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Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Luis Ortiz throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Detroit.
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Joe Starkey: What happened to the Pirates' Luis Ortiz?

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Joe Starkey: What happened to the Pirates' Luis Ortiz?

I had to go back to the highlights to make sure it was real.

Luis Ortiz did rocket through the Pirates’ system last season, reach the majors and light up radar guns to the tune of 100 mph, didn’t he?

That happened, right?

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I thought I remembered Ortiz being must-watch television for about three starts in September. I thought I remembered that red light — signifying 100 mph — flash regularly at the bottom of the screen in his debut against the Cincinnati Reds and follow-up starts against the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees.

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I thought I remembered him complementing the heat with a wicked slider that led to 17 strikeouts in 15 innings. I thought I remembered reading (at bucsdugout.com, via Baseball Savant), that Ortiz’s fastball velocity ranked in the 98th percentile of all of baseball for those magical starts and that his fastball spin rate was in the 84th percentile.

I also thought I remembered analyst Bob Walk — not one to blow smoke — telling the team’s flagship station that he hadn’t seen a Pirates pitcher debut with that kind of electric stuff in years. And if I remember correctly, I agreed with him.

In about 10 minutes, Ortiz had become appointment viewing. Unless I’m imagining all of it.

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I went back and checked. This is what Walk said:

“There was a point (in Ortiz’s season debut) where he threw a 100 mph fastball, just painted with it, and I chuckled on the air, like, ‘Are you kidding me? Look at this guy,’” Walk said. “It’s been a long time since we had a starting pitcher look like that in the first inning he pitched. ... I don’t want to say he’s going to be Gerrit Cole, but that’s the kind of guy he looks like. He has not only the ability to throw the ball very hard, but he looks like he’s got some idea of how to pitch.”

Yes!

That happened!

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But the real question is, what has happened since?

In the wake of Vince Velasquez’s injury, Ortiz was recalled from Triple-A to make two starts — and he might as well have been former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine wearing sunglasses and a fake mustache in the dugout. He was barely recognizable.

This can’t be the same guy, can it?

I realize Ortiz is only 24. I also realize that velocity isn’t everything. But the velocity is what separated him. Maybe I’m nuts, but that’s why I made sure to pull up a chair for those September starts in the midst of another horrendous Pirates season.

I didn’t think much of it when Ortiz imploded in his final September start against the St. Louis Cardinals. I was surprised when it seemed he had no chance to make the team out of spring training.

I’m more surprised to see a guy who hasn’t touched 100 mph in his two starts here and who has struck out just four batters (and walked eight) in eight innings. It’s just strange. The electricity’s out. My Post-Gazette colleague Jason Mackey tells me Ortiz’s velocity is down by 2.5 mph. Seems like more, and his breaking stuff is all over the place.

My fear is that the Pirates have overdone it, as teams sometimes do, in trying to refine Oritz. Manager Derek Shelton insisted before Ortiz’s poor start Tuesday in Detroit that nothing much has changed.

I wondered if the velocity was down by design, if something had changed in the approach.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s an intentional change in the approach,” Shelton said. “I know we’re stressing making sure he goes right after guys and attacks the zone and then uses his other weapons, also. You know, the higher-end velo is still in there. It’s something I think we’ll see at some point. There is nothing intentional we’ve changed as far as how he’s pitching.”

Something just seems off. Look at the strikeouts-per-nine-innings decline:

LAST SEASON

• Altoona (Double-A): 22 starts, 9.9 Ks per 9 innings

• Indy (Triple-A): 2 starts, 10.8

• Pirates: 4 starts, 9.6

THIS SEASON

• Indy: 7 starts, 8.1

• Pirates: 2 starts, 4.5

That is not a positive trend. Even at Triple-A, Ortiz was down by more than two strikeouts per game. Maybe the Pirates know exactly what they’re doing here, and in time, Ortiz will be a better pitcher. Or maybe they should turn the electricity back on and let him be a two-pitch guy out of the bullpen.

This team has sustained some serious blows to its starting pitching in the early going. Rotation piece JT Brubaker went down with a long-term injury. Velasquez appears to have escaped that fate but has missed some starts. Highly regarded Triple-A prospect Mike Burrows also sustained a long-term injury.

Quinn Priester, the team’s first-round pick from 2019, got off to an uneven start at Triple-A but was lights out Tuesday night and might be a better option than Ortiz if Velasquez can’t make his next start or two.

I’m just not sure what to make of Ortiz at this point. I don’t recognize him.

Joe Star­key: jstar­key@post-ga­zette.com and Twit­ter @jo­e­star­key1. Joe Star­key can be heard on the “Cook and Joe” show week­days from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

First Published: May 17, 2023, 1:30 p.m.

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