After taking two of three from the North Siders, the South Siders welcome Pittsburgh to town for a two game set Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are currently in the worst part of a rebuild. All of their best assets have been sold off, and all of their top prospects still have a bit of time before they debut. This is how Derek Holland gets to pitch competitive innings in a season. However, Ben Cherington – former Red Sox and Blue Jays executive – has been tasked with leading the Pirates down a path that ultimately leads to a competitive playoff team.
At 7-17, the Pirates are one of the teams the White Sox need to beat if they have playoff aspirations. Though players like Josh Bell, Cole Tucker, and Gregory Polanco are intriguing, they have not gotten off to great starts in 2020. With Joe Musgrove injured, the pitching staff leaves much to be desired. However, the White Sox taking these games easy could lead to a similar fate as the Brewers, who were just swept by the Pirates this weekend.
Pirates Background
- 2019 Record: 69-93, 5th in NL Central
- Postseason Results: Missed Postseason
- Last series vs. White Sox: Pirates went 4-0 in 2018; 17-17 All-Time Series
- 2020 Record Entering Series: 7-17, 5th in NL Central
Inside Look
Ethan Fisher of Diamond Digest (@Diamond_Digest) was kind enough to take the time to participate in this series’ version of Central Intelligence. Here’s what he had to say about the Pirates’ expectations, his definition of a “successful” season, and who the White Sox and their fans should watch out for in this series.
Obviously, the Pirates are in the middle of a rebuild. As a fan of a team that has just gotten through the worst stages of a rebuild, I know the pain you’re going through as a fan. That being said, how are you hanging in there?
It’s been really rough to watch the Pirates play this season. It has been every bit as bad as their 7-17 record would indicate (and even worse considering that they had to sweep the Brewers just to get to that point). With the franchise being in the state it’s currently in, it feels like the Pirates’ playoff streak was closer to 15 years ago than 5 years ago. The Pirates are only 2 seasons removed from their last winning season but it seems like everything has gone wrong since then. They have dealt with a plethora of long-term injuries, especially to the pitching staff (Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Nick Burdi), their best overall player and top trade chip being arrested and imprisoned, and seeing former Pirates who weren’t retained blossoming elsewhere (Gerrit Cole, Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, Charlie Morton). So it has been frustrating, if nothing else. Seeing a team like the White Sox playing very well on the other side of a rebuild gives me hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re in the midst of dark times in Pittsburgh.
This offseason, the Pirates traded away a familiar face in Starling Marte but received some interesting names in that trade. What are your thoughts on the players the Pirates received – Brennan Malone and Liover Peguero?
I was actually quite pleased with the return the Pirates got for Marte. It was definitely a change of pace from what we were used to seeing from former GM Neal Huntington. He had a tendency to settle for players who were safer bets with higher floors and lower ceilings (see the Gerrit Cole trade) instead of adding potential stars to the farm system. Ben Cherington took the latter approach in his first big trade as Pirates GM. Both prospects acquired in the Marte trade currently sit in the organization’s top 10 prospects list, per MLB Pipeline. Malone was a first-round pick in 2019 who features a 65-grade fastball and a plus slider and has all the makings of a future MLB starter. Peguero put together an impressive showing at the plate in the minors last season and looks to sport a good enough glove to stick at shortstop. Both players are just 19 years old so it is unlikely that either one will get the call to the Majors for a number of years, but the potential is there for both of them to be solid Major Leaguers down the road.
The Pirates have some interesting young prospects on both sides of the ball. Who are Pirates fans most excited to watch during this 2020 season as their rebuild continues? Who are some of the players that could make an immediate impact on the ballclub?
Two words: Ke’Bryan. Hayes. Pirates fans have been clamoring for Hayes’ promotion since last year, which was his first season at Triple-A Indianapolis. Some believe that Hayes could win a Gold Glove at third base right now. That’s how good his glove is. His bat still needs some work, but with the Pirates all but out of the playoff picture already, there’s no good reason to keep giving JT Riddle playing time over Hayes. With both Colin Moran and Kevin Newman leaving Sunday’s game with injuries, it’s only a matter of time before Hayes is finally called up to Pittsburgh. Another name to watch is Oneil Cruz. While Cruz was never likely to play in the Majors in 2020, he remains one of the most intriguing prospects in all of baseball. Standing 6’7″, Cruz would be the tallest shortstop in league history, and while his build may not allow him to stick at shortstop, his massive power will profile well no matter where he ends up playing.
On the pitching side of things, the biggest name to watch is Mitch Keller, who just this season graduated from prospect status. Keller is currently on the IL with an oblique strain but was looking to rebound after a tough 2019 debut where he pitched to a 7.13 ERA but an unprecedented .475 BABIP. He’s on track to begin throwing again next week and hopefully rejoin the team shortly thereafter. JT Brubaker was never a highly-touted prospect but has looked impressive in his first 15 Major League innings so far. I can’t help but bring up former White Sox first-rounder Carson Fulmer, who was claimed on waivers by the Pirates on Monday. Fulmer should be given every opportunity to prove himself in Pittsburgh this season.
