Pirates 2018 Season Preview
Ready to check out our 2018 Pittsburgh Pirates predictions? As spring training winds down it’s almost time for the Pittsburgh Pirates to start the season.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates seem to be going through a bit of a rebuild and this could be a trying year for the team. Look for a lot of young players getting a lot of playing time.
Although it might not result in a lot of wins it still should be a fun team to watch.
2018 MLB Team Previews – Pittsburgh Pirates
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Key Additions:
- OF Corey Dickerson
- 3B Colin Moran
- RHP Joe Musgrove
- RHP Kyle Crick
- OF Daniel Nava
The Pirates didn’t do a ton this offseason in terms of getting veteran players as they are actually trying to get younger.
The biggest name they did get was outfield Corey Dickerson who should be a good bench guy and when asked should be a good start for this team.
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In terms of the pitching, Joe Musgrove should be a solid pitcher and will start the season as a number five pitcher. If he can keep the ball in the ballpark he could actually be one of the better pitchers that this team has.
Key Losses:
- OF Andrew McCutchen
- RHP Gerrit Cole
- RHP Daniel Hudson
- OF John Jaso
- RHP Joaquin Benoit
- C Chris Stewart
The face of the franchise is gone now with Andrew McCutchen gone. Not only will they miss his production on and off the field there is now going to be someone else that needs to step up to take his spot as the face of the franchise.
Losing Gerrit Cole is also really going to hurt the production that the pitching staff had. This team is really going to need to have some younger guys step up.
Pirates Predictions: Projected Lineup:
- 2B Josh Harrison
- CF Starling Marte
- 1B Josh Bell
- RF Gregory Polanco
- 3B David Freese
- LF Jose Osuna
- C Francisco Cervelli
- SS Jordy Mercer
The Pirates have a lot of the same guys back, but also new guys that should help the production. Look for the Pirates lineup to be fluid this year with lots of different guys getting playing time.
Josh Bell hitting in the three spot is looking for a breakout year, and if he can do that it will help really improve this lineup.
Pirates Predictions: Projected Rotation:
- Ivan Nova
- Jameson Taillon
- Trevor Williams
- Chad Kuhl
- Joe Musgrove
One place that the Pirates have a lot of veterans is on the pitching staff. Ivan Nova anchors a pitching staff that could be pretty good.
All of these guys have also been pretty bad during their careers too though so it will depend on what pitchers show up this year.
Pirates Predictions: Projected Closer:
- Felipe Rivero
Felipe Rivero was the closer last year and will get another shot as the guy to close out the games for the Pirates this year.
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Last year he appeared in 73 games having 21 saves. He also had an ERA of 1.67 so he actually could be the MVP of this team this year.
2018 Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction:
It’s going to be a long summer for the people of Pittsburgh with their baseball team going through a ton of struggles.
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The Pirates offense isn’t going to score a ton of runs but I think the pitching staff will keep them in a lot of games. With that said I still see them bringing up the rear in the NL Central.
What do you think of our 2018 Pittsburgh Pirates predictions? Comments are welcome below.
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