Baseball | Pittsburgh reliever Watson evolving role with Pirates

Pittsburgh reliever Tony Watson evolving role with Pirates

BRADENTON -- Tony Watson was there when things weren't so great.

They were downright bad.

Back when Watson was selected in the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by Pittsburgh, the Pirates were languished in futility.

The Buccos were enjoying a spell of mediocrity, marked by the middle of a six-year stretch of registering fewer than 70 wins per season.

With Clint Hurdle's hiring for the 2011 season, the Pirates began a transformation into a National League contender.

Watson arrived in the Major Leagues later that same season having already transitioned roles.

Beginning his career as a starting pitcher, Watson was moved to the bullpen in 2011 with Triple-A Indianapolis.

"It was very structured, so it was really different," Watson said. "I got called up and I got put in the fire right away. I really enjoyed it and Skip kept plugging me in there."

He's flourished since the change, embracing the role like many of the relievers in Pittsburgh's bullpen.

In each season since his 2011 call-up, Watson's numbers have gotten better. The left-handed homegrown talent recorded career highs in innings pitched (77 1/3), strikeouts (81), appearances (78), wins (10) and a career low earned run average of 1.63 during his 2014 National League All-Star season.

Meanwhile, the Pirates turned the page in landing in the postseason the last two years after spending every season since 1992 with sub-.500 records and out of playoff baseball.

"(General Manager) Neal (Huntington) and the front office weren't here then," said Watson, who was the set-up man during last season's run to the NL Wild Card game. "I was drafted by the old regime. So my first instructs they kind of gutted the whole thing and started over. It's kind of been fun to see it all evolve into what it is now."

The native Iowan said he doesn't flip a switch to get focused for the late-inning, high-pressure situations. Instead, it's relying on the preparation and work with scouting reports while trusting your repertoire. But, ultimately, the main ingredient for success is sticking with Pittsburgh's philosophy of first-pitch strikes.

"It all goes back to throwing strikes and getting after the hitters," Watson said. "If you throw strike one, you are at a huge advantage, especially as a reliever. So just go out there and pound the zone."

Heading into the 2015 Grapefruit League season, the focus for Watson will be in refining his command of the strike zone and consistency.

What doesn't need refining is Watson's demeanor on the bump. The southpaw exhibits a cool exterior off the field and brings that to the mound when he's called upon. It's helped him record a 2.36 ERA since 2012, which is the third lowest among NL left-handed relievers.

"I've always been real mellow," Watson said. "Never real high or too low on stuff, so yeah, that's how I've kind of always been."

Jared Hughes, who has been teammates during both players ascension from Pittsburgh's farm system to Pittsburgh with call-ups in 2011, agreed in saying Watson is a dependable asset in the pen.

"He shows up, he works hard, he's competitive and he's really cool, calm and collected," Hughes said. "He's just kind of level headed. He doesn't get too high or too low. But he's going to go out and get after it."

This story was originally published February 25, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Baseball | Pittsburgh reliever Watson evolving role with Pirates ."