Pirates Using Spot Start to Set Up Wilber Dotel vs. Cardinals
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates will begin their homestand with an interesting approach towards how they'll set their pitchers up.
Left-handed pitcher Mason Montgomery will serve as the starting pitcher for the Pirates in the series opener vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on April 27. Pirates manager Don Kelly said that right-handed pitcher Wilber Dotel will get a bulk role as well in this game.
Montgomery will most likely get the first inning for the Pirates, something he did vs. the Washington Nationals at PNC Park on April 15.
Dotel will the come in and take on the amount of innings a starter normally would following Montgomery, which right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski did vs. the Nationals, throwing six scoreless in the 2-0 win.
Why the Pirates Are Making This Move
Montgomery excelled in it prior vs. the Nationals and it also means he faces the top of the order vs. the Cardinals.
The Cardinals have two left-handed batters of the first three that Montgomery will face in second baseman JJ Wetherholt, who will leadoff, and first baseman Alec Burleson, who will hit third.
Montgomery has been excellent against left-handed batters, with a .143 batting average allowed and 10 strikeouts over 15 batters faced.
He has also pitched well recently, with seven straight scoreless outings over 6.2 innings, making him an important part of the Pirates bullpen.
Montgomery getting the spot start also takes pressure off of Dotel, a rookie, who has made just two MLB appearances and threw less than 15 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis before his call-up.
What to Expect From Dotel
The Pirates have high expectations for Dotel, as he's one of their better pitching prospects and someone that has grinded his way through the minor leagues for this opportunity.
Dotel would normally have spent most if not all of 2026 in Triple-A, but the Pirates needed a starting pitcher that wasn't in their rotation that they could rely on, especially with both left-hander Hunter Barco and right-hander José Urquidy stretching out as starters in Triple-A.
He spent most of his time as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, with 84 starts in 98 appearances and last coming out of the bullpen in 2023. He made 25 starts with High-A Greensboro in 2024 and 27 starts with Double-A Altoona in 2025, working towards having that role when he made the regular season.
Dotel is an imposing figure, standing 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds and has had to prove he's belonged at each level, after he signed for $65,000 at 18 years old from the Dominican Republic.
He has a good fastball, which he's averaged 97.1 mph so far and can reach 100 mph with it, while also throwing a cutter, slider and changeup that make for a solid pitch mix.
Dotel will have to take on a decent workload vs. the Cardinals, but he's increased his innings pitched every year, including almost by 100 pitches from 2022 to 2025.
The Pirates will want Dotel to go at least five innings vs. St. Louis, a big ask for a young pitcher, but a challenge that Dotel should relish.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.