Pirates taking chance that sidewinder Justin Lawrence can become a bullpen success story

Justin Lawrence has an unorthodox delivery, unique metrics on his primary pitches and the back of a baseball card that even he admits isn’t pretty.

What the right-handed reliever does have is a pair of perfect innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates since they claimed him off waivers from the Colorado Rockies, where he had high-leverage experience.

The Pirates are taking a chance Lawrence can become their latest reclamation project to thrive in the bullpen, like Ryan Borucki in 2023 and Dennis Santana last year.

The 6-foot-3 Lawrence is a sidewinder with the combination of a fastball that averages about 95 mph and a sweeper that held opponents to a .182 batting average and 30.8% whiff rate last season.

“If you look metrically at the sweeper,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, “it’s one of the best in the game.”

Since switching his slot from over the top to sidearm action as a freshman at Jacksonville University, Lawrence’s grip-it-and-rip-it style of pitching has made him a unicorn among relief pitchers. He is one of six pitchers with a sub-zero delivery — Lawrence has an arm angle of minus-2 — to average 95 mph on his fastball. And his sweeper had a run value of nine in 2023, per Statcast.

“Ever since I started throwing sidearm and I got more comfortable with it, I realized the harder I threw it and the more intent I threw it with, the better it was,” Lawrence told SportsNet Pittsburgh during an in-game interview Saturday. “I don’t really like to think about pitching. I go out there, I throw my fastball as hard as I can and I grab my sweeper, the grip, and throw it as hard as I can. That’s really the thought process.”

It’s a process that worked wonders in 2023, when Lawrence moved into the closer role for Colorado and recorded 11 saves. And it’s one that backfired last season, when he posted a 6.49 ERA and had almost as many walks (33) as strikeouts (45) in 56 appearances.

Like many pitchers, Lawrence struggled with the high altitude in Denver. Opponents had a 1.017 OPS against him at home against a .747 OPS on the road last season. Lawrence said he learned from former teammates Kyle Freeland and German Marquez about what adjustments to make after pitching at Coors Field compared to other venues.

“It’s taught me how to compete,” Lawrence said. “It’s taught me how to make adjustments on the fly. It’s taught me to go out there and make adjustments when I need to. Going to and from Denver can be hard.”

But his struggles weren’t contained to Coors Field.

When Lawrence allowed three earned runs on four hits, three walks and hit as many batters (two) as he struck out in posting a 9.00 ERA in two Cactus League games for the Rockies this spring, he was designated for assignment. The Pirates claimed Lawrence off waivers March 3.

One area where Lawrence remained elite was in getting ground balls, as his 52.6% rate ranked in the 90th percentile last season, per Statcast. He showed how against the heart of the Baltimore Orioles order Saturday, getting Heston Kjerstad to fly out to right field with a full-count sweeper, Gary Sanchez to ground out to second on a 3-0 sweeper and Nick Gordon to ground out to first on a 1-0 sinker at the bottom of the strike zone.

“For me, it’s just filling up the zone, throwing strikes,” Lawrence said. “I’m just trusting that my stuff in zone is going to get guys out, especially away from Denver where it’s been a little bit more consistent. I can keep my stuff in the zone and get guys out on a regular basis.”