WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2006
R:  0-0-0, 4.09 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 11 IP, 0.8 BB/9, 7.4 K/9
A-:  0-1-0, 7.94 ERA, 2.21 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 9.5 BB/9, 3.2 K/9
A:  0-3-0, 6.10 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 5.2 BB/9, 7.8 K/9

Pitched briefly in his Tommy John recovery year.

2007
A:  2-3-0, 4.14 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 71.2 IP, 3.6 BB/9, 9.5 K/0

Pitching in relief, Leroux made progress in low A, sporting a high K rate.

2008
A+:  6-7-1, 3.65 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 74 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 9.5 K/9

Leroux continued to improve, allowing fewer walks and hits.  After the season, Baseball America ranked him the 16th best prospect in a strong Marlins’ system.

2009
AA:  5-3-0, 2.70 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 60 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 8.2 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 10.80 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 6.2 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 2.7 K/9

Pitched well in AA, allowing no HRs.  The Marlins called Leroux up four separate times for one or two relief appearances each time.  He was scored upon in four of his five major league outings.  BA ranked him as the Marlins’ 18th best prospect after the season.

2010
R (Fla):  1-0-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 4 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 6.8 K/9
A+ (Fla):  0-0-0, 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 2.2 IP, 3.4 BB/9, 0.0 K/9
AAA (Fla):  0-3-0, 6.95 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 22 IP, 2.9 BB/9, 8.2 K/9
MLB (Fla):  0-0-0, 7.00 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 18 IP, 5.5 BB/9, 9.0 K/9
MLB (Pgh):  0-1-0, 5.79 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4.2 IP, 5.8 BB/9, 7.7 K/9

Lost time to elbow problems and struggled when he was able to pitch, both in AAA and the majors.  The Marlins cut him loose in mid-September and he got a brief look with the Pirates after they claimed him off waivers.  He didn’t pitch well in six relief appearances with the Pirates, either.

2011
AA:  1-2-0, 2.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 7 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 7.7 K/9
AAA:  6-3-1, 2.80 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 61 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 8.4 K/9
MLB:  1-1-0, 2.88 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 8.6 K/9

Leroux went into spring training in 2011 in the hunt for a bullpen spot, but was optioned to AAA.  He struggled early in the season with AAA and seemed like a leading candidate to be removed from the 40-man roster when he was demoted to AA.  The Pirates, however, were in the process of getting him to change his delivery to the three-quarters angle to which Charlie Morton also converted.  Leroux moved back to AAA after five appearances with Altoona.  He pitched very well after returning and was called up at the beginning of July.  He allowed only one run in half a dozen outings in July, but the Pirates sent him down during some roster shuffling.  He returned in late August.  He continued pitching well until a bad stretch starting in mid-September.  He allowed a dozen baserunners while recording only eight outs in his last six times out.

Despite the fact that he’ll turn 28 early in the 2012 season, Leroux hasn’t pitched much as a pro.  Nevertheless, he was expected to make the team out of spring training due to his strong showing in late 2011 and in winter ball, in which he pitched as a starter to work on his offspeed stuff.  Of course, most importantly of all, he’s out of options.  In the last spring training game, though, he suffered a pectoral strain and went on the 60-day disabled list.  The move was greeted with some skepticism at the time, because it solved a roster crunch for the Pirates, but the injury is real and Leroux may miss more than the sixty days.