Pittsburgh Pirates 2022 Staff Predictions: Marty Leap

Record Prediction – 72-90

By no means is 72-90 what anyone wants. That said, it’s an 11 game improvement over the 2021 season and a step in the right direction. There is also a ceiling there for the 2022 Pittsburgh Baseball Club to be better than that.

Once prospects such as Cruz and Contreras graduate to the major leagues the team will get better. Getting Miguel Yajure healthy and onto the pitching staff will help as well. It would not be a surprise to see 2020 first-round pick Nick Gonzales reach the majors late in the season, and at least one of the outfield prospect grouping of Jack Suwinski, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Cal Mitchell, Matt Fraizer, and Bligh Madris should make a positive impact on the club.

There are handful of other pitching prospects who should debut this season as well. Trey McGough, Carmen Mlodzinski, Mike Burrows, Yerry De Los Santos, and Austin Roberts are among the pitchers in this group. If even one or two of these arms pan out it will be a big boost for the Bucs.

As the season progresses the team will get better. This is due to a combination of young players continuing to grow and prospects graduating. All of this should set up for things to start to get fun again for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023.