Pickoffs a pick-me-up for Pirates' Aroldis Chapman, as lefty reliever closes in on record

Even as Aroldis Chapman closes in on becoming the all-time leader in strikeouts by a left-handed reliever, the Pittsburgh Pirates were worried about opponents taking free bases against him.

Chapman’s 40.7% strikeout rate was countered by his 25.9% walk rate and compounded by runners taking liberties by stealing five bases against him, reducing the effectiveness of a pitcher who was once one of baseball’s most dominant high-leverage relievers.

“I’ve been known not to throw over to first base that much and not take care of runners that much,” Chapman told TribLive through translator Stephen Morales, a Pirates coach. “That is something I’m working on right now to get better at.”

Call Chapman a quick learner.

The past two batters who drew walks against Chapman were both picked off at first base, and Chapman now leads all major league pitchers with three pickoffs. And he recorded a pair of strikeouts in each of his past two appearances to move within striking distance of the record books.

“I think the game said that we need to make an adjustment there, and so we’ve talked to him aggressively about making sure that we’re doing a good job of mixing in quicker steps but also some pickoff moves,” Pirates bullpen coach Justin Meccage said. “He’s actually got a decent one. It catches (runners) off-guard for the most part, most of the time. And he has the ability to be quick to the plate.”

That was evident when Chapman walked Ryan McMahon to lead off the eighth inning of Sunday’s 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. As the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Chapman started his windup, he saw McMahon take an extra step in his lead and threw to first baseman Rowdy Tellez for the pickoff. Chapman used the pitch clock to his advantage, lulling McMahon into thinking he forgot about him.

Aroldis Chapman picks off the runner at 1st pic.twitter.com/swZ11n9gmn

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) May 5, 2024

“I’ve been working with the clock and the runners at the same time, just to count it down to the minimum,” Chapman said. “I have the clock right in front of my face and I use that particular play with the clock to my advantage. That way, I can make my move there. That’s when runners get kind of jumpy at first base.”

Chapman battled Elias Diaz in an 11-pitch at-bat before getting him swinging at a full-count sinker at the top of the strike zone, then got Elehuris Montero looking at a 2-2 sinker at the bottom of the zone. That set the stage for David Bednar to close out the ninth for his sixth save.

Aroldis Chapman finishes off the 8th with a pair of strikeouts pic.twitter.com/jrFcRlhQoe

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“I don’t think enough people took into account that pickoff. That was actually huge,” Tellez said. “Late in the game, first guy gets on. To pick somebody off like that brings the ease. If he gets in scoring position and something happens or he gets a single, it’s a one-run game. That could be a big inning. I don’t think anybody really noticed how big of a move that was for us in the game. He shut it down. Then you could tell that was it. I don’t think enough people are going to talk about that. That was a huge turning point for us.”

Chapman did it again in his next outing, in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels that showed the positives and negatives of the 36-year-old Cuban. He got into three consecutive full counts, striking out Ehire Adrianza and Cole Tucker, before walking Taylor Ward. Facing a 1-1 count against Kevin Pillar, who homered twice the night before, Chapman picked off Ward at first base.

“It’s really deceptive for as big as he is,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “It’s just a good, clean left-handed move.”

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The improved pickoff move has helped balance Chapman’s obscene 10.5 walks per nine innings, which became an issue in a blown save at the Philadelphia Phillies on April 13.

Chapman walked Kyle Schwarber, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and third on a groundout. After walking Bryce Harper to put runners on first and third, Chapman gave up a game-tying RBI single to Alec Bohm in the 4-3 loss.

Chapman walked the bases loaded and allowed a run to score in the eighth inning of a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on April 22, then blew the lead in the eighth inning of a 7-5 loss to the Brewers three days later. He walked Blake Perkins, threw a wild pitch and then surrendered a two-run homer to former New York Yankees battery mate Gary Sanchez.

Chapman blamed the walks on a lack of command on his inability to find a comfortable release point on his four-seam fastball — “It’s not where I want it to be right now” — so he focused on making adjustments to how he pitched with runners on base. Opponents are batting .125 against Chapman but that’s offset by the walks, which is why he worked on using his pickoff move in favorable counts.

“He’s always had a little bit of a challenge with it,” Meccage said. “A lot of it happened really fast, so he’s super, super coachable and obviously he doesn’t want that to happen.”

Now that Chapman has turned the pickoff play into a weapon, he can concentrate on his forte. He has 22 strikeouts in 12 innings over 16 appearances this season for an eye-popping average of 16.5 per nine innings. With two strikeouts against the Angels, Chapman now has 1,170 career strikeouts to move past Jesse Orosco and into second place behind only Billy Wagner (1,196) for most career strikeouts by a left-handed reliever. Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm holds the record for most strikeouts by a relief pitcher, with 1,363.

“I don’t really pay attention to that,” Chapman said. “I’ll leave that in God’s hands. Hopefully, I’ll stay healthy and we’ll achieve that goal.”

The Pirates are counting on Chapman, whose 322 career saves ranks third among active relievers, to complement Bednar in the back end of the bullpen after both have endured their share of struggles early.

Meccage, for one, is impressed by Chapman’s work ethic and competitive drive, as well as ability to still touch triple digits on his fastball velocity in his 15th major league season.

“It’s amazing,” Meccage said. “For me, it’s like living a dream. I watched this guy for my whole life and now I get a chance to work with him. It’s pretty special. Just to see the guy and how he goes about his work, there’s no doubt in my mind there’s a reason he is where he is and why he’s done what he’s done.”