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Interview with Jeff Locke
Jeff Locke 7/17/2009 Video Recap
Jeff Locke 8/14/2009 Video Recap
Jeff Locke 9/17/2009 Video Recap
Jeff Locke 7/31/2010 Video Recap

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2006
R:  4-3-0, 4.22 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 32 IP, 1.4 BB/9, 10.7 K/9

Had a solid debut in rookie ball.  Opponents hit .299 against him, but his walk and K rates were excellent.

2007
R+:  7-1-1, 2.66 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 61 IP, 1.2 BB/9 ,10.9 K/9 

In the advanced rookie Appalachian League, Locke was much harder to hit and his walk and K rates were even better.

2008
A:  5-12-0, 4.06 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 139.2 IP, 2.4 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

Locke wasn’t as dominant in full season ball, but he didn’t walk many and allowed only six HRs.

2009
A+ (Atl):  1-4-0, 5.52 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 45.2 IP, 5.1 BB/9, 8.5 K/9
A+ (Pgh):  4-4-0, 4.08 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 81.2 IP, 2.0 BB.9, 6.2 K/9 

Before the trade, Locke struggled with his mechanics, leading to control problems for the first time in his career.  After the trade, the struggles continued, as he had an ERA of 5.31 in June and July.  He started turning things around in his last July start and had an ERA of 2.58 from that point on.  The strong stretch began after one meltdown in which he failed to get out of first inning.  His walk rate dropped dramatically with Lynchburg as the Pirates got him to focus more on throwing strikes.  His K rate also dropped significantly, but was increasing again late in the year.

2010
A+:  9-3-0, 3.54 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 86.1 IP, 1.5 BB/9, 8.7 K/9
AA:  3-2-0, 3.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 57.2 IP, 1.9 BB/9, 8.7 K/9

Went back to high A and turned things around.  His walk and strikeout numbers were excellent, and his pitching overall was better than his ERA indicates.  He moved up to Altoona in mid-July and put up nearly identical numbers there.  He had two bad starts out of ten and pitched very well in all the others.

2011
AA:  7-8-0, 4.03 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 125 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 8.2 K/9
AAA:  1-2-0, 2.22 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 28.1 IP, 2.9 BB/9, 7.9 K/9
MLB:  0-3-0, 6.48 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 16.2 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 2.7 K/9 

The Pirates sent Locke to Altoona to start the season, partly due to their desire to have some veterans in the AAA rotation as insurance.  He’d been added to the 40-man roster in the off-season.  He struggled early, as his stuff seemed flat and his velocity was down in the mid- to upper-80s.  May was an especially bad month, as he had a 7.01 ERA and walked 16 in 25.2 IP.  He pitched much better after that, though, and moved up to Indianapolis in August.  He started five games there and pitched very well in most of them.  The Pirates brought him in September and added him to the rotation for four starts.  He struggled with his control and mostly pitched poorly, which is hardly surprising.  He may have been tiring, as his velocity declined in each start.

Locke will undoubtedly return to AAA in 2012.  One concern that some fans share is whether he’ll be another extremely hittable finesse lefty, like Zach Duke.  Locke’s K rates in the upper minors have been much higher than Duke’s, though.  Duke had K rates of 5.3 per nine innings in AAA and 5.7 in AA.  Locke’s rates have been 7.9 and 8.4, respectively.  He’ll open 2012 in the Indianapolis rotation and will almost certainly return to Pittsburgh at some point during the season.