Rum Bunter’s 2018 Pittsburgh Pirates Preview: Nick

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The Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of the MLB opens their regular season schedule this week! What should the expectation be for the black and gold this year?

In less than four days, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be on the road opening up against the Detroit Tigers. It is one the most exciting times of the year to be a baseball fan, as teams all across the league get to start playing games that actually matter. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, the expectations have been set relatively low by the fan base and local media. With the departures of team stars Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole, fans expect the team to regress a good bit.

However, that might not be the case. Although the two players who departed were the face of the lineup and pitching staff, the team has players who look ready to fill their void. Also, the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to bring in some players to fill some of the noticeable holes on the roster. Should the expectation really be set low? It is hard to say, but there are definitely a lot of young and intriguing players to watch this year. So who will be team’s MVP, CY Young, and Rookie of the Year this season?

Team MVP- Gregory Polanco

The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield is going under a drastic change this season. The team will be seeing Starling Marte move to center field to take over for number 22. Meanwhile, Gregory Polanco will continue to man right field with Corey Dickerson getting most of the reps in left field. So who will step up to take over as the team’s star outfielder?

Gregory Polanco is entering his fourth full professional season, and he is coming off the heels of a tough 2017. Last season, Polanco only appeared in 108 games, battling shoulder and hamstring issues most of the year. So with that, the hope is that he can stay healthy and on the field this season. If so, the Pittsburgh Pirates should get a really good player.

Polanco is the type of player that could be a true difference maker. He is a solid defender, but has one the best arms in the National League. Over the last three seasons, he has had almost 30 outfield assists. Also, everyone knows the potential this player has on offense. He tore up the minor leagues as a top prospect, and then put together a team record 11 game hit streak to start a career upon his promotion in 2014. His best season came in 2016 when he hit 22 bombs and slashed .258/.323/.463. The expectation was for him to continue to grow in 2017, but as mentioned earlier, he struggled.

This is the year that Polanco will finally take that step forward. He is entering his age 26 season, which should be the start of his prime. This past offseason Polanco said that he went back to his previous trainer to help him become better prepared for the long haul of the season. With his size and natural talent, Polanco should be primed for an upper .200 batting average and close to 30 bombs. If he can put up those types of numbers, the team will finally get the player that was touted as one the games’ next stars.

Team CY Young- Jameson Taillon

The Pittsburgh Pirates traded away Gerrit Cole this past off-season. Cole has been the team’s number one pitcher over the last few years. The proverbial ace was shipped out to Houston, which raised questions about who will the team’s new number one. The current rotation is Jameson Taillon, Ivan Nova, Trevor Williams, Chad Kuhl, and likely Joe Musgrove. So which one of these starters will take over as the tam’s number one?

The most obvious candidate is former number two overall pick Jameson Taillon. Taillon, of course, was one of the most highly touted arms in baseball while he worked his way up the minor league levels. The Texas native has endured a lot in his young career, however. After undergoing Tommy-John Surgery in 2015, he had to battle testicular cancer last season. Still, he has not been deterred and has continued to grow as a pitcher. He looked very sharp early on last year. Taillon did regress some toward on the back end of last season, but that was to be expected with everything he went through.

Taillon ended up owning ERA north of 4.00 last season, which suggests not a number one pitcher. However, he did have a BABip of .352, which according to FanGraphs was the highest among qualified starters. BABip, of course, is “batting average on balls in play.” Generally speaking, a pitcher with a high BABip suggests that he had some bad luck with balls finding holes. Also, his FIP was 3.48 along with a xFIP of 3.89. These numbers suggest where his ERA should have been taking in account bad luck and having better defense behind him. All in all, Taillon had a lot of factors working against him on and off the field.

If Taillon can stay healthy, the number one spot is his for the taking. This is what the Pittsburgh Pirates imagined when they invested the second overall pick in him back in 2010. The 6’5” righty has the frame and stuff to be a number one. He has a firm fastball that sits 94-95 and a wipe out curveball. Compared to the rest of the staff, Taillon has the best makeup to be a top of the rotation arm. Also, he has now pitched in parts of two seasons, and he should be more than ready to take his game to the next level and be this team’s CY Young.

Rookie of the Year

Last year, Josh Bell was the clear-cut rookie of the year. He put up a really strong season, one suggesting that we should expect big things from him going forward. So who will be that player this year? Looking at the team, the Pirates only have one true rookie who will start the year, and that is Colin Moran. Of course, there are other prospects expecting to make impacts, such as Austin Meadows, Nick Kingham, and others.

However, Moran is the most likely rookie to have a large impact on this team over the long haul of the season. Meadows is blocked right now with Polanco, Marte, and Dickerson. Meanwhile, other prospects like Kingham, Kramer, and Newman are blocked and are not expected to be big time difference makers upon their promotions. Furthermore, their promotions may never come, it just depends on injuries and timing.

Moran on the other hand is going to fill the largest hole the team had last year, which was third base. A former sixth overall pick in 2013, Moran tore up Triple-A last year. In just 82 games played, he batted .308/.373/.543 with 18 home runs. He also appeared in seven big league games for the Astros hitting .362 and hitting his first career home run. He only played in 89 games total because he took a ball to face which cost him the rest of his season.

In his minor league career, Moran has only hit under .280 one time, back in 2016 in his first Triple-A experience. As mentioned earlier, he was the sixth overall pick out of the University of North Carolina. Although he has not been consistently rated as a top 100 prospect, Moran has the make up of a player with a lot of upside. He should be an average third baseman due to his athleticism.

Moran’s real value should come from the bat. He has always hit for a solid average, has a career minor league OBP of .353, and he showed an uptick in his power last year. According to reports, Moran changed his swing last off-season to create more of a launch angle. This obviously showed as he hit 18 home runs in just 82 games. Also, it helps that he is 6’4” and 205 pounds which gives him plenty of raw power. Take his new left-handed swing with his raw power and there is no reason that he cannot thrive with the short porch in PNC’s right field. If he can translate his minor league success to the MLB, the Bucs should have a nice third base option for years to come.

Final Projections

Many would say that the Pittsburgh Pirates are in the middle of a rebuild. However, there is plenty of youth and upside on this team. If one thinks back to 2013, the Bucs had some youth and upside along with younger players entering their prime years. The Pittsburgh Pirates are in a very similar situation this year. Players like Polanco and Starling Marte are entering their prime years. Meanwhile, a staff made up of young arms is now seeing themselves entering their third year in the big leagues, and they could be ready to take a step forward.

Next: Another Series of Predictions

Will the Pittsburgh Pirates make the playoffs this season? Most likely not. They are a in a tough division that will be won by the Cubs. The Cardinals are always tough, and no matter what they lose off their roster they somehow find adequate replacements. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers showed baseball last year that they have a legit offense and are a team trending upward. So, the Bucs at best will battle for 3rd place in the NL Central. At the best, I could see their record being 83-79. Worst case scenario I could them being 72-90. The Buccos have a lot of variables this year, health of players, young players taking a step forward, and filling the shoes of their former franchise players. However, this team is young and should be fun to watch develop!

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