Rebuilding Pirates Off to a Good Start

After missing the playoffs the last two seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in a rebuilding phase. This winter, they traded outfielder Andrew McCutcheon to San Francisco and pitcher Gerrit Cole to Houston, arguably their two best players. Pirates fans probably shudder at the thought of rebuilding; after losing in the NLCS in 1992, the club didn’t reach the post season again until 2013.

There is some hope here in the early going of the 2018 season. Rookie third baseman Colin Moran, picked up in the Cole trade, was hitting .345 with a home run and eight RBIs in the club’s first nine games. First baseman Josh Bell, coming off a fine rookie season, was hitting .324 with a homer and six RBIs. Right fielder Gregory Polanco had three homers and 13 RBIs and was hitting .310. Left fielder Corey Dickerson, an All Star in 2017 with Tampa Bay, was picked up in a trade and was hitting .303 with a homer and six RBIs. And veteran second baseman Josh Harrison, who expressed doubts about the team in the off season, was hitting a robust .342.

While the bullpen hasn’t done much yet (unless you want to count closer Felipe Rivero legally changing his last name to Vasquez), the starting pitching has been good. Right hander Trevor Williams, who started 25 games last season, was 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA. And right hander Jameson Taillon, a starter the last two seasons, was also 2-0 with a 1.26 ERA. Taillon pitched a one hit shutout against the Cincinnati Reds on April 8th:

For those who look at the glass as half empty, the 7-2 Pirates opposition hasn’t been the toughest, except for two games in Minnesota. The Pirates and Twins split those. Pittsburgh beat the Detroit Tigers three times and took three of four from Cincinnati. Both of those teams are generally predicted to finish last in their divisions. But for the glass is half full people, the Pirates appear to be competitive and perhaps not that far from playoff contention.