Pirates' rotation just drew stunning comparison from former MLB All-Star

For all the offseason questions that faced the Pittsburgh Pirates, we arrive at spring training still without the answers we wanted in the starting rotation. The Pirates thinned out their starting pitching depth, shipping out Mike Burrows and Johan Oviedo in exchange for offensive firepower. The expectation was that they'd add a reliable veteran to solidify the group.

That didn't happen. Instead, the Pirates opened camp with the best pitcher in the world in Paul Skenes, a reliable innings eater in Mitch Keller, and a bunch of talented young arms who currently present more questions than answers. Pittsburgh's rotation ranked sixth in the league in ERA with a 3.71 mark last season. Can we reasonably expect the same type of performance?

If you ask MLB Analyst and three-time All-Star Dan Plesac, the answer is an emphatic yes. In fact, Plesac sees similarities between this young Pirates' group and one of the most legendary starting rotations of all time — the Atlanta Braves hurlers of the 90s.

The Pirates' rotation generates a lofty comparison to the early-90s Braves dynasty

That might sound ridiculous. Those Braves' staffs included Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz, in addition to a solid innings eater in one-time All-Star Steve Avery. In the mid 90s, when they were at the peak of their powers, this group could easily make the case for the best rotation of all time.

Plesac isn't necessarily comparing the Pirates group of Skenes, Keller, Bubba Chandler, and Braxton Ashcraft to the prime Braves starters that everyone remembers, but rather the early-90s versions when the legendary hurlers were youngsters coming up, beginning to scratch the surface of their potential.

“It’s a very good rotation,” Plesac said. “It reminds me a little bit going back, and this might be a little bit of an overstatement, of some of those young pitching staffs of the Atlanta Braves before we knew who they were.”

There's a lot of projection on Plesac's part here, but it's not entirely unwarranted. Chandler put on an absolute show in his big league debut, ironically coming in in relief of Ashcraft, who was also awesome in that August 22 matchup against the Colorado Rockies.

Still, Chandler has thrown just 31 1/3 big league innings. Ashcraft's experience isn't much greater, with 69 2/3 frames under his belt. However, both hurlers continually produced when called upon. Chandler posted 0.9 fWAR in his short major league stint. Ashcraft came in at a 1.6 mark while bouncing between the bullpen and the rotation. It's not hard to squint and see a couple of 4+ WAR pitchers with a full, 30-start workload.

Getting there will be key. A small sample doesn't mean that a pitcher can sustain that level of performance over the course of a full season. For youngsters like these two, we'll have to see how things go once they're forced to adjust, once hitters adapt to what they are doing.

But what is certain is that the Pirates already have their Maddux. Skenes is the horse at the top who is far and away better than pretty much anyone who will step on a mound in 2026. They have their Avery, too, in the reliable Keller. Now we'll see if Chandler and Ashcraft can be Glavine and Smoltz. If they can, watch out.

"If I'm a Pirates fan, this is the most enthusiastic I've felt going into a season in about four or five years," Plesac said.

We don't disagree, Dan. We can't wait.