Bolting to the Bigs: Pirates Select Contract of No. 23 Prospect Cody Bolton

INDIANAPOLIS – The Pittsburgh Pirates today selected the contract of right-handed relief pitcher Cody Bolton, who is currently rated as the organization’s No. 23 prospect by Baseball America. He will become the first member of the 2023 Indianapolis Indians squad to make his major league debut.

Bolton, 24, has embraced his first full-time bullpen role with Indianapolis this season, going 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA (3er/11.1ip), 14 strikeouts, 0.88 WHIP and .200 batting average against in eight appearances. After he surrendered two earned runs in his season debut on March 31, only six of 35 total batters faced have reached base safely. During that stretch, he’s registered a 0.90 ERA (1er/10.0ip), 0.50 WHIP and .125 batting average against.

Following a season-ending knee injury in 2021, Bolton rebounded in a hybrid role for the Indians in 2022. He made the first relief appearance of his career on April 9, 2022 vs. Omaha and went 4-0 with a 2.65 ERA (10er/34.0ip) and 40 strikeouts in 16 appearances out of the bullpen. His versatility in 30 total games (14 starts) earned him the Indy’s Pitcher of the Year Award. In 38 games (14 starts) spanning each of the last two seasons with Indianapolis, he is 5-2 with a 3.00 ERA (29er/87.0ip), 96 strikeouts and .206 batting average against.

Bolton was originally selected by Pittsburgh in the sixth round (178th overall) of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Tracy (Calif.) High School.

Indianapolis’ first-time callups are presented by Franciscan Health