Pirates’ Thomas Harrington Adapts To New Pitch, Pro Routine
Righthander Thomas Harrington made it look easy during his pro debut in 2023.
Drafted 36th overall out of Campbell in 2022, Harrington pitched to a 3.53 ERA in 26 starts between Low-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro. He combined for 146 strikeouts and 41 walks in 127.1 innings.
“It’s definitely not as easy as it looked,” Harrington said late in 2023. “I definitely had an adjustment period throughout the first couple of months.”
That adjustment period saw the 6-foot-2, 185-pound righthander incorporate a new slider, while also dealing with the biggest challenge: pitching on a five-day rotation.
“In Bradenton, we were throwing once a week, and that’s very similar to college,” Harrington said, “and you had a lot of time to recover.
“(In High-A, you’re pitching on a five-day schedule, and then once a month you’re pitching twice a week. And that’s a challenge in itself, just being able to recover.”
Harrington uses dry needling as a recovery process. It’s a technique similar to acupuncture that allows his muscles to recover, especially late in the season.
He also faced the challenge of adjusting to a new slider in pro ball. He went from a standard slider in college to more of a sweeper in pro ball. Harrington has found the new slider approach a “fun challenge”.
“All these hitters are so good, especially with two strikes, and you have to really execute,” Harrington said. “And so that’s been the most challenging part of being able to finish off hitters.”
Harrington’s Aug. 18 start points to the sweeper’s utility. In that game his fastball sat 90-92 mph and touched 93. He threw a changeup and curveball that he has felt comfortable with since his college days.
But it was his two-strike sweeper helped him generate eight strikeouts.
Following a successful pro debut, Harrington is now looking forward to the challenge of Double-A.
BURIED TREASURE
— The Pirates brought back Andrew McCutchen for the 2024 season, continuing the organization’s intentions of allowing the 2013 National League MVP to play out the remainder of his career in Pittsburgh. McCutchen surpassed 2,000 career hits in 2023 and enters this season one home run shy of 300. He also had a .378 on-base percentage last year, which was one of the Pirates’ best marks. Entering his age-37 season, McCutchen still provides more to watch than just the march toward career milestones.
— The Pirates’ 2024 rotation will feature a pair of lefthanders who were offseason acquisitions. Pittsburgh signed free agent Martin Perez to a one-year deal and traded for Marco Gonzales. Perez had a 4.45 ERA in 141.2 innings last year, following a 2.89 ERA in 196.1 innings in 2022. Gonzales had a 5.22 ERA in 50 innings during an injury-shortened 2023. He posted a 4.13 ERA in 183 innings in 2022. The Pirates will hope for a bounce back from both starters, continuing a run of successful lefthanded starting pitching additions the past few seasons.
