Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Rum Bunter Staff Preview: Marty Leap

2021 Pirate Cy Young/Rookie of the Year – Miguel Yajure

Predicting the Cy Young of the 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates is no easy task. First off, the team figures to have one of the poorest starting rotations in the National League. Second, the team’s top two returning starting pitchers – Steven Brault and Chad Kuhl – were both mentioned in trade rumors during the offseason and could be traded by July’s trade deadline.

As we mentioned in the first slide, fans of the Pittsbugrh Pirates should see some of the team’s top prospects debut in 2021. One of the prospects mentioned was right-handed pitcher Miguel Yajure who was the headliner of the Jameson Taillon trade.

Yajure is a pitcher with a very bright future who could find himself at the top of the Pirate starting rotation by the end of the season. While Yajure will likely start the season at the team’s alternate training site in Altoona before joining the starting rotation at Triple-A Indianapolis, the 22-year-old righty will likely be in the starting rotation by June or July. From that point on, look for him to pitch better than any other Pirate pitcher.

As for the Pirate Rookie of the Year part, while, yes, Hayes is techinically ROY eligible, that pick seems like a bit of a cop out. Also, while both were small sample sizes Hayes’ was larger than Yajure’s last season, making Yajure more of a true rookie than Hayes is. This combined with high expectations for Yajure makes him my pick for the 2021 Pirate Rookie of the Year.