERA in 77 innings over 75 appearances between the Nationals and Pirates; 7 HR, 33 BB, 92 K, 6 HBP, 3.46 FIP, 1.286 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 10.8 K/9.

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Contract situation: Reaches arbitration for first time after 2017 season, free agency after 2021.

THREE KEY NUMBERS

Leading off: 12.8. In 28 appearances for the Pirates in the last two months of the season, Rivero averaged 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings. Of his first 20 outs for them, 13 were via strikeout.

On deck: 100.9 mph. The maximum velocity Rivero reached with his fastball last season, according to Fangraphs. His average heater hums at 95.8 mph. The only qualified major league reliever with a faster average fastball velocity is New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman (100.4 mph).

In the hole: .130 and .131. Those are opponent batting averages against Rivero’s slider and changeup, respectively, per Fangraphs. He throws the off-speed stuff about half as often as his fastball, but so far it’s been effective — 59 of his 92 strikeouts this season ended with a changeup (34) or slider (25), and only one of the 15 hits off those pitches went for a home run.

WHAT WE LEARNED

Rivero is an exciting piece of the Pirates’ future. In trading Melancon, who was two months from free agency, they got Hearn — a former fifth-round pick who has put up good numbers in the low minors — and Rivero, who had a 2.79 ERA in 2015, his first season in the majors. When Rivero came to the Pirates at the trade deadline, he had a 4.53 ERA. That was due to a seven-outing stretch in June when he allowed 13 earned runs over 5 ⅓ innings. But he had a 0.93 ERA over the next 13 appearances, and that’s when the Pirates nabbed him. Rivero immediately flashed his power right arm and showed he has the makings of a future closer. In his first 25 innings for the Pirates, he had a 1.44 ERA and 37 strikeouts. The Nationals knocked him around for five runs in ⅓ innings Sept. 25, so his numbers elevated across the board. There’s a lot to like about Rivero. His biggest issue at this point is consistency. If the Pirates hope to turn him into a closer, he needs to be reliable. The swing-and-miss stuff is there, clearly, with a high-90s fastball and a pair of good breaking pitches. But a WHIP around 1.500 won’t work.

2016 HIGHLIGHT

On July 17, Rivero threw three scoreless innings in relief *against* the Pirates. The Pirates ultimately won, 2-1, on Starling Marte’s solo homer in the 18th innings. Rivero allowed a hit and a walk and struck out three while working the 14th, 15th and 16th innings that day.

Later, he started his Pirates career with 13 strikeouts in his first seven innings with them.

“In 41 years in the game, there are certain things that can jump out and get your attention,” manager Clint Hurdle said Aug. 19. “Rivero’s arm jumps out and gets your attention. You don’t see it very often. Last guy I saw with that type of arm is the left-hander that now pitches for the Cubs that we saw in Cincinnati for a long time.”

That comparison, of course, is Chapman.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Pirates have held onto closer Tony Watson so far, but this is likely his last season with them. Rivero will be around for a few more years, and right-hander Daniel Hudson is signed through the 2018 season, so both could fill the closer’s role beyond 2017. For now, Rivero and Hudson both will work late-inning, high-leverage situations in front of Rivero. Unless Watson is traded before the season begins or an injury occurs, those roles are unlikely to change.

Stephen J. Nesbitt: snesbitt@post-gazette.com and Twitter @stephenjnesbitt.

First Published: January 18, 2017, 2:00 p.m.

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Felipe Rivero pitches against the Reds in the seventh inning Aug. 5 at PNC Park.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
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