Mueth takes on ‘closer’s mentality’ in AFL opportunity

Zander Mueth has been through the wringer. Over his last two seasons, the 21-year-old prospect has been placed on the injured list four times. 

The stints, which included shoulder and oblique injuries, haven’t allowed him to properly build momentum to excel and be promoted. Finally, to finish 2026, Mueth is healthy and building that momentum.

“It was tough at the start. The pain obviously is not fun at all. I was never hurt before that, so it was a foreign feeling of, 'I don't know what to do,'” Mueth told MLB.com. “I'm sitting around, I can't really do much, and my first injury was my arm. That one hurt for a long time, so it was normal daily things where it doesn't feel right. It's [a] weird feeling."

After 35 1/3 innings with Rookie-level Florida Complex League and Single-A Bradenton this year, Mueth is hoping to add innings and consistency in the Arizona Fall League to finish on a positive note. He missed a large portion of the summer from early May to late July with an injury, but he saw improvements out of the bullpen in his final two outings in September.

Mueth told his agent he hoped to play in the AFL. Pirates farm director Michael Chernow made it happen, and so far, Mueth has shown the ability to be the pitcher that Pittsburgh took as its third pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, the same Draft that saw the Pirates pick Paul Skenes as the first overall pick.

“When it all clicked, there are flashes of brilliance there,” said Matt Ford, Bradenton’s pitching coach.

When Chernow told Mueth he’d be headed for Arizona this October, the message was to “keep it simple.” He added that the organization knows what Mueth can do when healthy, and he showed it at the end of the year. Now, it was time to show more people Mueth’s ability.

Mueth’s desires aside from adding innings also include becoming more comfortable out of the bullpen. He has started 41 of 46 professional games in his career thus far, but Ford and Co. put him out of the bullpen in his final three times to end the season.

In the first of those three outings, Mueth struggled, as he walked six batters and allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings. In the final two outings, he allowed one run on two hits in three innings.

Ford stressed quality over quantity, and to act like a closer. Mueth saw his velocity and in-zone strike percentage shoot up, which typically happens with starters turned relievers. 

“[I’m] keeping the same mentality of being a closer,” Mueth said. “Here, it's a lot more structured; every reliever is pretty much going one or two innings, so it's kind of easier that way. I'm not trying to go three or four [innings] and save the bullpen. I can go out there with a closer mentality, get my one or two innings in and get ready for the next outing.”

“For him, it's just getting to know what his identity is,” Ford added. “Who he is as a pitcher, owning his delivery. He's a long dude, and there's some long levers there.”

When Mueth returned to full strength for the final two months of the regular season, his slider became his reset pitch with consistency in the zone. He pointed to the Pirates' pitching philosophy as a way to find success: first-pitch strikes, strike percentage and kill percentage.

Any of Mueth’s struggles certainly haven’t come from a lack of ability. At 6-foot-6, Mueth’s monster extension and unique arm angle made him an intriguing prospect out of Belleville East in Illinois. Head coach Ryan Wiggs remembers a jump in velocity from his sophomore to junior campaigns that garnered more attention. By his senior year, upward of 30 scouts were crowding around home plate to get a look for themselves.

His arm angle carries the ball from behind his body and creates a three-quarter slot. Mueth said it’s his natural movement and stems from his sidearm angle when playing shortstop in the past. 

Mueth has the ability. The AFL is another chance to inch closer to maximizing that potential. 

“Being able to time up the delivery with his long levers, and he's going to work harder than just about anyone to figure it out,” Ford said. “And when he does, it's going to be really, really special.”