Obviously a lot has been said about both the Mariners, and their incredible rotation being done in by an anemic lineup. But the Pirates don't get discussed as much in that category, solely because people tend to forget that they're actually a contender this year in the first place.
The Pirates, even with Bryan Reynolds away on a personal issue, still pack a pretty mighty punch. People like Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Nick Gonzales have kept this team fighting, and a surprise comeback year from Joey Bart has aided the team's bench depth. But more importantly, this team has a very powerful rotation, one that works even with Jared Jones and Bailey Falter injured. Paul Skenes, Marco Gonzales, Mitch Keller, Martin Perez and Luis Ortiz are all in good shape right now, and keeping the Pirates from digging into less than savory options [though honestly Quinn Priester's pretty good as well]. Look, a team where Paul Skenes losing a game seems like a rare occasion, and still comes during a start where he otherwise looked great, is definitely an improvement on the usual.
I think Ortiz has been the biggest surprise, because he was a long-man for most of the season, picking up the bulk of the mid-game work as people like Priester and Carmen Mlodzinski would start for 3 or 4. Then the appearances got better, they gave him the starting position and he kept at it. Ortiz has more innings than Paul Skenes, and a 2.75 ERA as well, and just hasn't given up many earned runs at all. It is likely that Ortiz will likely get yanked back to the bullpen on the return of Jones [though it may be Perez honestly], but his improved play has made the Pirates so much more confident going forward.
Hell, even the bullpen gives this team less reasons to be worried than any team in a while. Bednar and Holderman are great as usual, but people like Mlodzinski, Kyle Nicolas and somehow Aroldis Chapman have given this unit a lot of stability and promise. I think they'd be good with one or two more immovable bullpen pieces, and they could definitely swing one.
However, they probably should prioritize hitting, considering that they currently have a .232 average as a team. There's too many guys like Alika Williams, Michael Taylor, Yasmani Grandal and Jack Suwinski that just won't get anything done consistently at the plate. And for every guy that is making it work, there's two or three more that aren't. Rowdy Tellez was just getting the hang of things, and now he's a possible injury scratch. They need a few more sure hits in this lineup, and I know they're out there. I honestly think they're a good fit for Tommy Pham, even if he's probably gonna end up somewhere starrier.
The Pirates could very well compete, and could be one of the surprise stories of the year. They just need to get their lineup completely calibrated. You don't wanna waste a rare great pitching season from the Pirates this decade.
Coming Tomorrow- A third baseman I've been sick of for, like, his entire career I think.
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