You know, I thought I'd seen it all. Phils going from 3rd to a World Series. Chris Davis hitting 50+ homers. The 2008 Rays coming out of nowhere and body slamming the rest of the division. But...the Pirates' April has gotta be up there with the most inexplicable baseball happenings of recent memory. Because, yes, this could be a mirage and the Pirates could end the year in third or fourth like people think they will...but what if they don't?
Cause, like, on paper, if you're going in with rotation consisting of Mitch Keller, Johan Oviedo, Roansy Contreras, Vince Velasquez and Rich Hill, it's not looking like you're gonna get a lot done. It was enough of a hit that J.T. Brubaker would be missing the season due to surgery, they're already without some homegrown rotation options like Chase de Jong, Wil Crowe and Max Kranick, and so, really with the exception of Keller and Contreras it's this weird cobbling-together of contracts and other players that were lying around. And yet it's working. It's really working. All of these people have 20+ strikeouts and 2 wins through 5 games, and everybody but the guy who's over 40 has an ERA lower than 4. And even with that said, the 43 year-old still isn't doing all that badly all things considered. Rich Hill can still remember to just not allow runs whenever he wants, and at 43 that's kinda insane.
The biggest piece of this is Mitch Keller, who the Pirates have been trying to develop for years. Keller struggled mightily in his first 3 seasons, then finally found his control last year and, despite a 5-12 record, finished the season with a 3.91 ERA. Now, Keller's 3-0 with a 3.53 ERA and 40 Ks, 10 of which came earlier today against the Dodgers, and has the most ship-shape stats on the rotation [though Oviedo is gaining on him]. The Pirates have a long tradition of great homegrown aces, and people like Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon have perpetuated that, but it's been a while since they've had a good one, and even J.T. Brubaker wasn't perfect. If Keller is able to ride this season to a career that the scouts had been promising, that'll be excellent for Pittsburgh.
Also, this week we learned that the Pirates do, in fact, have money to keep people around. Bryan Reynolds, months after asking to be traded, just signed an extension for 8 more years. After how he's started the season, he deserves it. Reynolds is only the second person on this team to get a big-time extension, behind Ke'Bryan Hayes, who admittedly deserves it. Hayes, by the way, had a very slow start to the season but is definitely making up for it on defense. Somebody like Keller would honestly be the next logical guy to extend; I'd say Oneil Cruz, but...y'know...the injury concerns people.
The Pirates are 17-8, tied for the best record in the NL, and have been shellacking the Dodgers all week. That's the other thing, these wins are coming against teams like the Dodgers, White Sox and Cardinals, in addition to the gimmes like the Rockies and Reds. It's not like a Rays thing where the schedule is rewarding them, they've had tough matches and are still on top, and that is far more than anyone thought they'd accomplish this year. I sincerely hope they keep it up, and that their April isn't just a good month.
Coming Tomorrow- Would ya like to buy an ace? It'll cost ya just a nickel...
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