LAKELAND, Fla. - Hunter Barco is pitching without restrictions this spring training, and having the reins off has the left-hander finally feeling like a starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
"I feel much more free," Barco said. "I don't have to worry about anything. I'm just going out there pitching and doing what I've always done."
Barco is doing more than he's done before. He's added new pitches to round out his repertoire in an effort to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. He allowed three runs on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts in three innings in a 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers in a Grapefruit League game at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
New Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy worked with Barco in Jupiter, Fla., this offseason and suggested adding a changeup and sinker to his four-seamer, slider and splitter. Barco embraced the idea.
"I've always been a three-pitch guy. I kind of knew going into this offseason that if I want to be a long-term big league starter, I'm going to need more than three," said Barco, who made his major league debut in late September with relief appearances at Cincinnati and Atlanta. "So we added in the sinker, sweeper and the changeup. I'm really, really happy with where they are right now."
Barco still leaned heavily on his four-seam fastball, throwing it on 42 of his 57 pitches against the Tigers. But he mixed in six sliders and six changeups, and was happy with how his secondary stuff played.
Barco made quick work of the Tigers in the first two innings, striking out three and getting three groundouts. He got Wenceel Perez swinging at a 2-2 slider, Spencer Torkelson looking at a 2-2 slider and Riley Greene swinging at a 2-2 fastball.
The Pirates spotted Barco a three-run lead in the second inning, when Jhostynxon Garcia scored on an RBI single by Esmerlyn Valdez and Dominic Fletcher on an errant throw by right fielder Kerry Carpenter. Termarr Johnson followed with an RBI single to score Valdez.
It was in the third inning that Barco encountered trouble. Colt Keith singled to right and advanced to second when Jake Rogers reached a sharp grounder that saw Konnor Griffin make a diving stop to his right. Zach McKinstry drew a full-count walk to load the bases, and Barco surrendered a two-run, ground-rule double to Austin Slater. Perez drove in the game-tying run on a broken-bat groundout to third. Carpenter grounded out to first before Michael Walsh replaced Barco.
The Pirates sent Barco back out to start the fourth, and he got Riley Greene to line out to left field before being pulled for good. Barco is 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, nine strikeouts and six walks in 7 1/3 innings over three games (two starts) this spring.
A 2022 second-round pick, Barco began his professional career sidelined by Tommy John surgery, so his return has been methodical. He was 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 116 strikeouts against 49 walks in 99 1/3 innings over 27 appearances (23 starts) across Double-A Altoona (six starts) and Triple-A Indianapolis last season. He also pitched three scoreless innings in relief for the Pirates for 102 1/3 total innings.
After being limited to two innings last spring while building back up from Tommy John surgery, Barco is well ahead of his previous big league camp pace.
"Definitely a good day to get the workload up," Barco said. "I threw a lot of good pitches today. I probably had a higher strike percentage than the last two outings. I'm happy about that. Obviously don't like the three runs across the board but it's a work in progress."
Pirates manager Don Kelly believes being able to throw multiple new pitches with deception will help make Barco more unpredictable, as will an uptick in velocity this spring after it trended down late last season. What Kelly appreciated about Barco was how he competed even when he didn't have his normal velocity.
"To be able to add the velo back, add the pitches, he's deceptive," Kelly said. "It's something very unique, the style that he's got. That just adds to it as well when he's able to be unpredictable, it's funky. And then to add different movement to pitches is going to be key for him."
Ranked the No. 96 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 5 in the Pirates' system, Barco was the subject of trade talk. But he's the top lefty starter in the organization, so the Pirates resisted including him in any deals.
"I'm really loyal to the organization," Barco said. "They've been nothing but great to me. Hopefully, they feel the same way. Wherever I'm at in this moment, that's where I'm going to go pitch my (butt) off. ... I'm going to go out there and compete, bottom line. You're not going to have your best stuff every single outing. That's what makes the good pitchers great, the ones that are able to get through games when they don't have their best stuff. I like to think of myself as a competitor and a winner."