Pittsburgh Pirates 2022 Staff Predictions: Jeff Cupp

Final Record Projection: 68-94 (5th Place, NLC)

The Pittsburgh Pirates are more likely to be the worst team in baseball than be a Wild Card contender, even with an expansion of the postseason. That being said there are plenty of things to look forward too this season. A lot of young talent will hit the big leagues this season and more will be on its way in the future.

I akin the current state of the Pittsburgh Pirates to the 2011 club when a lot of the young players who became important members of the 2013-2015 teams were surfacing in the big leagues. Of course, the Pirates were actually competitive around the deadline before going on an 11-game losing streak that collapsed their season (thanks, Jerry Meals), and they aren’t likely to do that this season.

The biggest difference between the 2011 and 2022 clubs is that the Pirates finally have a top 5 farm system again, one that could potentially feed competitive teams for years to come. While it’ll be exciting to see Oneil Cruz this summer, it’ll be just as exciting to monitor the single-A and Double-A ball clubs, who are filled with talent and should be fairly competitive.

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, however, any progress will be banking on further development of the players they already have, and the ones who will make the club this season. While I do foresee them being better than last year, a ten-win swing seems unlikely.