Pittsburgh Pirates: The Three Gifts That Will Keep on Giving in 2019

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a successful 2018 season.  This is in large part thanks to the young players on the roster. Who are the gifts that will keep on giving in 2019?

When the 2018 Major League Baseball season started, many expected the Pittsburgh Pirates to not be very good. Predictions ranged from 70-78 wins, with even the local radio station predicting a 100 loss season.  Instead, the Pittsburgh Pirates played more good baseball than not.

The team played so well that the Pittsburgh Pirates front office decided they were in the position to add at the deadline.  Neal Huntington changed the narrative on the Pittsburgh Pirates and brought in two of the biggest trade chips available in Chris Archer and Keone Kela.

Add those two players in with the team’s young core, and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended up posting a winning season with a record of 82-79. However, that is not the ultimate goal. The goal is for the team to get into the postseason and have a chance to make a run at a World Series.

Although many are still not believers in the Pittsburgh Pirates, they showed a lot of promise last season.   They have a very young core of players, and, quite frankly, should be even better in the 2019 season.  So who can the Pittsburgh Pirates rely on to keep improving next season?

The first player that should keep on giving in 2019 is Jameson Taillon.  Taillon has had one of the toughest career tracks in baseball between bouncing back from Tommy-John Surgery and then overcoming Testicular Cancer.  However, the former number two overall pick has not been deterred.

While Taillon has not developed as fast as many had hoped he would, last year he finally “broke out.”   His quality of pitches has always been there, Pittsburgh Pirates fans saw that back in 2013 when he was pitching for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic as a 21-year-old.  However, last year he really figured out how to put it all together.

The year did not start off all that great for the big Texas right-hander.  His ERA through May was north of 4.00 between the two months.  But then something changed in Taillon. Well, not so much something, but he added a new pitch, a slider.  This led to him posting ERA’s under 3.00 in three out of the four remaining months, with his July ERA being just over at 3.22.  All in all, Taillon pitched to a 3.20 ERA and a 3.7 WAR.  The best part of it all is that he just turned 27 and should be entering his true prime for the 2019 season.

Adam Frazier has been a super utility player for basically his whole Pittsburgh Pirates career.  The former sixth round pick out of Mississippi State made his big league début in 2016 and has filled in all over the field when needed.  While his fielding has always been suspect, one thing he has proven is his ability to just flat out hit.

Last year, Frazier had his biggest struggle of his short career, which eventually led to a demotion to Triple-A.  Through March and April, he had a batting average of .250 and an OBP of .289.  Then May did not get much better, as he hit just above the Mendoza Line at .212.  So finally, in June, the Pittsburgh Pirates sent Frazier down for maintenance.

That is when everything turned around.  Apparently, Frazier’s dad noticed that he was not holding his hands at where he has in the past.  Of course, Frazier’s dad let him know about it and the former utility player was quickly back on the Pittsburgh Pirates roster.  It could not have come at a better time, as he added a big spark to a struggling team.

Frazier ended up being pretty productive over the rest of the season.  After batting just .234 through the first two months, Frazier never batted under .260 the rest of the way out.  This included an amazing August when he batted .338.  He finished the season with a slash line of .277/.342/.456 with 10 home runs and accumulated WAR of 1.9. He also showed improvement at second base accounting for 4.0 defensive runs saved and a 5.0 UZR/150.

Next year he will be the team’s opening day second baseman and he should be a significant improvement over the often inconsistent Josh Harrison.  While he may not be the defender Harrison was, he should be a vast improvement at the plate.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a lot of success in the 2018 season mainly because of their young players.  This list included three players who all broke out in a way during the 2018 season.  Both Taillon and Frazier are 27 while Diaz just turned 28.  All three players are likely just entering the prime years of their careers.

Add those three players in with the other youth on the roster, zalong with veterans like Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte, Chris Archer, and Keone Kela, and the team should actually be even better than they were during the 2018 season.  While the team is not perfect, this is also how they were built in 2013.  They had a lot of young players come up and progress while having key veterans around them.

The offseason is not over and there are still a few questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Pirates roster for the 2019 season.  While they have added veteran outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall and likely utility man Erik Gonzalez, the team still needs to upgrade at shortstop and in the starting rotation if possible.  So do not fret, as there should still be a few more presents coming the Pittsburgh Pirates way this offseason.