Uncustomed Heroes of 2025: Pirates

 

I will give the Pirates credit for improving as the season went on. This team was better under Don Kelly than it was under Derek Shelton, and Kelly's leadership could keep this team on the up-and-up. The team used a starring role from Paul Skenes and tried a ragtag contact approach, which didn't work as well because nobody had an especially high OPS. There were more spots for up-and-comers and rookies, and more room for the big draft picks to play. It was another last place finish, but now you're seeing an actual desire, organizationally, to compete. They made Kyle Schwarber an offer. True, he didn't take it, but they're trying to make moves. They have Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery down for next year, that's definitely something. I think the priority should be trying to lock down Skenes, but, y'know, Nutting doesn't want that for some reason.

Even in a lost year, what really saved the Pirates' ass in the second half was another incredible defensive season from Jared Triolo. Triolo missed time in the first half, then came back and became one of the most statistically valuable pieces of this team, with a 2.3 WAR accumulated mostly from his excellent infield defense. That's the thing about this team, the defense was so good [between Triolo, Davis, and the soon-to-depart Hayes and IKF] that it made you wish the offense was better. At the very least Triolo stole 13 bases.

2026 Prediction: Loses some playing time to Brandon Lowe, but improves slightly at the plate, and stays all year.

Tommy Pham was looking like a waste of a contract, considering that during the first half his numbers were absolutely miserable. There was a reported story of, during a game, Tommy Pham waiting outside PNC Park for his Uber Eats to arrive, that made him look entirely checked out. So at some point Pham decided to lock in, because in June he hit .302 and in July he hit .388, with 21 RBIs in that time, plus some decent defense. Beyond that he was a .200 hitter with a mean streak.

2026 Prediction: Tries to make camp with a low market competitor, doesn't make the team and is himself about it. 

Despite keeping Mitch Keller, the Pirates had a lot of open spots in the rotation, and many were filled by rookies. Mike Burrows got 23 games and 19 starts out of a come-up, and did pretty well with it, posting a 3.94 ERA and 97 Ks. The Pirates thanked him for this excellent come-up by trading him to Houston.

2026 Prediction: He stays healthy, wins 10 games. Not sure if the Astros are gonna be competitive next year, but Burrows will help.

Henry Davis was a #1 overall pick in 2021, and in the majors so far he's yet to show why. He got another nice look this year, and in 87 games he hit .167 with 7 homers and 22 RBIs, despite some excellent work on defense. This was another weak year for Davis, a guy the Pirates were sure would be a strong piece by now.

2026 Prediction: Finally takes off.

Johan Oviedo had battled injuries for a year or so, but made it up for 9 games and impressed, with a 3.57 ERA and 42 Ks. It was enough to give the Pirates extra stability in August and September, which was needed. He's also important because he landed Jhostynxon Garcia in Pittsburgh, and I see very big things happening there.

2026 Prediction: Is an okay 4th option in Boston but I'm pretty sure the Pirates are gonna win that trade.

And with the parachute basically pulled on this season, the Pirates went ahead and brought Bubba Chandler, Baseball America's #7 prospect going into the 2025 season, up to the big club. Chandler had some highs and lows in his 7 games, and despite 4 wins, 32 Ks and a 0.926 WHIP he had an ERA of 4.02. I do applaud the Pirates for letting him start more and more as the season went on after starting as a long-man.

2026 Prediction: Chandler will join Skenes and Jones at the top of that rotation and ensure that this team doesn't lose 90 games again next year. 

Coming Tomorrow- A ton of leftovers from a Rangers season that killed the dream. 

The Pirates' Accelerated Rebuild

 

Kinda odd for a team to go from underdogs to contenders to busts to rebuilders in the span of a year. Typically that takes a couple years.

It's as if the Pirates went through a full decade's storyline in just a few months, like someone accelerated the process under a dome, like that Shyamalan movie from a year or so ago. April and May could have been two competitive seasons, June and July could have been the disappointing selling follow-ups, and now we're back at where we were last year, the younger team with rookie call-ups trying to preserve for the future. It doesn't usually arc this quickly. 

It's also accelerating to the point where a lot of the early-season standouts, like Jack Suwinski, Mitch Keller and Johan Oviedo have calmed down tremendously. Both Keller and Oviedo have ERAs around 4 now, and Keller has had a string of disappointing starts that has cooled his ASG-caliber season. Oviedo, while steady and great at eating innings now has a 4.42 ERA and a 6-12 record. Compared to the other three starters, that's a low ERA, though- Osvaldo Bido, Bailey Falter and Quinn Priester are all struggling so far and the usual suspects for the rotation [J.T. Brubaker, Vince Velasquez, Max Kranick, Luis Ortiz and Roansy Contreras] are either hurt or down in the minors. 

