Oliver Perez was Pittsburgh’s best pitcher last year.  This year, he has been plagued with injuries and is unable to pitch for long periods of time.  When Oliver Perez does pitch, he is very commanding.  He has so many pitches that come in from so many angles that it is almost impossible for hitters to know what’s coming.  The Pirates acquired him from San Diego in the Brian Giles trade and I believe that we got the better deal because we also received Jason Bay.  My favorite pitch that he does is his praying mantis, because he uses that to strike people out.  He crouches down stares down at the batter, and then throws a blazing fastball to get them out.

          Solomen Torres and Mike Gonzalez are the Pirates best relief pitchers.  Mike Gonzalez is a young pitcher, who has an extremely fast fastball, but he can’t pitch very accurately.  His fastball was clocked at 97 miles per hour.  Solomen Torres is a pitcher with a lot more experience.  He comes in almost every eighth inning to set up the save.  He has pitched in over half of the Pirates games which is incredible for a pitcher.

Kip Wells is the breakout star of this season.  He has a commanding fastball clocked at 95 miles per hour.  That fastball is complimented with a slow curveball, and a nice change-up. 

          Zach Duke came up from the minors and he dominated in the majors.  He had twelve wins in the minors and then went 6-0 as a Pittsburgh starter.  He could be a combined twenty game winner and the first Pirate to do so in a very long time.  Zach Duke shows a glimmer of hope for the Pirates in the future.  Ian Snell is another pitcher coming up from the minors that could end up being great.