The Pittsburgh Pirates disappointed last season and only won 75 games. It didn’t help that former All-Star outfielder Starling Marte was hit with an 80-game PED suspension early in the season. The wheels just came off and they ended up sellers at the trade deadline. They continued the selling trend this offseason by sending Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen elsewhere for prospects.
The NL Central is expected to be controlled by the Cubs and Cardinals for the next few years. Can the Pirates get back in the playoff mix soon?
Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
2017 Win/Loss Record: 75-87
Key Additions: OF Corey Dickerson, SP Joe Musgrove, RP Kyle Crick, RP Michael Feliz, RP Josh Smoker, 3B Colin Moran, OF Todd Cunningham, C/1B Ryan Lavarnway, RP Damien Magnifico & RP Bo Schultz
Key Losses: SP Gerrit Cole, OF Andrew McCutchen, 1B/C John Jaso, C Chris Stewart, RP Daniel Hudson, RP Wade LeBlanc, RP Johnny Barbato, Joaquin Benoit & RP Angel Sanchez,
Interleague Schedule: AL Central
Projected Starters: Francisco Cervelli, Josh Bell, Josh Harrison, David Freese, Jordy Mercer, Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte &Gregory Polanco
Projected Starting Rotation: Ivan Nova, Trevor Williams, Jameson Taillon, Joe Musgrove & Chad Kuhl
Closer: Felipe Rivero
Fantasy Sleeper: OF Corey Dickerson – Will Dickerson be as productive as he was last year with the Rays? It’s doubtful, but I don’t think he will be platooned as many think he will be in Pittsburgh. His splits aren’t bad, but his numbers did start to tail off last season. The Pirates may not be very good this season, but Dickerson is worth a mid-to-late round pick in mixed leagues.
Prospect To Keep Your Eye On: SS Cole Tucker – Tucker is a speedy shortstop that should take Jordy Mercer’s job at shortstop soon. I’m not sure if he will be ready this season, but he will be on the Pirates for sure by the 2019 season. His numbers at Double-A last season showed he could be a 35+ steal guy in the Majors immediately. The Pirates have a lot of good pitchers in their farm system, but Tucker is one of their best position prospects.
Team Analysis: I’m not sure what the Pirates are doing right now. Is Pirates GM Neal Huntington looking to blow it all up and start fresh or is he just looking to re-tool? He started the process this off-season when he dealt former All-Stars Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole. I have a sneaky suspicion that he’s not done making deals.
The Pirates are a small market team, so naturally their playoff window is smaller than those teams that have bloated payrolls. Pittsburgh is feeling the small market crunch as their stars are creeping closer to arbitration. They clearly just can’t keep all their homegrown talent, which can be a tough pill to swallow. All is not lost, as the Pirates farm system is fairly stocked as they will need to dip back into the well.
The NL Central has been competitive the last few seasons with the much improved Pirates team. I don’t see them being able to hang with the Cardinals and Cubs this season. They may very well even fall behind the Brewers and Reds. The future is still pretty bright in Pittsburgh as they may just need to wait this season out as some talent graduates through the minors.
2018 Wins Over/Under Betting Line: 73.5 (Prediction: UNDER)
2018 Projected Win/Loss Record: 70-92 (5th in NL Central)
CLICK HERE to read the rest of our 2018 MLB Team Previews
Follow us on Twitter @Sweetbob & ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook!
About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.