Are these two potential breakouts the real deal for the Pittsburgh Pirates?

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense is starting to heat up. After struggling for the first month and a half of the season, they have scored the ninth most runs among all teams since mid-May. Part of the reason they’ve made strides in the right direction in June is because of two players helping spark the offense: Nick Gonzales and Joey Bart.

Both Gonzales and Bart were early and recent first-round draft picks, with the former being taken seventh overall in 2020 by the Pirates, and the latter being the second overall pick in the 2018 draft by the San Francisco Giants. However, neither had the expectations you’d expect from players taken top ten not all that long ago entering the 2024 campaign. There were clear issues in both players' games that got exposed over the last year or few years, but they’ve looked a lot better to start 2024.

While neither player has produced a large sample size in the majors yet this year, they both have made some significant changes to their game. But are these potential breakouts the real deal or a product of a small sample size?

Should Pirates fans believe in breakouts of Nick Gonzales and Joey Bart?