Betting On The Pirates?
The Pittsburgh Pirates finally broke down that barrier and burst through by getting into the playoffs last year. They hadn’t been there since the 1990’s. Pittsburgh picked up 94 wins in what was an amazing season.
Getting to that point was really tough. Staying there isn’t going to be easy though. The NL Central is one of the best divisions in baseball. Can the Pirates get back to the playoffs once again?
Bovada’s Odds to Win
NL Central: +375
NL Pennant: +1,472
World Series: +3,032
Win Total: 84.5
Team Strengths:
The single biggest strength of this Pittsburgh Pirates team is clearly their bullpen.
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Last year, it was the bullpen that allowed them to win so many close games. Jason Grilli was awesome as the team’s closer, and Mark Melancon and Justin Wilson became the best seventh and inning guys in the league last year.
The Pirates bullpen is full of very good arms.
The rotation has the potential to be a strength as long as Wandy Rodriguez stays healthy. Rodriguez has a very high upside, but he has some significant injury concerns just about every year. If Edinson Volquez can find his way, the Pirates might get lucky. Gerrit Cole is a star in the making.
Andrew McCutchen was the MVP of the league last year for a reason. He is a superstar. McCutchen is a game changer and you have to love the way he plays the game. This is a guy that really has no weaknesses in his game.
Team Weaknesses:
The Pirates were 20th in the majors in runs scored last year and 22nd in batting average. Outside of McCutchen, this isn’t a particularly strong offense. McCutchen is a star, but he’s going to have to get some help if this team is going to compete in a tough NL Central. There are too many guys on this team who strikeout far too many times.
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Can the bottom of the Pirates rotation be trusted? Jeff Locke was really good for quite a while last year, but the wheels totally fell off late in the year. Charlie Morton is a very inconsistent pitcher as well. Losing A.J. Burnett will take a toll on this pitching staff.
They had a lot more pitching depth last year than they have this season.
Projected Starting Lineup
1. Starling Marte LF
2. Jordy Mercer SS
3. Andrew McCutchen CF
4. Pedro Alvarez 3B
5. Neil Walker 2B
6. Russell Martin C
7. Gaby Sanchez 1B
8. Jose Tabata RF
Marte has a lot of potential, and he started showing it last year. Jordy Mercer has to do a better job getting on base in front of McCutchen. Pedro Alvarez can hit plenty of HR’s, but the team needs a better average out of him. The bottom of the order is weak.
Projected Starting Rotation
1. Francisco Liriano
2. Gerrit Cole
3. Wandy Rodriguez
4. Charlie Morton
5. Jeff Locke
Liriano was lights out last year. I like Liriano, but I still think he regresses a bit this season. Cole is on his way up the ladder quickly, and he’ll be the team’s main man very soon.
Closer
Jason Grilli
No need for the Pirates to worry about the closers role, unless of course Grilli has injury issues again this season. Grilli has very good stuff, and he should do a great job here again.
2014 Pirates Prediction: Under 84.5 Wins
Pittsburgh had all of the magic last year. The Pirates are a decent team, but I don’t see them replicating last year’s success. The NL Central is much better this year, and someone has to go down. I think it will be the Pirates.
I’ll call for the Pirates to finish right around .500.
