Hunter Stratton #44

Hunter Alexander Stratton...Wife’s name is Lakyn...Has one son; Maverick (3/23/24)…Is a 2015 graduate of Sullivan East High School in Bluff City, Tenn...Won 15 games and recorded 130 strikeouts in his two-year career at Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn...Became the fifth player in school history to be drafted by the Pirates, joining Bobby Falls (third round in 1981), David Miller (24th round in 1984), Zac Fuesser (34th round in 2009) and teammate Hunter Wolfe, who was selected in the 12th round in 2017...Was committed to continue playing at Western Carolina before signing with the Pirates...Signed by Pirates scout Jerry Jordan.

2024

Made the Opening Day roster after being a non-roster invitee during Spring Training...Son, Maverick, was born on 3/24...Faced a total of four batters (0.2ip/1h/0r/0bb/1so) in his season debut on Opening Day in Miami on 3/28...Earned his first Major League save on 3/31 at Miami...Entered the game on 4/22 vs. Milwaukee with the bases loaded and one out and retired the two batters he faced...Won his first Major League game on 4/27 at San Francisco...Struck out three batters in 1.2 scoreless innings on 5/3 vs. Colorado...Whiffed three of the four batters he faced while closing out a 9-3 win on 5/17 at Chicago (NL)…Retired the side in order on 12 pitches on 5/22 vs. San Francisco... Was charged with a season-high five runs in 0.2ip and suffered a blown save and loss on 5/23 vs. San Francisco... Retired one batter and was credited with his second win on 6/8 vs. Minnesota...Faced and retired one batter before leaving with an injury to his right arm on 6/13 at St. Louis... Was placed on the 15-day injured list on 6/14 with a right triceps strain...Began a rehab assignment with the FCL Pirates on 7/15 and made two scoreless outings (2ip) before being transferred to Bradenton on 7/19 (struck out two batters in 1ip at Tampa)…Had rehab transferred to Indianapolis on 7/23 and tossed 1.2 scoreless frames at Iowa that night...Was returned from rehab and reinstated from the I.L. on 7/26...Did not allow a run in eight consecutive games with the Pirates from 6/8 through 8/7 (7.1ip)…Was optioned to Indianapolis on 8/9...Pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to earn the save on 8/16 vs. St. Paul...Was recalled on 8/19 after pitching in two games with Indy (2.1ip/0r)…Tossed a scoreless inning to close out a 7-0 win on 8/22 vs. Cincinnati...Suffered a left knee patella tendon rupture on 8/24 vs. Cincinnati and missed the rest of the season...Was placed on the 60-day injured list on 8/25...Underwent surgery on 8/26 to repair a patella tendon rupture; surgery performed by Dr. Darren Frank and Greg Altman in Pittsburgh.

2023

Spent a majority of the season with Triple-A Indianapolis…Posted a 2.19 ERA (12.1ip/4r/3er) and 19 strikeouts in eight appearances (one start) during the month of April…Closed out the month of April by making five scoreless appearances (9.0ip)…Made his first start on 4/16 vs. St. Paul and struck out five batters while tossing 2.0 scoreless innings…Gave up two runs in 2.0 innings and suffered his first loss while making his second start on 5/12 at St. Paul…Surrendered a total of nine runs in back-to-back games on 6/10 vs. Omaha (1.2ip/5er) and 6/15 at Iowa (1.1ip/4er)….Picked up his first save on 6/24 vs. Columbus… Went 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA (10.2ip/12er) in nine games in June…Picked up his first win on 7/1 at Louisville after tossing 1.2 scoreless innings. (Indianapolis scored six runs in the ninth for the 14-8 win)…Posted his second save in his next appearance on 7/3 at Louisville…Retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning on 7/6 vs. Memphis and was the winning pitcher in the 3-2 walk-off victory… Struck out five of the seven batters he faced while earning his third save on 8/3 at Gwinnett…Pitched 12.1 scoreless innings and posted an .075 batting average against (3- for-40), 0.57 WHIP and 18 strikeouts in 11 appearances during the month of August…Did not allow an earned run and struck out 19 batters in 12 consecutive outings from 8/1 through 9/2 (13.1ip)…Was selected to the Major League roster on 9/4…Made his Major League debut on 9/5 vs. Milwaukee and tossed 2.0 scoreless innings of relief…Struck out all three batters he faced on 9/27 at Philadelphia.

2022

Attended Spring Training as a non-roster invitee...Spent entire season with Indianapolis and led the team in appearances (47).

2021

Finished fifth among all Pirates minor league relievers in strikeouts (70) and tied for third in appearances (38)...Went 2-2 with a 2.39 ERA (49.0ip/13er), 70 strikeouts and a .182 batting average against in 38 combined games between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis...Was a member of Altoona’s Opening Day roster...Struck out five of the seven batters he faced in 2.0 scoreless innings while earning his first professional save on 5/8 vs. Bowie...Struck out a total of 15 batters in 6.0 innings over his first three outings...Struck out all six batters he faced while picking up his first win with Altoona on 5/13 at Binghamton... Made seven straight scoreless appearances from 5/8-29 (10.0ip)...Struck out 23 batters during the month of May; the second-most among all Double-A Northeast League relievers behind Akron’s Francisco Perez (26)...Worked 8.1 scoreless innings in his final seven games with Altoona before being promoted to Indianapolis on 7/23...Recorded 44 of his 76 outs (57.8 percent) by way of strikeouts with Altoona...Tossed 2.0 scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut on 7/30 at Saint Paul...Was charged with his first loss on 8/4 at Iowa (game 2)...Tossed 8.2 scoreless innings over six appearances from 8/12 to 9/1...Was scored upon in back-to-back outings on 9/8 and 9/11 before not allowing a run in his final five games (7.0ip) to end the season...Went 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA (4.0ip/2er) in five relief appearances while pitching for Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Professional Baseball League following the season.