For Pirates flamethrower Luis Ortiz, mixing in a changeup could round out starter's repertoire

BRADENTON, Fla. — Luis Ortiz focused on throwing four-seam fastballs against Baltimore lefty Franchy Cordero, falling behind in the count after failing to find the strike zone on his first three pitches.

Finally, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander got a called strike on a belt-high heater and a swing and miss on one low and in the middle. After throwing five consecutive four-seamers in the 96-97 mph range, Ortiz unveiled the newest weapon in his arsenal.

Ortiz got Cordero to chase a 90-mph changeup low and away for a swinging strikeout to complete two scoreless innings in the 7-4 win over the Orioles on Tuesday at LECOM Park.

“I thought the changeup did play. It was good to see him under control with his delivery,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “That’s the thing we’ve talked about: continuing to make sure you stay within yourself and go after guys. He got behind and was able to come back and execute pitches, which is a really encouraging sign.”

It’s too early in spring training for the 24-year-old Ortiz to be touching triple digits the way he did in his major-league debut last September, when he hit 100 mph six times and averaged 99 mph on 53 fastballs.

But Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin believes the addition of an offspeed pitch to complement Ortiz’s fastball-slider combination could make the 6-foot-2, 240-pounder even more intimidating on the mound.

“I realized I need a changeup against lefties,” Ortiz said through translator Stephen Morales. “I was kind of not afraid of throwing the changeup, but I was leaving it up in the strike zone. I know I’ve got to throw that changeup to lefties more.”

Rounding out his repertoire could be the final piece of the puzzle for Ortiz, whose stock skyrocketed last season. He started at Double-A Altoona, pitched two games at Triple-A Indianapolis and finished the season in the majors, going 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, 17 strikeouts and 10 walks in 16 innings over four starts.

It was a jump the Pirates considered an “organizational win” for their franchise, which signed Ortiz out of the Dominican Republic as an unheralded 19-year-old and developed him into a top prospect.

Ortiz was aware he relied too heavily on his 98-mph four-seamer by throwing it on 57.8% of his pitches, attempting to balance it with the slider (37.1%) while throwing the changeup on only 5.1% of his pitches.

“It can work both ways with my fastball,” Ortiz said. “I know I throw hard with the fastball, but it can get me in trouble because I can throw it too much or I can try to overthrow it and lose control of the fastball. I work really hard on the fastball to make it the way it really is right now.”

The offseason emphasis for Ortiz was on strike-zone command and recognizing the need to stay ahead in counts, Marin said, and knowing when to “flip the switch” sooner than in previous situations.

“There wasn’t really much pitch design being done with this guy,” Marin said. “It was just, ‘How can we compete optimally in the zone with this stuff?’ because we know his stuff works in the big leagues.”

Whether it will work well enough for Ortiz to start the season with the Pirates is one of the big questions of spring training. The Pirates plan to use Ortiz as a starting pitcher, but their five-man rotation appears set with Mitch Keller, JT Brubaker and Roansy Contreras and veteran additions Rich Hill and Vince Velasquez.

“Give him a shot,” Pirates pitching prospect Mike Burrows said of Ortiz. “He’s fun to watch, really fun to watch. It was really cool to see how consistent he became at the end of that year.”

Ortiz could be a candidate to move to the bullpen, even if his preference is to remain in the Pirates rotation. He has the raw stuff of a closer, with an electric fastball, curveball and now the changeup.

“I prepare my body to eat innings, and I work fast, too,” Ortiz said. “Right now, I seen myself as a starter. But down the road, whatever happens, I’d have no problem going to the bullpen.”

After dazzling in his debut Sept. 13 at Cincinnati, Ortiz fared well at the New York Yankees. Against a formidable lineup that featured Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, Josh Donaldson and Giancarlo Stanton, Ortiz held the Yankees to two runs on three hits, two walks and five strikeouts in five innings.

“The last start against the Yankees last year was a really good learning experience for me, especially against that lineup,” Ortiz said. “I learned I had to work ahead. That’s the only way I can be successful in the big leagues is by throwing strikes and working ahead in the count. That’s something I took from that start.”

Ortiz got pounded for six runs in his final appearance, giving up three hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning at St. Louis, on a day the Cardinals honored retiring stars Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols with a ceremony filled with pomp and circumstance.

Now, Ortiz is ranked a top-five prospect for the Pirates by Baseball America and has shown how he handled the pressure of pitching at some of the sport’s cathedrals and won a share of the club’s Manny Sanguillen teammates of the year award.

“It’s good to know that I’m on people’s radar now, but I don’t pay attention to that,” Ortiz said. “I just work hard to do a good job every day and establish itself in the big leagues.”