Rum Bunter’s 2018 Pittsburgh Pirates Preview: David

With the start of Major League Baseball’s regular season being tomorrow, it is time to round out our yearly previews of the Pittsburgh Pirates here at Rum Bunter.

Tomorrow, the Pittsburgh Pirates will start their season against the Detroit Tigers for a three game set before coming home to Pittsburgh on Monday.

This will be the first opening day since 2009 that Andrew McCutchen wasn’t on the team, and the first time he won’t be suiting up for the Pirates in a game this season since 2008.  Gerrit Cole was also dealt, putting a new spotlight on Josh Bell and Jameson Taillon, who the club will look at as the future faces of the franchise.

The 2013-15 Pirates won the second most amount of games in baseball, but over the last two years the club has struggled, with both the front office and players actions being at the forefront of their struggles.  2018 will bring something new, with fresh faces and young players trying to cement themselves as the next playoff team in Pittsburgh.

After an offseason of moves that saw the Pirates trading away their two biggest names, it’s time for meaningful games to actually occur.  Diving into the final installment of our prediction series, let’s look at who the team MVP will be.