Rum Bunter’s 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Staff Preview: Nitti

Predicting The 2019 Record

The Pirates are setup to regress from their overachieving ways in 2018. Now, that’s not to say the Pirates weren’t as good as their 82-79 record suggested, but with the lack of improvements this offseason in crucial areas all around the roster, specifically shortstop and the fifth starter’s spot, it’s hard to say they’ll finish above .500 for a second straight year.

In a perfect world, this could be a 87 or 88 win team, but with the improvements that the Reds and Cardinals made, and the strong seasons that the Cubs and Brewers are looking to build upon, the Pirates are going to have their work cut out for them. With the back end of the rotation still a huge hole, the uncertainty of the shortstop position, and the shaky bridge to the back-end of the bullpen, it’s hard to say that Clint Hurdle’s squad will win with any consistency.

As a result, the Pirates could find themselves at the bottom of arguably the best division in baseball. For what it’s worth, sometimes you have to take a couple steps back to make a big leap forward, and that’s what the 2019 season could be for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

2019 record prediction: 78-84