BRADENTON, Fla. — Vince Velasquez was still feeling the adrenaline rush of facing hitters, pumped even more after filling the strike zone with his fastball and commanding his secondary pitches.

The 30-year-old right-hander followed Mitch Keller on Monday and Rich Hill on Tuesday in throwing live batting practice at Honus Wagner Field at Pirate City, an order that puts him in a potential middle-of-the-rotation spot to start spring training.

“There’s a lot of talent in here with the rotation, recognizing the rotation and recognizing Hill being as successful of a pitcher as he is, watching Keller do his work and what he’s going to be up and coming and doing,” Velasquez said. “I think I fit right in the middle of really finding success in certain areas, maybe in all categories.

“Picking brains from a vet who has been in the league for numerous years and has dealt with tons of adversity and success. That reflects on some of my seasons and what I’ve encountered. I think I’m there, right in-between. I like to set high expectations for myself, set the bar high. I’m at the point of skyrocketing and shooting out and opening some doors and surprising a lot of people.”

Vince Velasquez faces Carlos Santana in live batting practice Wednesday at Pirate City. pic.twitter.com/jvWXUQhTG8

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 22, 2023

Velasquez knows all about high expectations. He followed a dynamic debut, where he had nine strikeouts, with a 16-K performance in his second start for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016. He encountered ups and downs, and he was designated for assignment in September 2021.

Following a short stint with San Diego — where he went 0-3 with an 8.58 ERA — Velasquez hired a personal pitching coach in Ryan Chapman of Irvine, Calif., whose data-driven approach helped Velasquez dive into a self-evaluation to see what was working and what wasn’t.

“I think everything is all about a mindset,” Velasquez said. “Once you put your mind to something, fully dive into something and you see the results, that’s when you really take it to heart and start filling in all those other gray areas where you feel like you have some doubt, some question marks. … Not really having the mindset of ‘I know it all,’ because this game will change that mindset real quick. Those are the adversities I’ve obviously dealt with but areas that I can get better at.”

The results weren’t immediate. On a one-year deal last year with the Chicago White Sox, Velasquez was 3-10 with a 5.18 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 121 2/3 innings, and after two stints on the injured list with a groin strain, he was moved to the bullpen in midseason.

Velasquez was determined to stay a starter and saw an opportunity when the Pirates offered a one-year, $3.15 million contract. He had a “heart-to-heart” conversation with Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin, who had helped resuscitate the careers of Tyler Anderson and Jose Quintana by simplifying their approach.

“There was a combination of we’ve seen how much he’s grown on that side of the ball and the conversations he had with our pitching group this offseason, and Oscar was able to throw a couple bullpens and build off that,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

“I think that is important. The willingness to make the investment, the willingness to make adjustments and to see Oscar and see that we’ve had some success with some pitchers who have come in on free-agent deals. It really helped those guys, whether it’s a pitch change or a tempo change or a delivery change. We’ve seen him have the ability to affect that, and I really think Vince kind of realized that.”

Part of the problem is Velasquez leaned so much on his four-seam fastball, throwing it on 44% of his pitches, and was hit hard. He ranked in the first percentile in exit velocity (114 mph) and barrel percentage (13.0) last season, per Statcast. Marin visited Velasquez in California a couple times this offseason at the Chapman Baseball Compound, and he called it a “great collaboration” to work on shortening his arm path and maintaining the motion.

“It was really exciting to see his last live BP with two ups,” Marin said. “We’re getting closer and closer to where he wants to be.”

For as much as he’s learned from pitching coaches, Velasquez realized he must be his own coach and teacher by constantly reminding himself that an at-bat is not over even when he misses on a pitch and gets behind in counts. That’s why he was so focused on complementing the heater with his slider, curveball and changeup.

Where Velasquez talked about his opportunity to start again when the Pirates signed him, he arrived at Pirate City with a newfound confidence that he could become a workhorse this season.

“That comes over time. I came to camp with the mindset of realizing that the opportunity is there for the taking, knowing that I have the chance to come in and be one of the guys in the rotation,” Velasquez said. “I pretty much emphasized and stated, ‘Give me a chance. Give me the ball. Give me my 100 pitches, and I’ll go as far as I can.’”

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