Pittsburgh Pirates Mailbag: February 20th, 2019

Welcome back to Rum Bunter’s weekly Pittsburgh Pirates mailbag

Who will be the fifth starter? What are the benefits of minor league deals? Is Rookie Davis a long shot to make the Opening Day roster? And more in this week’s Pittsburgh Pirates mailbag.

As always, thank you to everyone who submitted questions this week and participated in the mailbag. Now, let’s dive in!

Jordan Lyles, Steven Brault, and Nick Kingham will enter Spring Training competing for the team’s fifth starter spot. Francisco Liriano could be a factor, too. As the spring begins Lyles is the front runner for the spot and Neal Huntington has said as much.

Last season Lyles made changes to his pitch selection that appeared to pay dividends. You can read more about those changes here. Barring a disastrous spring from Lyles, or a dominant one from another pitcher, he will be the fifth starting pitcher to start the season.

Assuming Lyles is the fifth starter, look for Brault to start the year at Triple-A. Meanwhile, Kingham, who is out of options, will likely be a long reliever in the Pirate bullpen. Liriano should be part of the Opening Day bullpen, too.

The Pirates have signed their fair share of players to minor league contract this offseason. Brandon Maurer, Francisco Liriano, Melky Cabrera, Nick Franklin, and Rookie Davis are all players they have signed to such deals.

Minor league deals certainly come with advantages for the team. On top of the monetary benefits, it also makes it possible for the player to start the year in the minor leagues. This is beneficial as teams can stash players away in the minor leagues as depth for later in the season.

If Rookie Davis, who the Pirates signed to a minor league contract on Monday, makes the Opening Day roster it will be a major upset. Davis has quality stuff, but has not pitched at the Major League level since 2017 when he struggled mightily for the Reds. Expect him to start the season as part of the Triple-A rotation and to potentially help out the Pirate rotation or bullpen later in the season.

This Pirate pitching staff is legit. For my money, they have the best starting rotation in the National League Central Division and one of the best in the NL. The Pirate bullpen is also among the five best in the NL, and Felipe Vazquez and Keone Kela is the best 8th/9th inning duo in the NL.

As for the rest of the division, the Cub lineup is still scary but has holes. The Cardinal offense may not get much of anything out of second base, center field, or right field. The Brewer lineup is deep, but they have no pitching. Despite their offseason moves, the Reds still have a ton of holes, especially in their pitching staff.

I would take my chances against any lineup in the NL with this Pirate pitching staff. If the offense is even league average this season, the Bucs should contend for a postseason berth.

This is a tough one. If Jung Ho Kang can knock off the rust and be the hitter he was in 2015/2016, as well as in the minor leagues last season, then he is a hitter that can change the entire Pirate lineup. That said, no one knows what the Pirates will get out of Kang.

Kang hit extremely well in the minors last season and he went 2/6 in his return to the Majors during the final series of the season in 2018, but those were his first taste of professional pitching since 2016. Personally, I think Kang will be an above league average hitter in 2019 but not quite as good a hitter as he was in 2015 and 2016. That said, it would not be a total shocker to see Kang return to the 25-30 home run hitter he appeared to be turning into prior to all of his work visa issues.

That will do it for this week. If you ever have a question for the mailbag look for our Tweet each week asking for mailbag questions. Also, do not be afraid to ask questions at any point on Twitter or Facebook.