Guardians' historic playoff pitching run should embarrass Pirates' supposedly elite rotation

The Pittsburgh Pirates entered 2026 believing their starting rotation could carry them into October. Instead, they're watching another small-market organization demonstrate what a genuinely dominant pitching staff looks like when the games matter most.

The Cleveland Guardians struck out 13 Tampa Bay Rays hitters in Thursday's 3-2 ALCS Game 3 victory, bringing their postseason total to an MLB-record 102 strikeouts through eight games. They surpassed the previous mark of 100, shared by the 2013 Detroit Tigers and 2022 Houston Astros.

Gavin Williams struck out nine over five innings Thursday, while Cleveland's bullpen handled the remaining four innings without allowing a run. It's the kind of pitching performance Pittsburgh spent much of the offseason dreaming about. Unfortunately, the Pirates never came particularly close to realizing that potential.

Pirates' disappointing rotation raises uncomfortable questions about Ben Cherington's development strategy

With Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft, the Pirates supposedly possessed the foundation of one of baseball's most intimidating rotations. But potential doesn't win baseball games.

Pittsburgh's starters finished 2026 with a 4.23 ERA, ranking 16th in MLB. That's a painfully ordinary result for a team whose competitive aspirations depended so heavily on supposedly extraordinary pitching.

Skenes struggled to replicate his Cy Young-winning dominance, finishing with a 3.82 ERA. Mitch Keller battled inconsistency before suffering a season-ending injury. Chandler experienced growing pains, while Jones didn't fully hit his stride until September. Ashcraft emerged as a legitimate bright spot, but even his breakout season ended prematurely because of injury.

Individually, there are plenty of reasons for optimism. Collectively, however, the Pirates' rotation never became the overwhelming advantage it was supposed to be. And that's where Ben Cherington deserves scrutiny.

The Pirates have spent years accumulating premium pitching talent, celebrating prospect rankings and preaching the importance of internal development. Yet they've struggled to translate that impressive collection of arms into sustained major-league dominance.

By contrast, Guardians haven't simply relied on one superstar to carry their postseason pitching staff. Williams has delivered exceptional starts, while their relief corps has consistently protected leads and overwhelmed opposing hitters.

Even more importantly, Cleveland has constructed a staff capable of surviving the inevitable challenges of a long season and elevating its performance in October. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, spent the closing weeks of 2026 patching together bullpen games because its rotation couldn't stay healthy.

Injuries happen. That's precisely why organizational development can't begin and end with merely identifying talented pitchers. Cherington must demonstrate that Pittsburgh can develop those pitchers into reliable, durable major-league contributors while constructing a complete staff around them.

Nobody is questioning whether Skenes, Jones, Chandler or Ashcraft possesses tremendous upside. The question is whether the Pirates have built an organization capable of maximizing that upside.

Cleveland is making history in October. Pittsburgh is still talking about what its rotation might eventually become. After seven seasons under Cherington, that distinction should be embarrassing.

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