And if you think that the spool of pitchers are taking their time acclimating, there's a whole host of rookie batters that are also doing their best to figure into things. The big ones are people like Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez, and neither are especially burning things down at the moment. The best one is probably corner infielder Jared Triolo, he's hitting .271 with 15 RBIs in 35 games. There's also a few accumulated guys, like Alika Williams and Liover Peguero, who are also doing cool things in the middle infield. But...there aren't any .300-hitting rookies or anything, they're all hitting around .211, even people like Davis. The only one of these call-ups that's really raising eyebrows is Peguero, he's got 4 homers in 20 games. But other than that, what can you say about these guys? You can barely say anything about the veterans, other than Reynolds and Hayes there's not a ton going on.

The hope is that this glut of call-ups can turn into accumulated talent that can start, and that it can form something like the Orioles' call-ups did. The difference is I saw more promise in the Orioles' call-ups, here you just see a lot of people just sort of standing around waiting to become great. Maybe it happens eventually, you hope it does, but who knows.

I really hate that the Pirates' season become as dreary as this, throwing a bunch of rookies in the air and seeing which ones land, but this is apparently how this accelerated timeline goes.

Coming Tonight: He split last year between a contender and a bottom-feeder, and he's managed to do the same thing this year without switching teams. 

Uncustomed Heroes of 2022: Pirates

 

Let it be known that, against all odds, and despite a better season, the Pittsburgh Pirates still ended 2022 with 100 losses. Interestingly, though, the Pirates technically ended the season in 4th place, as the Reds, who had been leading the Pirates for a while, fell apart and tied them for last with 62-100. So technically, even though the Pirates lost 100 games, they didn't finish in fifth. 

That really says a lot about Pirates baseball right now. The Pirates' 2022 season was an improvement because they lost 1 less game than they did last year and finished in fourth rather than fifth. It's like 'well I guess Jaws 3 was better than Jaws 4'.

The Pirates did this season without Gregory Polanco, Colin Moran, Richard Rodriguez or Neil Walker. Over the course of the season they lost Jose Quintana, Dan Vogelbach and Chris Stratton, all of whom came over to help. Bryan Reynolds already has said he wants to be traded, and even people in this post are already gone. As dire as Pirates baseball has been, it's not looking like it's gonna get much better immediately.

Ben Gamel appeared in the fourth-most games of any Pirate with 115. This team could not get 150 games out of anybody, and the most was Bryan Reynolds' 145. THAT is a statistic. Gamel was...fine. Hit .232, 46 RBIs. Serviceable replacement player.

2023 Prediction: Honestly the Pirates should re-sign him, but he'll probably be a depth guy on a minor league deal.

Kevin Newman missed a ton of playing time with an injury, which probably factored into the Pirates realizing they didn't need him too greatly and trading him to the other 100-loss team in the NL Central [the one that has a pitching staff]. Newman still hit .274 with 79 hits in 79 games, and a 1.1 WAR. The Pirates still started people like Diego Castillo and Rodolfo Castro at 2nd in his wake, and will likely continue to do so.

2023 Prediction: Well he's blocked at 2nd by Jonathan India, so maybe he'll get some starts at short now that Farmer's gone? I see him as a depth guy, but he could really work in Cincinnati. 

The big rookie that wasn't Oneil Cruz that turned heads this year in Pittsburgh was Jack Suwinski, who had a starting spot in the outfield before he knew it and was decent as a defender. He was more suited to the plate, hitting 19 homers and 38 RBIs in 106 games, though his ability to hit for average has not surfaced yet. 

2023 Prediction: So...let's say Reynolds leaves. Your power hitters are Carlos Santana, who's a temporary guy, Ji-Man Choi and probably Cruz if he shifts into gear. I genuinely think Suwinski's gonna be really well relied upon as a power bat next year, and might lead the team in homers.

In the absence of Newman and Castillo's better numbers, the Pirates relied upon Rodolfo Castro as an infield piece, and I think he did well for himself. He's a solid defender, solid on the base paths, and hit 11 homers and 59 hits in 71 games. Perhaps he's most notable as the guy whose cellphone slid out of his pocket on a dive to third, but he's young. And luckily the 2018 Phillies clubhouse Fortnite champion will be in the same infield as him next year. 

2023 Prediction: He's gonna be starting somewhere, probably second base. And he might vie for a gold glove.

In exchange for Quintana and Stratton, the Pirates received Johan Oviedo, a pitching prospect the Cardinals had no idea what to do with. Oviedo was brilliant in his first 7 starts as a Pirate, with a 3.23 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Oviedo joins Roansy Contreras and Mitch Keller as consistent, hard-throwing younger guys who can keep this team afloat next year.

2023 Prediction: Will have the closest thing to a great season of any Pirates starter next year.

The Pirates also called up Luis Ortiz towards the end of the season. Ortiz had struck out 138 people in the minors, with a 4.56 ERA between two levels. Once the majors came calling, despite losing 2 games of the 4 he started, he struck out 17. This guy seems to be a nasty flamethrower, and with the Reds having a rotation full of them, the Pirates need a guy like him to compete.

