The Pittsburgh Pirates are 23- 20 to start off the season. They are also 1.5 games out of the wild card spot. A solid start to the season for the Buccos who have finished in last place in the NL Central the past two seasons. Is this strong start proof the the Pirates are contenders or are they pretenders?
The prized jewel for the team is their rotation, headed up by Paul Skenes. Since the Opening Day debacle, he has been the star we all know. Mitch Keller and Braxton Ashcraft have also been really solid to give the Pirates a trio of frontline starters so far.
Jared Jones has looked good in his two Minor League rehab starts on his way back from elbow surgery. We also shouldn’t forget about Bubba Chandler, who has shown some promise early in the season, this rotation is going to be good all year.
The questions for the Bucs is can the offense continue to produce. So far, the Pirates rank sixth in the majors in OPS as a team. Brandon Lowe has been great in his first season in black leading the team with 10 home runs.
Oneil Cruz is having a breakout season, but longtime Pirates fans know that he is inconsistent. There’s room for improvement, too, because Bryan Reynolds is capable of a better average and slugging, while there’s an avenue to expect top prospect Konnor Griffin to get better as the season progresses.
My biggest concern with the Pirates isn’t even the team itself, it’s the division they are in. The National League Central is the only division in the Majors where all five teams are above .500. Right now there isn’t a hugely weak team in the division, and that will make things difficult for Pittsburgh, especially towards the end of the season.
I am just not sure if the Pirates can compete with the Chicago Cubs and be consistent enough in the division to at least get a wild card spot. At the end of the day it’s figuring out if the Pirates are contenders to be a playoff team not a world series contender.
Based on the things I have said, I think the Pirates at the moment are pretenders but have serious potential to be legit contenders come July and August. With the uncertainty that the offense can continue to produce like it is and the lackluster bullpen I just can’t declare them legit playoff contenders right now.
Comment below if you think the Pirates are playoff contenders or pretenders.
