2018 Pirates

[Diamondeye]

We finally have a balanced lineup this year, forever we rolled with 2 lefties in the lineup, I think we can score runs this year if Marte and Polanco get it going.

Our rotation is the big question, 4 starters all with 1 full year in the bigs, there is a good chance that can go to hell real fast. If they stay healthy/productive, we should have a better year than last.

I almost expected the offense to be quite good this year.

Marte, Polanco and Cervelli all missed a lot of games last season for various reasons and Bell should be even better in his second full year.

I'm with you regarding the rotation. There's talent there, but none of them have shown that they can do it for six months without struggling for an extended period.

A big question is when they're going to give Glasnow another chance to start.

I'd be tempted to just leave him in the bullpen and let him potentially dominate there.

 

[Darkstone42]

I almost expected the offense to be quite good this year.

Marte, Polanco and Cervelli all missed a lot of games last season for various reasons and Bell should be even better in his second full year.

I'm with you regarding the rotation. There's talent there, but none of them have shown that they can do it for six months without struggling for an extended period.

A big question is when they're going to give Glasnow another chance to start.

I'd be tempted to just leave him in the bullpen and let him potentially dominate there.

The lineup is really deep this season. And if Newman and Kramer hit in AAA this year, they might force their way into the Majors and upgrade over Mercer and Harrison. I think we'll see more and better balanced power this year, with Marte finding a few more long balls, Cervelli finishing his hand injury recovering and returning to 2015 form, and Polanco finally getting at his, in addition to the contributions I expect from Dickerson, Bell, and Moran.

I think the rotation will be at least average, but there's a lot of upside there, especially with Taillon trying an expanded approach this season, and Kuhl's clear talent without any polish just yet. And of course, the possibility of Glasnow forcing his way in there. He looks good right now.

I like the bench, too.

To me, the biggest question mark is the bullpen. The upside is massive. Rivero is dominant, Kontos is very solid, but behind those two, Feliz and Santana have massive talent but are wildly inconsistent, and I just don't think Neverauskas or Smoker are very good. If one or both of Feliz and Santana find consistency and lock down that 7th inning role (Siegrist might find himself in that conversation, too, if he can recover his velocity), the bullpen could look like the old Shark Tanks. If not, we might be wringing out hands over several leads lost late.

 

[Darkstone42]

4-1

No perfect season.

 

[Darkstone42]

5-1

And a win over the Reds, so that's nice.

 

[Darkstone42]

6-1

This is fun while they're winning.

 

[Darkstone42]

Also, fun fact, all of Gregory Polanco's player page this season: Gregory Polanco » Statistics » Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

Some highlights.

He's hitting .280 through his first 25 at bats, which of course works out to 7 hits. Only one of those hits has been a single.

There is no true weakness in his game right now. His hard contact rate is 40%. His soft contact rate is just 15%. He's not chasing, and he's not swinging and missing much, either. He's making a ton of contact on pitches in the zone, and it's been good contact. He's doing everything you want to see a hitter do.

Given the incidence of hard contact, you can build a decent argument his BABIP will come up, which will turn into even more monstrous numbers if he keeps hitting for this power and drawing this many walks.

 

[Diamondeye]

Also, fun fact, all of Gregory Polanco's player page this season: Gregory Polanco » Statistics » Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

Some highlights.

He's hitting .280 through his first 25 at bats, which of course works out to 7 hits. Only one of those hits has been a single.

There is no true weakness in his game right now. His hard contact rate is 40%. His soft contact rate is just 15%. He's not chasing, and he's not swinging and missing much, either. He's making a ton of contact on pitches in the zone, and it's been good contact. He's doing everything you want to see a hitter do.

Given the incidence of hard contact, you can build a decent argument his BABIP will come up, which will turn into even more monstrous numbers if he keeps hitting for this power and drawing this many walks.

He still has too many mental mistakes on the bases and in the field for my liking, but knowing his ceiling as a hitter, it's hard not to get a little excited about what we're seeing.

Polanco, Marte and Bell, in any order, could potentially be a dominant combination in the lineup, especially if the likes of Harrison, Dickerson and Moran continue hitting around them.

I still think they need another starting pitcher. I do not trust Nova at all and tend to doubt that Williams can sustain what he's doing.

 

[Diamondeye]

That was a tough loss, blowing a four-run lead, but one can blame the bullpen only so much, given how few innings the Pirates are getting from the rotation.

The relievers are having to carry to much weight through eight games.

 

[psaboy]

I like what I see so far, but the lack of talent and depth on pitching staff will soon catch up to them.

 

[steelparrot]

That was a tough loss, blowing a four-run lead, but one can blame the bullpen only so much, given how few innings the Pirates are getting from the rotation.

The relievers are having to carry to much weight through eight games.

Yep, Taillon gave some innings today though , to bad he is the only one with the talent to do it in the rotation.

 

[Diamondeye]

Yep, Taillon gave some innings today though , to bad he is the only one with the talent to do it in the rotation.

Yeah, he was great today.

I'm still holding out some hope for Kuhl and Glasnow.

Kuhl has not been terrible in his two starts. He just needs to find some command of his breaking ball.

 

[Darkstone42]

7-2

Four game sweeps are hard, I'm fine with 3/4. Great outing by Taillon, and great to see all the hard contact again today from the Bucs' lineup.

 

[steelparrot]

I like Kuhl too,imho he is the clearly number 2 in terms of stuff in the rotation.

Glasnow, I hope so, he has the talent.

 

[Darkstone42]

8-2

 

[thedddd]

Moran, Dickerson and Bell hitting well. Also Harrison, Marte and Polanco look rejuvenated.
Yeah I know it is early but still fun to watch.

Pitching is suspect outside of Taillon but that should level out as the season goes.

Too bad the Pirates didn't get the Gerrit Cole that is in Houston now. I read they are letting him use his slider more, wonder "what if"?

 

[Darkstone42]

Moran, Dickerson and Bell hitting well. Also Harrison, Marte and Polanco look rejuvenated.
Yeah I know it is early but still fun to watch.

Pitching is suspect outside of Taillon but that should level out as the season goes.

Too bad the Pirates didn't get the Gerrit Cole that is in Houston now. I read they are letting him use his slider more, wonder "what if"?

I don't think it's just that he's using it more, the slider is back to being as sharp as it was in 2015. I think that's the bigger factor. His slider was bad the last two years, wasn't sharp and didn't miss bats. It is this season.

 

[Diamondeye]

I'm basically read to give up on Glasnow. He was about 10 ways of awful entering last night's game with a one-run lead

 

[Darkstone42]

I'm basically read to give up on Glasnow. He was about 10 ways of awful entering last night's game with a one-run lead

Glasnow wasn't bad at all last night. There were balls in play that should have been turned into outs. The Pirates' defense gave the cubs two or three extra outs that inning, and the corresponding baserunners. There's only so much a pitcher can do.

 

[Diamondeye]

Glasnow wasn't bad at all last night. There were balls in play that should have been turned into outs. The Pirates' defense gave the cubs two or three extra outs that inning, and the corresponding baserunners. There's only so much a pitcher can do.

The defense could have been better, but I do not think he pitched well by any stretch.

 

[steelparrot]

Our biggest problems are Smoker and Neveranoutus.

They have combined for 1 strikeout in 8.2 innings, I know its a small sample size, but that is terrible esp for bullpen guys.

At least the other ones have shown the ability to strike someone out.