Crusaders
Moderator
Not much hype for 2019 after a mostly uneventful off-season. The biggest acquisition (Jung-ho Kang) wasn't really an acquisition.
The rotation is strong 1-4 with Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Trevor Williams, and Joe Musgrove. Chad Kuhl being out for the season from TJS has left a hole at #5. The Pirates brought in Jordan Lyles to possibly fill the role, but he wasn't all too impressive in ST and was placed on IR today. For the moment, it looks like it will be Nick Kingham, who had a rocky go last season as a SP (5.32 ERA; 1.408 WHIP). The other option is Steven Brault, who only made the roster because of Lyles' injury.
The bullpen looks to be a strength. Richard Rodriguez, Kyle Crick, Keone Kela, and Felipe Vazquez could/should be among the best in the league, and Nick Burdi looked good in ST as well. However, long relief is a little concerning. Francisco Liriano had a decent ST and my fear is Hurdle will overuse him the same way he's overused aging veterans in the past. Once Lyles returns, one of Kingham or Brault will be in the role as well. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Catchers will be Francisco Cervelli and Jacob Stallings to start the season. The normal #2, Elias Diaz, missed ST with a viral infection and isn't expected to play for a few weeks. The biggest concern here is Cervelli. How many more concussions can he take? He's very susceptible to them and takes a lot of punishment behind the plate. The Pirates have been trying to get him to play some 1B but he hasn't been enthusiastic about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Diaz is the starter by the end of the year.
1B is Josh Bell. Colin Moran or Cervelli may play some but it will be Bell there the vast majority of the time. Bell really needs to figure out his hitting. The last two years have been very disappointing and his ST was abysmal. Confidence in him at the plate right now is low.
2B looks to be Adam Frazier and Kevin Newman. Frazier will get the bulk of the PT and will bat lead-off most days. Newman probably brings better defensive ability, so expect him to be the 2019 favorite for the late-inning defense substitution Hurdle is so fond of.
SS has turned into a small disaster. The Pirates let Jordy Mercer go and brought in Erik Gonzalez to compete, and he's seemingly won after neither Kevin Newman or Kevin Kramer showed much of anything in ST. The Pirates even have an "emergency" plan of using Kang there. It's really not good to have such problems at the most valuable infield position.
3B was won by Kang, who hit 8 or 9 HRs in ST and showed much better defense than his competition, Colin Moran. Moran has been bumped down to being the #2 at both corners, which is fine as far as I'm concerned.
The outfield will miss Gregory Polanco for the first month or so. Starling Marte has CF locked down and Cory Dickerson should get the bulk of play in LF. Filling in for Polanco will be veterans Melky Cabrera and JB Shuck - later Lonnie Chisenhall who will miss time with a broken finger. For depth, they have youngish (25) Pablo Reyes. He's a bit of a spark-plug type. Fun to watch, but not sure how consistent he can be.
The team really needs Bell and Kang to bring power from the corner IF positions if they're going to be successful offensively. If Bell hits only 12 HRs again, I think all of Pittsburgh will scream in frustration at one of the biggest wastes 6'4" 245lbs in baseball history. But if they do, the Bucs could actually make some noise. Frazier, Marte, Dickerson, Polanco, Bell, and Kang hitting well is formidable. Add Diaz, who has a better bat than Cervelli, and the hole at SS isn't such a big deal.
Prediction: 86 wins.
The rotation is strong 1-4 with Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Trevor Williams, and Joe Musgrove. Chad Kuhl being out for the season from TJS has left a hole at #5. The Pirates brought in Jordan Lyles to possibly fill the role, but he wasn't all too impressive in ST and was placed on IR today. For the moment, it looks like it will be Nick Kingham, who had a rocky go last season as a SP (5.32 ERA; 1.408 WHIP). The other option is Steven Brault, who only made the roster because of Lyles' injury.
The bullpen looks to be a strength. Richard Rodriguez, Kyle Crick, Keone Kela, and Felipe Vazquez could/should be among the best in the league, and Nick Burdi looked good in ST as well. However, long relief is a little concerning. Francisco Liriano had a decent ST and my fear is Hurdle will overuse him the same way he's overused aging veterans in the past. Once Lyles returns, one of Kingham or Brault will be in the role as well. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Catchers will be Francisco Cervelli and Jacob Stallings to start the season. The normal #2, Elias Diaz, missed ST with a viral infection and isn't expected to play for a few weeks. The biggest concern here is Cervelli. How many more concussions can he take? He's very susceptible to them and takes a lot of punishment behind the plate. The Pirates have been trying to get him to play some 1B but he hasn't been enthusiastic about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Diaz is the starter by the end of the year.
1B is Josh Bell. Colin Moran or Cervelli may play some but it will be Bell there the vast majority of the time. Bell really needs to figure out his hitting. The last two years have been very disappointing and his ST was abysmal. Confidence in him at the plate right now is low.
2B looks to be Adam Frazier and Kevin Newman. Frazier will get the bulk of the PT and will bat lead-off most days. Newman probably brings better defensive ability, so expect him to be the 2019 favorite for the late-inning defense substitution Hurdle is so fond of.
SS has turned into a small disaster. The Pirates let Jordy Mercer go and brought in Erik Gonzalez to compete, and he's seemingly won after neither Kevin Newman or Kevin Kramer showed much of anything in ST. The Pirates even have an "emergency" plan of using Kang there. It's really not good to have such problems at the most valuable infield position.
3B was won by Kang, who hit 8 or 9 HRs in ST and showed much better defense than his competition, Colin Moran. Moran has been bumped down to being the #2 at both corners, which is fine as far as I'm concerned.
The outfield will miss Gregory Polanco for the first month or so. Starling Marte has CF locked down and Cory Dickerson should get the bulk of play in LF. Filling in for Polanco will be veterans Melky Cabrera and JB Shuck - later Lonnie Chisenhall who will miss time with a broken finger. For depth, they have youngish (25) Pablo Reyes. He's a bit of a spark-plug type. Fun to watch, but not sure how consistent he can be.
The team really needs Bell and Kang to bring power from the corner IF positions if they're going to be successful offensively. If Bell hits only 12 HRs again, I think all of Pittsburgh will scream in frustration at one of the biggest wastes 6'4" 245lbs in baseball history. But if they do, the Bucs could actually make some noise. Frazier, Marte, Dickerson, Polanco, Bell, and Kang hitting well is formidable. Add Diaz, who has a better bat than Cervelli, and the hole at SS isn't such a big deal.
Prediction: 86 wins.
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