Pitching for the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in the mile-high altitude of Denver can damage the psyche of even the most mentally tough person.
So, when the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence off waivers last year during spring training, he was excited. Lawrence loved spending the first four seasons of his major league career with the Rockies from 2021-24 on a personal level. However, he posted a 5.43 ERA over 89 games and admitted he wondered whether his statistics would be better if he left the Rockies.
Advertisement
Lawrence got his answer last year. He was outstanding for the Pirates as he posted a 0.51 ERA, albeit in just 17 games and 17 2/3 innings, because Lawrence was on the injured list from March 31-Sept. 13 with right elbow inflammation.
“Honestly, for me it was belief,” Lawrence said about the reason for his success. “The organization believing in me, obviously taking a chance on me through waivers and claiming me, and then talking with (former pitching coach) Oscar (Marin) and the pitching staff, and them just telling me, ‘Hey dude, you have two really good pitches, just throw them down the middle, and you’re going to have success.’
“That just kind of completely changed my mindset on pitching and attacking hitters. Just going out there and saying, ‘Here it is, do what you can with it.’ I had some success with that, so hopefully I’ll be able to put that together for 70-plus innings this year.”
Pittsburgh would love to see the 31-year-old Lawrence over a full season. He allowed only one run last season, and that came in his first outing. Lawrence finished on a streak of 16 consecutive appearances.
Advertisement
Lawrence admittedly would have liked to pitch a lot more in 2025. However, he is looking forward to the upcoming season with the hope of being a bigger contributor.
“Selfishly, it was frustrating because I was having the best start of a season that I’ve ever had in my career,” Lawrence said. “And being away from Coors for the first time, it kind of felt like my career was kind of finally going to take off and be the career it was supposed to be, and kind of got derailed a little bit. But you know, it’s my path, and I’m just going to trust my path and however, by the end of my career, however it ends up, I’ve enjoyed every step of the way.”
Pirates Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Pirates. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.