May 3, 2013 By John Perrotto for The 3 min read

Two starts, as they say in statistical circles, is a small sample size.

So, maybe it is not wise to get excited thinking about what Francisco Liriano can bring to the Pirates starting rotation when he comes off the disabled list, most likely at some point late next week.

Still …

Liriano has made two starts for Class AAA Indianapolis on his injury rehabilitation assignment as he continues to work his way back from the broken bone in his upper right — non-throwing — arm that he suffered on Christmas Day at his home in the Dominican Republic.

In addition to winning both starts, he has allowed just two runs and eight hits in 11 innings. Most impressively for a pitcher who has trouble consistently commanding his pitches throughout his seven major-league seasons, Liriano has 17 walks and no strikeouts.

“I know it’s Triple-A, but he’s been really good,” said a scout who saw Liriano’s start Tuesday against Gwinnett in the International League. “His stuff looks as good as it ever has and he’s throwing strikes with all his pitches.”

The Pirates want Liriano to build more endurance after an 82-pitch effort against Gwinntt. They would like him to reach or at least get close to 100 pitches on Sunday when he pitches at Lehigh Valley.

Should Liriano get through that start without incident, he will slide into the void in the Pirates’ rotation left Tuesday when the Pirates designated left-hander Jonathan Sanchez for assignment.

Sanchez and Liriano have similar track records in the major leagues. Both have thrown no-hitters and showed great promise, but neither has established himself as a consistent winter.

Sanchez flamed out in his brief trial with the Pirates, going 0-3 with an 11.85 ERA in five games.

It is easy to see Liriano following that same path. After all, he was 6-12 with a 5.34 ERA last season in a combined 34 games for Minnesota and the Chicago White Sox.

Surprisingly, though, one baseball man who thinks Liriano can turn his career around in Pittsburgh is Twins manager Ron Gardenhire.

“Sometimes, guys just need a change of scenery and I think both sides knew it just wasn’t going to happen here, which is why we traded him last year,” Gardnenhire said. “But the talent is in there and maybe the Pirates can unlock it. If they can, they’ll have a heckuva pitcher. He can be as good as any pitcher in the game if he’s right.”

If Liriano can indeed finally harness his prodigious talent at 29 and combine with A.J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez to give the Pirates three frontline starting pitchers then it is easy to project them as contenders in the National League Central.

That is why Liriano’s story is going to be an interesting one over the next few weeks.