2023 Prediction: Why do I see him blowing out his arm by June, though?

Tomorrow, a couple members of The Rangers Team Before DeGrom Got There.

2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #91-99

With a new week, comes a new 2020 Final Edition post. I guess I forgot today was monday, and didn't realize til like noon, after I'd already done the custom post for today. No worries. I guess I'll just do these 9 as the overnight post tonight. 

Anyway. Next 9 cards. Honestly, some pretty big guns as far as the 2020 season are concerned are in here. 

Card #091- Noe Ramirez, Los Angeles Angels

Since 2018, Noe Ramirez has been one of the most consistent, reliable relief options in Anaheim. Where Parker, Robles and Middleton have fallen apart, Ramirez has stayed strong. 2020 was no exception, with a 3.00 ERA in 21 games, including 14 Ks. Ramirez is hoping for a similar role with the Reds in 2021.

Card #092- Johan Oviedo, St. Louis Cardinals

As hazy as the starting pitching, at least the back half, seemed to be in St. Louis last year, a rookie start from Johan Oviedo did seem to put things into more perspective. Oviedo wasn't perfect, as evidenced by his 5.47 ERA over 5 starts, but he does seem to have some good mechanics and strikeout material that would probably benefit for a more comfortable year at it. It's not certain that he'll have a role in the 2021 rotation, but he could sneak in and make another case for himself very soon.

Card #093- Ronald Acuna Jr. ASG, Atlanta Braves

Due to a minimized role in the outfit schematic, Ronald Acuna Jr. would not notch a starting outfield spot [we'll get to the surprising keeper of the CF spot in a bit]. But he would still make the team, because...I mean, Acuna's still one of the best players in the game, and even 8/10 Acuna is still worthy of being on a potential ASG roster. 

Card #094- Josh Fleming, Tampa Bay Rays

After the injury to Yonny Chirinos, the Rays tried several things in order to fill his roster spot. The latest and, arguably, most successful fix to it was rookie hurler Josh Fleming. In 7 games, he hit a 2.78 ERA with 5 wins and 25 Ks, a pretty impressive run at things. Despite this, he was only used in relief during the postseason, and his ERA ballooned while facing better lineups like Houston and LA. Not sure if the Rays will need him as a rotation piece this year. 

Card #095- Kevin Pillar, Colorado Rockies

After a pretty good start for the Red Sox, Kevin Pillar was traded to the Rockies at the deadline. I'm still not quite sure why the Rox had so many deadline deals, especially considering their drop-off that had begun even before the deadline. The Denver air did help his pop a bit, as his average grew to .308 in 24 games, with 13 RBIs and 28 hits. If anything, he was a refreshing addition to a team whose productivity was winding down. He's slated to play for the Mets this season in their overloaded roster, so hopefully his contact abilities continue.

Card #096- Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers

This is probably the most shameful exclusion from the Topps sets in 2020. Corbin Burnes could have been in flagship, but Topps was too fixated on Adrian Houser. While they weren't looking, Burnes had a mightily impressive breakout last year, with a 4-1 record, a 2.11 ERA and 88 Ks in 12 games. This was a rotation presence that didn't become too apparent until late in the season, moving the Brewers towards the playoffs just when the eyes of baseball weren't paying attention. Shamefully, Burnes wouldn't get his chance to start during the postseason, as the Dodgers didn't give the Brewers a chance to.

Card #097- Bryan Garcia, Detroit Tigers

After a miserable seven game debut in 2019, Bryan Garcia became the relief asset the Tigers needed right as Joe Jimenez began to lose his luster. Garcia came alive in 26 games, with a 1.66 ERA and 4 saves, giving the Tigers ninth inning security for the first time since Shane Greene left, and being the next step towards competing in maybe 4 years. Garcia is looking at the closing gig in 2021, and hopefully he has similar luck this year.

Card #098- Ty France, Seattle Mariners

One of the biggest pieces of the Austin Nola trade, Ty France was an infield prospect that had been blocked twice, first by the arrival of Manny Machado and then by the signing of Jurickson Profar [and subsequent call-up of Jake Cronenworth]. There was no room for him in San Diego, so he made it to a team that had plenty of room and started hitting beautifully. In 23 games, he hit .302 with 13 RBIs and 26 hits, plus a 0.5 WAR that made him the fifth-best Mariners hitter to still be on the team by the end of the season. France may have the DH position this year, and will turn this into a campaign to keep playing as well as he did last year. 

Card #099- Lucas Giolito ASG, Chicago White Sox

In a season where he would throw a no-hitter and have an unforgettable postseason start, it's only fitting that Lucas Giolito would be welcome on a potential 2020 All Star team. Gio's stuff has only improved in the last 3 years, and has become one of the premier arms in one of the most burgeoning rosters in baseball. With Lance Lynn and Dallas Keuchel bolstering him this year, hopefully he'll continue his dominance and maybe make another ASG team.

We start the 100s on Friday. One very big rookie to start and some interesting ones follow.