Pittsburgh Pirates: Internal Starting Rotation Options for 2022

As the Pittsburgh Pirates prepare to embark on what could be a topsy turvy offseason across baseball, what internal options do they have for their starting rotation next season?

One of the biggest questions that general manager Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates will have to answer this offseason is what will the starting rotation look like in 2022. This comes on the heels of a season in which the Pirate starting rotation was one of the worst in baseball.

Pirate starting pitchers ranked 28th in baseball in ERA (5.53), 27th in FIP (4.96), home runs allowed (463) and walk rate (8.9%). They also pitched the 4th fewest innings in baseball with 753.2 innings pitched.

While the team will likely look to add rotation help this offseason via free agency and the trade market, there, obviously, will still be internal options for the Pittsburgh Pirates and there starting rotation in 2022. What will be interesting to watch is how many of these potential internal options do the Pirates look to roll with on Opening Day.

With how poor the starting rotation performed last season the Pittsburgh Pirates will almost be forced to add starting pitching help to avoid making it seem they are already waving the white flag on the 2022 season. That said, the team is unlikely to spend large amounts of money in free agency, and there are young pitchers in the organization they will want to get an extended look at.

All of that said, let’s dive into potential Opening Day starting rotation options for 2022 among pitchers already in the Pirate organization.