In the past, I haven’t generally put much thought into rotations at the lower levels of the Pirates’ system. Most of the pitching decisions at those levels — I’m talking specifically about the two class A affiliates here — struck me as having at least some element of trial and error. I also figured the designation of “starter” or “reliever” didn’t mean all that much because the starters for much of the season are pitching just 3-5 innings per outing, and there are usually several relievers pitching that much.
It occurred to me this year, though, that the Pirates really seemed to be trying to stick with actual rotations at Greensboro and Bradenton.