Why Wait?

 

I think we can all agree that Opening Day of 2026 was a net loss for the Pittsburgh Pirates on more levels than anyone previously thought.

Not only does Paul Skenes get chased, not only does Oneil Cruz crap out, not only is the bullpen not there yet, but by the end of that first day you see universally that the only team to not give a big rookie prospect a day 1 shot may have been the Pittsburgh Pirates. Who held Konnor Griffin back for the service perks, like usual. Looking around at the rest of the league, you're seeing immediate success from rookie call-ups, or rookie leave-ups, and while the Pirates did bring Hunter Barco with them to the bigs, Griffin is still trapped behind Nick Gonzales and probably won't make the bigs til mid-to-late April, or whenever Topps' Update cutoff is. 

So...let's rub it in some more and talk about the guys that did super well yesterday on call-ups:

-Kevin McGonigle, Tigers. The big one. In game one, the Delaware County native went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs, 2 doubles and 2 runs. Right from the start of spring training basically, all anyone heard about was how this guy was on the way to greatness, even on a squad that still has Max Clark coming soon. Giving McGonigle shortstop out of camp, even with Jace Jung still on the team, seems to be the way forward, and if the rest of this season is as good as that game was, the Tigers might be alright.

-J.J. Wetherholt, Cardinals. Another young infielder, this one the prized Cardinals prospect, a former 7th overall pick, and a rare Cardinals farmhand not netted in a firesale. Wetherholt took over from Brendan Donovan's run at 2nd with a bang, hitting a homer in his first at-bat, and finishing the day with 2 RBIs. The Cardinals' eventual comeback victory over Tampa doesn't happen without Wetherholt being the forerunner. Already fans are excited about this guy, and in a season without any clear veteran presence, what's not to be excited about?

Chase de Lauter, Guardians. The outfield bat made his debut during the 2025 postseason, so yesterday's opener against Seattle was technically de Lauter's regular season debut. He made it count, with a TWO-HOMER GAME, the second of which coming late enough to be the difference-maker. 

Justin Crawford, Phillies. For about a year now it's been clear that Crawford, the slap-hitting CF speedster son of Carl, was on the way, and the hope was that we wouldn't deal him before he got to the bigs. Lo and behold, a spot was paved directly for him to start the season, and his debut against Texas came with 2 hits and a run. Dude did exactly what he came to do, and was part of an excellent Opening Day win.

Sal Stewart, Reds. Crucially, this corner infield phenom for Cincinnati is a bench bat for my fantasy team this year, and I wanted him to get off to a decent start for that reason, in addition to reestablishing the full-team stronghold for the Reds. Even against a dominant Red Sox team, Stewart still had a very productive day, going three for four with 2 doubles. The Reds had only 4 hits in that game, and Stewart alone was responsible for 3 of them.

Carson Benge, Mets. If Mike Tauchman doesn't get injured, I'm not certain Benge, the well-hyped outfield bat for the Mets, gets this opportunity, but given a starting spot in a crowded Mets lineup yesterday he still had time for his first ever career homer, making Lindor and Bichette the only hitless Mets v. Pittsburgh.

So that tells you everything you need to know. If all those guys can allow for young players to start day 1 and be the hero, the Pirates have absolutely no excuse. As usual.

Coming Tomorrow- I got very worried when he gave up a home run immediately yesterday, but 10 strikeouts later I was a lot more at ease.