Pirates Spring Training who’s who: Right-handed pitchers

As we prepare for Spring Training, here are the righty pitchers the Pirates will have in camp. As usual, we’ll update these posts if the Pirates add new players.

40-man roster

Lisalverto Bonilla (No. 53)
Gerrit Cole (45)
Tyler Glasnow (24)
Clay Holmes (68)
Daniel Hudson (41)
Jared Hughes (48)
Drew Hutchison (34)
Nick Kingham (49)
Chad Kuhl (39)
Dovydas Neverauskas (66)
Juan Nicasio (12)
Ivan Nova (46)
Nefi Ogando (36)
A.J. Schugel (31)
Jameson Taillon (50)
Trevor Williams (57)

Non-roster invitees

Brandon Cumpton (60), Casey Sadler (65) and Angel Sanchez (67): These three starters are all returning from injury. The Pirates outrighted Cumpton last winter; he’s had Tommy John surgery and shoulder problems as well, so he’ll likely have a pretty tough road back to becoming the useful depth starter he once was. Sadler had Tommy John at the end of the 2015 season. After he spent 2016 rehabbing, the Pirates re-signed him to a minor-league deal, and he’s now back to throwing bullpens. Sanchez, too, had Tommy John in 2015, and as with Sadler, the Pirates signed him to a minor-league deal for next season. His upside, at least in the short term, is even more limited than Cumpton’s or Sadler’s, since he has limited experience even at Triple-A, even though he recently turned 27.

Frank Duncan (71): Of all the pitchers who thrived in Indianapolis’ rotation in 2016 (including Taillon, Kuhl, Glasnow, Steven Brault), Duncan received the least attention, probably because he’s a command-and-control guy who doesn’t throw particularly hard. Still, he seems worthy of attention -- he struck out his fair share of batters at Triple-A last year and limited walks, and seems to have a bit of ground-ball ability as well. Perhaps his 2.33 ERA should be taken with a grain of salt, but Duncan could easily help in the big leagues in 2017 in much the way Cumpton did before his injury.

Tyler Eppler (72): Eppler has good stuff but has had only modest success since the Pirates selected him in the sixth round in 2014. That might not be entirely his fault — the Bucs have pushed him up the chain quickly even though he managed less than 100 innings in 2015 due to injury. Still, the young starter will have to improve on his rather low strikeout totals to have much success in the big leagues.

Josh Lindblom (47): The Bucs claimed Lindblom from the A’s two years ago, then quickly dropped him so he could sign with the Lotte Giants in Korea. He had a good first season there, then struggled somewhat in his second season in the offensively-charged KBO, and now he’s back on a minor-league deal. In his last significant big-league action, he threw in the low 90s, with a slider, a slow curve and a changeup; that repertoire makes him look like a candidate for the Indianapolis rotation, although he’s been more successful as a reliever in the big leagues, and Neal Huntington tabbed Lindblom as a reliever when the Pirates acquired him two years ago. The Bucs liked him enough to give him a 40-man spot before, so they could call on him to help at some point.

Edgar Santana (74): As I suggested earlier this week, Santana is one of the Pirates’ more interesting NRIs, a hard thrower and a ground-ball guy who could establish himself as a bullpen candidate in short order after racing through the minors the last two seasons. In addition to thriving in the regular season, Santana was also terrific in the Arizona Fall League, whiffing 18 batters in 13.2 innings while throwing 98 MPH. Look out for him.

Jason Stoffel (52): The 28-year-old Stoffel has never pitched in the big leagues, but he did very well for Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk in the Orioles organization in 2016, striking out 78 batters in 59 innings. The Pirates signed him to a minor-league deal after the season. He should begin the season in the Indianapolis bullpen.