All Pirates team 1965-2016, pitchers

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While the Pirates have had some great positional players over the last 50+ years, their pitching has been somewhat thinner. They still can put together a nice rotation and bullpen. It's just not a staff loaded with hall of famers. Here we go.

Staring pitcher: John Candelaria From the mid 70s to the mid 80s John headed up the Pirates rotation. John reached his peak in 1977 when he went 20-5 with a league leading ERA of 2.34. John had eight seasons of double digit wins in all. For his 12 seasons in Pittsburgh John's record was 124-87. His ERA was 3.17. Despite not being a strikeout pitcher, John's WHIP was a nice 1.174. The 6'7' left hander was a member of the 1979 Pirates world series winning team. The Candy Man is the top starter in this rotation.

Starting pitcher: Doug Drabek Doug had six very good seasons with the Pirates. His best season was 1990 when he won a league leading 22 games while losing only 6. His ERA was 2.76. During his time with the Pirates, Doug went 92-62 with a nice ERA of 3.02. Like John Candelaria, Doug wasn't a strikeout pitcher, striking out only 5.4 per 9 innings. Still, it's not how you win, it's how often you win. Doug won pretty often when he was in Pittsburgh.

Starting pitcher: Bob Veale Here's a hard thrower. Bob was the ace of the Pirates staff throughout most of the 60s. While Bob's best year may have been 1964 when he went 18-12 with an ERA of 2.74, he was good for a few years after that. From 1965-70 his win totals were 16-16-13-13-10. In 1971 Bob was sent to the bullpen and somehow managed to go 6-0 with an ERA of 6.99. I know wins are now a stat downplayed in today's baseball, but a 6-0 record with an ERA of almost 7.00 is a strange combination. Unlike Candelaria and Drabek, Veale could strike guys out. He averaged 8.00 strikeouts per nine innings in his time with the Bucs. For his 11 years with the Pirates, Bob's record was 116-91 with an ERA of 3.06. All in all, a nice run.

Starting pitcher: Steve Blass Before developing a legendary case of the yips, Steve was an excellent pitcher and hero of the 1971 World Series. In 1968 Steve went 18-6 with an ERA of 2.12. In 1972 Steve had another great season, going 19-8 with an ERA of 2.29. Then Steve Blass Disease set in. Before then, however, Steve had a nice career. His record for his 10 years in Pittsburgh was 103-76 with an ERA of 3.61. Like so many Pirates pitchers, he wasn't a strikeout guy, averaging only 5.0 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Starting pitcher: John Smiley This last slot was a tossup between Smiley, Jim Rooker, Bruce Kison and Doc Ellis and Gerrit Cole. Smiley won the coin toss. John had two nice seasons with the Pirates and one exceptional season. In 1991 Smiley went 20-8 with an ERA of 3.08. For his six years with the Pirates, John went 60-42 with an ERA of 3.57. Like every other guy in this rotation with the exception of Bob Veal, John wasn't a strikeout pitcher, averaging only 5.6 per 9 innings. Crash Davis liked guys that got ground balls and not strikeouts. He would have loved the Pirates staff. 

Relief pitcher: Mark Malancon While Kent Tekulve makes the list, in large part because of his longevity. I put Melancon ahead of him because of Melcancon was more of a strikeout guy and had gaudy stats, though for a shorter period of time. Mark's save totals from 2014-16 were 33-51-30. Mark also had really nice peripherals. His strikeouts per 9 innings was 8.3 and his WHIP was 0.926. His saves total with the Pirates was 130.

Relief pitcher: Joel Hanrahan Another Pirates relief pitcher of recent vintage who was effective is Joel Hanrahan. Joel preceded Mark Malancon. In 2011 Joel recorded 40 saves and followed that up with a 36 save season in 2012. Joel was a strikeout guy, averaging averaging 10.4 strikeouts in his time with the Pirates.

Relief pitcher: Kent Tekulve Kent was a tall, thin side-arming right hander who had a long career with the Pirates and didn't strike out very many batters. Kent got his start with the Pirates in 1974 and stayed there through 1984. Three times Kent led the NL in appearances. In 1978 and 79 Kent had 31 saves. In total, Kent pitched 1050 games for the Pirates and had an ERA of 2.68. Longevity, durability and effectiveness get Kent this slot despite a strikeout per 9 innings rate of 4.9.

Those are my choices, what do you think. Respectful feedback is appreciated.