After years of mediocrity, could these Pirates be the real deal?
from Michael Carpenter, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
With one winning season since 2016, Pittsburgh has been waiting to feel the electricity in the air at PNC Park and 2023 might be the year that it returns.
Off to a 16-7 start in 2023, the Pirates have caught everybody by surprise with their ability to wear down opposing pitching.
The Pittsburgh @Pirates:
-Have won 7 straight games
-Are 16-7
-Starting pitchers have a 2.15 ERA over their last 13 games (best in MLB) pic.twitter.com/qbgeYMZt3f— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2023
With an offensive attack led by Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski and Ke’Bryan Hayes, the Pirates have seen their offense rank in the top 10 in numerous categories.
Far from their usual bottom-of-the-league offensive attack, the Pirates have slugged their way to victory with an increase in power, ranking fifth in the MLB in doubles with 47 and tied for first with seven triples. The club also ranks in the top half of the league with 27 home runs.
The pitching has been way better than expected, with Johan Oviedo looking like a potential ace in his breakout season. With Mitch Keller and Roansy Contreras also off to hot starts, the rest of the rotation is rounded out by veterans Rich Hill and Vince Velasquez.
The bullpen has its bright spots including closer David Bednar and journeyman reliever Colin Holderman, but it is one of the major areas the Pirates can upgrade at.
Adding veterans like Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Santana and Hill has added much-needed experience to the club and has allowed them to take the younger players under their wing, further assisting in their development as a team.
With team’s always looking to improve, the Pirates could be waiting to see if the success is sustainable before dipping into their farm system for another piece to add to the team.
The ability to play expectation-free baseball has helped the Pirates to get off to this hot start, and if the offense continues to hit and they get pitching comparable to the first 23 games we could be seeing playoff baseball involving the Pirates in 2023.