David Bednar 2024 Player Outlook: Rising Star Settled In As Rock-Solid Closer Despite Offseason Acquisition
3 months agoSince landing with the team as part of the 2021 offseason's Joe Musgrove trade, Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar has established himself as one of the top relief pitchers in the game. Bednar parlayed a 2022 All-Star nod into another in 2023, tallying career highs in saves (39), ERA (2.00), strikeouts (80), and innings pitched (67.1 IP). Registering top-five percent Statcast figures in xERA (2.84), expected batting average (.196), and chase rate (34.5%), Bednar sharpened his mechanics and cut down on the loud contact that plagued him at times in the season prior. The 29-year-old right-hander dominated save chances out of a weak Pirates bullpen beside him a year ago, but the team added flame-throwing southpaw Aroldis Chapman on a one-year deal late in the offseason to strengthen their high-leverage firepower. It opens up the possibility of a platoon for ninth-inning work in Pittsburgh this season, one that Bednar would still likely find himself on the strong side of if it were to ever materialize. The 36-year-old Chapman is unlikely to be in the organization's long-term plans, anyway, so Bednar is the type of fantasy player whose stock could rise as we inch toward July's trade deadline. The rebuilding Bucs are likely to remain an up-and-down ball club, with their starting rotation looking like one of the most underwhelming groups in baseball to begin the campaign. With that said, Bednar has put together a strong enough body of work to have earned top-10 treatment among relievers as a top-100 pick in 2024 drafts. To expect Bednar to repeat or better his 39 saves on what projects to be a bottom-five team in the National League, however, may be a bit overzealous.