Pirates' superior pitching depth could soon be overtaken by this NL Central rival

The Pittsburgh Pirates have invested more into their starting pitching than any other area on the roster, and it shows. Unfortunately, so has one of their chief National League Central division rivals.

MLB Network posted on X a side-by-side comparison of the Pirates' and Cincinnati Reds' projected starting rotations for 2026, and the gap between the quality of Pittsburgh's pitching staff and the rest of the division's suddenly looks narrower than ever.

Behind the three-headed monster of Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones, the Pirates have the arrival of top pitching prospects Bubba Chandler and Hunter Barco to look forward to. Chandler is knocking on the door of an MLB promotion already – in fact, many are wondering why it hasn't happened yet – and Barco is currently in the midst of the best stretch of his young career at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati's rotation is stacked with a trio of high first-round picks in Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene and Chase Burns, along with breakout star Andrew Abbott and one of Brady Singer or Rhett Lowder. With these arms, every matchup between the Pirates and Reds is going to be an automatic pitchers' duel, throwing gasoline on an already fiery division rivalry.

Pirates' superior pitching depth could soon be overtaken by Reds, yet both sit at bottom of NL Central

If the season series up to this point is any indication, the Reds already have the upper hand in the NL Central arms race. Cincinnati is 4-2 against the Pirates so far this season, holding Pittsburgh to just 10 total runs over six games. The Reds, by comparison scored 22 runs during that span – which is probably why they sit just second from the bottom in the division, while the Pirates are in dead last.

For so long, even amid their continued losing due to offensive ineptitude, the Pirates' starting pitching depth has been what's set them apart from their competition. But if this side-by-side comparison with the Reds is any indication, the Pirates may not have bragging rights in that area for long.

Regardless of which starting staff has the edge – Pittsburgh's or Cincinnati's – pitching can only get a team so far. Until either of these teams take some significant steps to give their pitchers some run support, they will remain exactly where they are at the bottom of the division standings.

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