Less than three weeks after giving up on a former top draft pick, the Pirates are set to give pitcher Carson Fulmer another shot.
The team announced on Monday that they had claimed pitcher Carson Fulmer off of waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.
Fulmer was originally claimed by the Pirates from the Detroit Tigers on August 24 and was recalled from the team's alternate training site on August 29, but he never appeared in a game for Pittsburgh. He was designated for assignment on September 2 and was claimed by Baltimore on September 5.
In a small sample size with the Orioles, Fulmer pitched reasonably well, not surrendering an earned run while striking out four batters in 3.2 innings pitched. Overall, Fulmer has posted a 4.35 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched during the 2020 campaign.
Fulmer started the year with the Chicago White Sox before being designated for assignment on July 23, one day before Opening Day. His biggest body of work came in 2018, when he recorded an 8.07 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched.
He was claimed by the Tigers, where he pitched to a 6.75 ERA with seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work before being designated for assignment on August 20 prior to his first go-around with the Pirates.
Fulmer, the eighth overall selection in the 2015 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt University, has posted a career 6.34 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 105 innings pitched. Although the former top prospect has yet to really pan out in the major leagues, he may get a shot to audition with the Pirates, either in the last few games of 2020 or heading into the 2021 campaign.
With seven games to go in the 2020 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have recorded a team ERA of 4.92, ranking them 21 out of 30 MLB teams. Their 76 homeruns surrendered in 53 games are the sixth most in all of the league.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Pirates, at an abysmal 15-38, would be in line to select Kumar Rocker, a flamethrower of out Fulmer's alma mater in Vanderbilt, with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.
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