Did the Pirates make any offseason moves that you particularly liked because of how they will impact the team now/in the future?
Most of the turnover that took place for the Pirates in the offseason wasn’t on the roster, but rather in the front office and coaching staff. I loved all of it. Among the new members of the organization are Derek Shelton (manager), Ben Cherington (general manager), Travis Williams (team president), Steve Sanders (assistant general manager), Don Kelly (bench coach), Oscar Marin (pitching coach), and many others. It seemed evident that change was necessary after the team’s disastrous 2019 season. It’s hard to properly evaluate this group after just 24 games, but nonetheless I give the Pirates credit for acknowledging the need to change direction and diving head-first in that direction in the offseason. I believe that this group of coaches and front office personnel is capable of helping bring playoff baseball back to Pittsburgh in the future.
How do Pirates fans feel about the job Ben Cherington has done since taking over as General Manager in November? Do they feel confident in the path he has put the team on?
Cherington hasn’t had a ton of opportunities to make a name for himself with the Pirates so far, but the reception has generally been positive so far. We talked about the Marte trade already. It was surely tough for him to be tasked with trading a fan favorite right off the bat, but as I said earlier, I feel better about what Cherington was able to get for Marte than what Huntington likely would have. Cherington’s only other real significant undertaking with the Pirates was the draft. The consensus was that he knocked that out of the park. Selecting infielder Nick Gonzales seventh overall was a no-brainer, but Cherington used the rest of his draft picks to stock up an offense-heavy Minor League system with pitchers. The Pirates were largely considered one of the biggest winners of the draft.
Cherington will be very busy over the next week with the trade deadline fast approaching. With the expanded playoffs being implemented this season, there are far more teams in position to be buyers instead of sellers this year, and with the Pirates currently holding the worst record in baseball, they are in prime position to be one of the top sellers. The Pirates have a solid group of potential trade pieces including players like Keone Kela, Richard Rodriguez, Adam Frazier, Derek Holland, and Jarrod Dyson, although Cherington recently said that nobody is off the table. Jon Morosi reported that the Blue Jays are interested in both Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl. With both Cherington and Steve Sanders coming over from the Blue Jays’ front office, working out a trade with Toronto makes all the sense in the world. It will be exciting to see what Cherington is able to pull off in the coming days.
What’s a topic Pirates fans are discussing that maybe isn’t obvious to other teams?
There has been very little talk about the Pirates outside of Pittsburgh, and for good reason, but one of the key reasons for the Pirates’ struggles so far has been their offense. The Pirates as a team are slashing .229/.285/.360, good for a .645 OPS. No team has a lower OBP and only the Indians and Rangers have a lower SLG. Colin Moran and Jacob Stallings are the only regulars who are hitting at a league-average level. I wrote about Josh Bell’s struggles at Diamond Digest recently, but he’s far from the only one off to a rough start to the season. There are a few guys (Bryan Reynolds, Kevin Newman, Gregory Polanco) who are starting to warm up after their cold starts, but Bell has just been dreadful all season. He’s slashing .205/.250/.295 and is striking out in over 30 percent of his plate appearances. He’s seeing fewer pitches in the strike zone and swinging at more pitches outside of the strike zone than he has his entire career. Bell had played in every game this season until the final game of the Brewers series on Sunday, so hopefully, some time off will help him get back in the groove of things.
What in your eyes would realistically make the 2020 season a successful one for the Pirates?
Before the season started, I would have said that a successful 2020 season would have meant that the Pirates managed to snag a Wild Card spot and sneak into the playoffs. I didn’t think they would be nearly this bad. But now I think that a successful 2020 season for the Pirates has to end with them slated to have the first selection in the draft next June. They have been in the driver’s seat for the top pick for the majority of the season, and while it remains to be seen how MLB decides to handle the 2021 draft order, the only way the Pirates can realistically manage to benefit from this season would be to win the #TankforKumar (or #TankforLeiter) sweepstakes.
Probable Starters
Tuesday: Steven Brault (0-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Lucas Giolito (2-2, 3.89 ERA), 7:10 CT
Wednesday: Trevor Williams (1-4, 3.70 ERA) vs. Dallas Keuchel (4-2, 2.65 ERA), 1:10 CT
On behalf of everyone at Sox On 35th, I’d like to thank Ethan for taking the time out to talk about the 2020 Pirates with us! You can find him on Twitter @efisher330, and you can find Diamond Digest on Twitter (@Diamond_Digest) or at diamond-digest.com. Make sure to check out all their work over there!
Featured Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) / Twitter
