Fansided · Jan 14, 2020
Pittsburgh Pirates 2020 Breakout Candidate: Blake Cederlind
A hard throwing reliever enters 2020 as a breakout candidate for the Pittsburgh Pirates
In the 5th round of the 2016 MLB Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected right-handed pitcher Blake Cederlind. After beginning his career as a starting pitcher, in 2018 Cederlind became a full time reliever. Since then, his stock as a prospect has steadily climbed.
Last season Cederlind pitched at three levels. With High-A Bradenton he posted a 1.17 ERA, 3.57 FIP and a 23.5% strikeout rate. However, his 17.7% walk rate was, well, bad. With Double-A Altoona, his strikeout rate dipped a bit to 22.7%, but his walk rate dropped all the way to 8.7%. This led to a 1.77 ERA and a 3.06 FIP for the Curve.