Tyler Eppler Banks on Unique Pitch

BRADENTON, Fla.—Tyler Eppler is working on a new pitch this spring, one with a somewhat risqué name.

The 24-year-old righthander, who looks to open the season at Triple-A Indianapolis, has been learning to master a hybrid that is part slider and part cutter. Eppler and minor league pitching coordinator Justin Meccage jokingly refer to it as “the slutter.”

“Sometimes when we tell other people that, they’re like, ‘Really?’ ” Eppler said. “So it’s like it’s our joke. I tell everybody else it’s a slider-cutter.”

Eppler hopes the pitch can get him to the big leagues this year after he went 9-10, 3.99 in 27 starts last season at Double-A Altoona.

The Pirates feel Eppler needs an extra pitch to complement a fastball that sits at 92-94 mph and a plus changeup, especially because it was hard to distinguish his curveball from his slider.

“It’s a hard pitch, an aggressive pitch,” Eppler said. “It’s got more depth than a regular cutter would have. I think it will be more of a miss-the-barrel type pitch, and the curveball will hopefully be a strikeout, miss-the-bat pitch.”

Eppler has rarely missed the strike zone during three seasons since being selected in the sixth round of the 2014 draft from Sam Houston State. He has issued just 61 walks in 302.2 innings for an average of just 1.8 per nine innings.

However, Eppler wants his new pitch to cut or slide outside the zone occasionally in an effort to encourage batters to chase.

“I’ve always been known to throw strikes,” Eppler said. “It’s kind of a strength and a weakness. If I let the hitter get comfortable, he knows a strike’s coming and he can sit on it. That’s something I’ve got to change.”

Eppler has also changed the grip on his curveball to mimic that of Cardinals righthander Adam Wainwright.

“It gives more of a loose feel, and it’s easier to rip it now,” Eppler said.

PITTBURGERS

• First baseman Josh Bell, who had arthroscopic left knee surgery in January, saw his first spring action on March 6. He is expected to be ready for the opener April 3 at Boston.

• The Pirates signed righthander Holden Helmink, the Diamondbacks’ 12th-round pick in 2014, out of the independent Atlantic League.