Are the 2018 Pirates for real?
After Tuesday afternoon’s win over the Chicago, the Pittsburgh Pirates were in a spot that no one expected: first place in the National League Central. I only wish I wasn’t such a realist that leans to the pessimistic side so that I could enjoy the team’s 8-2 start to what was widely believed to be a disaster of a 2018 season.
But is there real reason for optimism?
Though the team has only played 10 games, with seven of those coming against the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers, there have been some very positive signs that this team could stay relevant. The biggest reason, in my opinion, is the play of the outfield.
In the first year AM (After McCutchen), the Bucco outfield has looked solid defensively and productive at the plate. With No. 22 now on the other side of the country in San Francisco, Starling Marte should finally have the confidence in knowing that he is the true starting center fielder for the first time with the club. Even if Austin Meadows is eventually called up, it would take a pretty precipitous drop in production from No. 6 for him to lose his No. 1 status at the position.
Getting moved to the No. 2 spot in the order seems to be agreeing with Gregory Polanco, who, as of Tuesday night, ranked first in the National League in RBIs (13) and third in home runs (three).
And what about the team’s biggest offseason acquisition? Left fielder Corey Dickerson has not only avoided the early-season slumps that seemed to plague McCutchen his last few years in the Steel City, but is batting .342, good for second on the team, with a home run, eight RBIs and a .900 OPS.
Not only has the outfield’s offense been potent, but the defense has been solid, having yielded just two errors so far this year, with both being uncharacteristic mishaps by Marte, who is a former Gold Glover.
For more than a year, Pirate management seemed completely unwilling to let go of the idea that Jung Ho Kang would once again play in Pittsburgh, despite his well-publicized legal issues. The fact that no one has mentioned his name over the first two weeks of the season is evidence enough of just how well rookie third baseman Colin Moran has played at the hot corner.
He was sporting a team-best.344 batting average heading into Wednesday with a home run, two doubles and eight RBIs. Moran has also looked more athletic than Kang when it comes to fielding the position, despite already committing his first error as a Pirate.
His youth (25 years old), pedigree (he is the nephew of former MLB star B.J. Surhoff) and his low-key nature is the perfect antidote for the franchise and its fan base to finally close the book on Kang.
Though the Pirate bats have been overachieving with the season less than a month old (.283 team batting average, 58 runs scored), I’m not nearly as sold on the pitching. Outside of Jameson Taillon, who just recorded his first complete-game shutout, the rest of the rotation looks shaky.
If the bats stay hot and the team stays in contention, management will have to go out and get another arm or two for a playoff run or risk decimating the good will built up with a fan base that was all but ready to leave the team for dead. However, there is one really big reason for hope when it comes to the pitching staff.
The Bucs may have finally found a way to keep former uber-prospect Tyler Glasnow in the major leagues. The 6-8 righty has been outstanding in three appearances out of the bullpen. He’s allowed just one run over six innings with eight strikeouts. Though Glasnow continues to struggle with his walks (five), opponents are only hitting .150 off him, which is the second-lowest average behind on Taillon’s otherworldly .106 mark.
So can the Pirates keep up this level of play that has gotten them off to their best start since 1992? It’s hard to say “Yes” at this point, but the possibility is intriguing. This is a young team that is still learning to play together. It has also built its reputation against teams that are not expected to be serious playoff contenders, aside from the Cubs.
After the Pirates leave Wrigley later this week, their schedule takes an upturn in terms of difficulty with series against Colorado, St. Louis and Washington as April turns into May.
If the team can head into that second full month of the season with a winning record, it may just be time to once again believe in the Buccos.