Pirates A to Z: Luis Ortiz made dazzling debut, strong case for spot in starting rotation

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z: An alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Miguel Andujar to pitcher Miguel Yajure.

Player: Luis Ortiz

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Right

Age: 23 (Jan. 27)

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 240 pounds

2022 MLB statistics: Went 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, 17 strikeouts and 10 walks in 16 innings over four starts.

Contract: Not yet eligible for arbitration.

Acquired: Signed as an international free agent in 2018.

This past season: Ortiz made a meteoric rise through the minors and a dazzling debut in the majors.

After finishing the 2021 season at Low-A Bradenton, the Pirates’ No. 30 prospect skipped High-A Greensboro and climbed from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis to finish the season in Pittsburgh.

Impressed by his 126 strikeouts in 114⅓ innings with the Curve, the Pirates promoted Ortiz to Indianapolis in September. In his second start, Ortiz had nine strikeouts in six no-hit innings in a 5-4 loss to Omaha, prompting the Pirates to add him to their taxi squad as the 29th man for their Sept. 13 doubleheader at Cincinnati.

Ortiz delivered what Pirates manager Derek Shelton called “just an unbelievable debut.” Of Ortiz’s nine pitches in the first inning, eight were fastballs and seven were clocked at 98.5 mph or faster. He hit 100 mph on his first pitch to Reds No. 2 hitter Nick Senzel and 100.4 on a fastball that Donovan Solano grounded out to third.

“I was already filled with joy, just excited and happy for the opportunity,” Ortiz said through translator Mike Gonzalez. “I knew internally that I had to demonstrate that I have everything it takes to be here and I’m grateful that I was able to demonstrate that.”

Luis Ortiz flashed electric stuff in his MLB debut ⚡️⚡️

The @Pirates' No. 30 prospect racked up 5 strikeouts over 5 2/3 frames of 1-hit ball: pic.twitter.com/vWJ6Jpx9Ij

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 14, 2022

Ortiz threw 53 four-seam fastballs, which averaged 99 mph, and joined Gerrit Cole as the only Pirates pitchers to touch triple digits since pitch speed data started being tracked by Statcast in 2008. (Ortiz hit 100 six times; Cole did it eight times against the Angels on June 21, 2013).

Ortiz also became the second Pirates pitcher to throw 5⅔ or more shutout innings with one or fewer hits in his debut. Nick Kingham threw seven scoreless with one hit against St. Louis on April 29, 2018.

“That’s the thing you worry about with a major league debut: You worry about a major league debut with a guy who throws 100, that he’s going to try to come out and overthrow — and he didn’t do that,” Shelton said. “He was really efficient, kept going after people, and I think that’s a really good sign.”

Pirates reliever Duane Underwood Jr., who pitched with Ortiz while on a rehabilitation assignment with Double-A Altoona in May, was impressed by his fierce competitiveness.

“I thought the kid was special when I first saw him, so it was a great opportunity and a great honor to close out the game for him,” said Underwood, who got the save in the 1-0 win over the Reds. “Just his poise, the way he attacked the zone, the way he attacked hitters, his mentality. He doesn’t really come off of Plan A, and that’s tough to do.”

Shelton emphasized how Ortiz was an example of general manager Ben Cherington’s plan to identify, develop and deploy talent from within the Pirates’ farm system. That Ortiz shined in his debut was a victory for the Pirates’ Dominican Republic academy, so having international scouting director Junior Vizcaino in attendance for support was “very special.”

“He’s someone that believed in me,” Ortiz said, “someone that I tried out for and saw the talent in me and gave me the opportunity and I’m forever grateful for him.”

In his second start, at the New York Yankees, Ortiz didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Gleyber Torres singled through a shift. Ortiz got Josh Donaldson swinging at a slider and froze Giancarlo Stanton with a 99.7-mph fastball for a called third strike.

Cruz pitched 9⅔ scoreless innings before allowing his first runs — one unearned, one earned — and finished with five strikeouts, three hits and two walks on 74 pitches in five innings. He topped 99 mph 11 times — compared to the 26 in his debut — touched 100 mph twice and averaged 98.5 mph on his four-seamer, which drew 13 called strikes and whiffs.

“It was another positive sign,” Shelton said. “There’s not very many bigger stages than this, especially with the situation they’re in: With it being September, they’re in a pennant race and what (Aaron) Judge is doing so I was really pleased with how he threw the ball.”

