BRADENTON, Fla. — A year ago at this time, David Bednar became the story of spring training, the Mars native dominating and earning a spot on the Pirates’ opening day roster. Bednar, of course, parlayed that opportunity into a terrific 2021 season, when he became the best and most consistent pitcher on the roster.
He’s still not the Pirates’ closer — manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday he’ll stick with a committee approach — but it’s clear Bednar’s confidence and comfortability has grown. No longer is he trying to make the team. Bednar’s focus has shifted to pounding the strike zone, getting outs and anchoring what should be an improved bullpen.
“It’ll be a little like what I did last year,” Bednar said of his role, which figures to include the seventh, eighth or ninth innings, depending on matchups. “I like being ready at any time.
“I’m not that established guy who’s had the ninth inning for five or six years. That’s not anything I expect them to do, so there’s no mindset change for me. Just be prepared whenever that phone rings and go get outs.”
Bednar got a lot of those last season while leading all National League rookies in appearances with 61. Bednar was 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA across 60 2/3 innings, with 77 strikeouts, 19 walks, a 0.97 WHIP and a .185 batting average against.
Shelton relied on Bednar to pitch more than one inning seven times, while Bednar stranded 19 of 21 inherited runners and spread out his appearances fairly evenly — 16 in the seventh, 28 in the eighth and 18 in the ninth.
“I got a sense of who threw when and when my spot might come up,” Bednar said. “I really try to not get caught off-guard. I’m ready to go in the fifth, sixth, whenever. I’ve found that as soon as you get comfortable or you think you’re not going to pitch in a situation, that’s the worst possible feeling.”
Where Bednar might evolve the most in Year 2 involves his curveball, a loopy pitch that he’s somehow able to throw with the same sort of arm speed and path as his four-seam fastball.
Good breaking stuff should feature about a 10-mph drop. Bednar basically loses twice that much while going from his fastball (96.7 mph) to his curveball (77.5).
“It’s been the pitch I’ve had the most feel with off-speed-wise,” Bednar said. “It can get me back in counts, it helps me early in counts, and I can also use it as a put-away pitch because it doesn’t pop out of my hand; the speed difference is huge, but it still has good depth and action on it.”
The numbers on Bednar’s curveball are incredible. He threw it 23.6% of the time last year. Opponents hit just .128 and slugged .282 against the pitch, while Bednar generated a 46.8 whiff rate — the 20th-best mark in MLB.
While its average spin (2,458 rpm) is good, there are guys who have more. What makes Bednar’s curveball special is how well he hides it, the huge drop in velocity compared to his fastball and also how Bednar is able to attack with it, something he said improved last season.
“I’m definitely in a better spot with it than I was last spring at this point,” Bednar said. “I’m excited to see how having that same aggressive mindset with it will carry over for the full season, as opposed to last year when I only used it in that way toward the second half or so.”
Off the mound, it’s easy to detect more confidence with Bednar, who continues to embrace his Pittsburgh roots and has been hugely encouraged by the Steelers offseason moves.
“He’s gonna have a great opportunity here. I’m fired up for it,” Bednar said of the Steelers bringing in quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. “Kevin Colbert is going out with a bang. He’s the man.”
At the same time, Bednar takes his work seriously and grasps the importance of his growing role in the bullpen, of the possibility Shelton might use him at any point to come into a tough spot and get outs. The only thing Bednar wants to do is stay ready and pitch aggressively, a no-nonsense approach that embodies his hometown.
“Whenever I’m on the attack and the batter feels that, that’s a big part of my game,” Bednar said. “I want to go right after ’em, let it rip and just go out there and compete. That has been my mantra for a while now.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: March 25, 2022, 9:30 a.m.