“He’s not scared. That’s the thing. Do not take anything away from any big league team, but it’s as much the atmosphere as anything else. It’s … against Aaron Judge trying to take his place in history and he went out there and pitched really really well in a playoff-type environment. He went out there and pitched like it was any other game. That excites me. The way he handled himself on the mound, the way he handled himself coming out of the game, the conversations we had the next day … that all excites me.”

If Luis Ortiz is still available in your leagues pick him up

87.1 IP in 2021
139.2 IP in 2022 between

150+ IP is a probability in 2023 especially in the Pirates rotation and with his stuff can be a real breakoutpic.twitter.com/Uyn9HypKag

— ProspectTilt (@Prospect_Tilt) October 1, 2022

In his third start, Ortiz allowed one run on one hit and two walks with seven strikeouts — including five consecutive — in 4⅔ innings against the Chicago Cubs. He touched 99 mph seven times, including a 100-mph fastball to P.J. Higgins in the second inning. Of the 44 four-seamers Ortiz threw, 18 went for called strikes or whiffs.

“Just executing good pitches and attacking the zone,” Ortiz said. “That’s my mindset. That’s my character.”

Three days after Cubs rookie Hayden Wesneski threw an immaculate fifth inning against the Pirates, Ortiz missed by one pitch in the second when Higgins fouled off an 0-2 slider.

“My experience has been pretty good,” Ortiz said. “I’ve enjoyed a lot, just being able to go out there and face some really tough lineups and be challenged in certain ways, but at the same time, see that a lot of the hard work that I’ve put in is showing a lot of results. Every day, there’s something to learn. There’s ways to grow and I’m just very excited and grateful for the opportunity.”

#Pirates at #Cardinals

Corey Dickerson laces a grand slam out to deep right field, his sixth home run of the season, extending the Cardinals lead to 6-0

Bottom 1
Luis Ortiz
85.9 mph Slider
Corey Dickerson
433 ft EV 106.2 mph pic.twitter.com/85qK7no3Kz

— Get Up, Get Outta Here (@4_bagger_blast) October 1, 2022

Ortiz’s final start was a disaster. He allowed six runs on three hits and three walks, giving up a grand slam to Corey Dickerson on an 0-1 slider and lasting only two-thirds of an inning in a 13-3 loss at St. Louis on Oct. 1. It marked the first game Ortiz didn’t record a strikeout, as the average velocity on his four-seam fastball dipped to 97.4 mph.

“People should just be excited he’s a Pirate,” Shelton said. “He’s (23) years old and he was pitching in A-ball last year. This is a really good job with our development team because this is a kid that’s come pretty fast.”

The future: Four starts serve as a small sample size, but Ortiz’s performance made a strong case to join the starting rotation next season.

His personality earned Ortiz, along with Jacob Gonzalez, the Manny Sanguillen Award as minor league teammates of the year.

The average velocity on his four-seam fastball (98.4 mph) is elite, ranking in the 98th percentile among major league pitchers, and batters hit .114 against it. His slider has a good spin rate (2,527 rpms) and induced a 47.3% whiff rate.

“I really believe in just continuing to go out there, continue with the mindset of attacking the zone, executing good pitches, continuing to work hard,” Ortiz said. “Those are the things that I can control, just going out there and giving my maximum, remaining positive and always giving my 100%.”

If there are concerns, one is that Ortiz gave up 21 home runs, including 19 in 24 games at Indianapolis. Another is that he relies primarily on the four-seamer and slider, throwing a changeup on 5.1% of his pitches. Then again, his changeup averages 90.9 mph.

“The slider’s always vital and very important for me,” Ortiz said. “Also mixing in the sinker and always having the changeup in the chamber is always going to be vital for me. If I ever notice that I have to switch something up, I will.”

If Ortiz doesn’t crack the starting rotation out of spring training — and the Pirates return Mitch Keller, JT Brubaker, Roansy Contreras, Bryse Wilson and Zach Thompson — he could have a future in the bullpen as a high-leverage reliever in the mold of an Edwin Diaz.

The Pirates have stated that their intention is to use Ortiz as a starter.

“I think right now we view him as a starter and hopefully he will develop his pitches or add another pitch on top of it,” Shelton said. “The fact that he’s got 100 there, that makes it difficult to generate contact at times and would make him a good backend guy. But the fact is right now he’s a starter. The great thing about guys you develop as starters is if maybe they don’t have success as starters, then you have the ability to put them in different roles. But right now, we have Ortiz as a starter.”