I'm not necessarily saying this would produce winning baseball. But it would be compelling. It would keep us interested in the Pirates as Steelers season approaches.
It is my projected Pirates lineup for later this summer. Let's say, just for hits and giggles, it's the series opener Aug. 11 against the visiting Cincinnati Reds. A lot can happen between now and then, and yes, I'm making the large assumption that a certain 6-foot-7 shortstop will return to the lineup that night.
But let's go with it.
Here come the Reds, with all their dazzling rookies and their own freakishly talented oversized infielder named Cruz (Elly De La Cruz). And here comes a large part of the Pirates' future, for better or worse, in the form of a lineup that could look like this on that night or thereabouts:
1. Oneil Cruz — shortstop
2. Andrew McCutchen — designated hitter
3. Bryan Reynolds — left field
4. Henry Davis — right field
5. Nick Gonzales — second base
6. Endy Rodriguez — catcher
7. Jack Suwinski — center field
8. Carlos Santana (if still here) — first base
9. Ke'Bryan Hayes — third base
I'll put Quinn Priester on the mound that night, too. Why not? If all of that doesn't happen Aug. 11, it figures to happen at some point this summer.
Remember, we haven't even begun to really see the fruits of the Pirates' endless tank job. The club's hot start this season obscured the fact that place-holders were manning several positions (catcher, first base, second base, shortstop after Cruz went down, multiple pitching spots) until touted prospects came along. Some of those place-holders will stick around, but the changing of the guard has begun.
I'm not sure general manager Ben Cherington should have mentioned it out loud, but he was just being honest when he said internal projections had the Pirates as mediocre this season. He was surprised by the 20-8 start. Everybody was. The place-holders weren't supposed to do that.
Some of the fruit will never ripen, of course. That's just baseball. But you'd sure like to see more young Pirates prospects tearing up the minors the way De La Cruz did. Davis didn't do that. Neither did Gonzales. Rodriguez isn't doing it, either. You win with stars. Some of these guys need to become stars.
On the other hand, neither Gonzales (No. 7 overall pick in 2020 draft) nor Davis (top overall pick in 2021) has looked overmatched at the big-league level so far. Each has an OPS over .800. Each has delivered moments that surely have fans dreaming.
On Tuesday night against the Padres, Gonzales smashed a ball to center field that still hasn't landed. He also hit an opposite-field rocket that nearly cleared the right-field fence.
Rodriguez — the team's No. 1 prospect coming into the season and widely considered to be a future gem — battled through an injury early at Triple-A and has begun to heat up. I'd be shocked if we don't see him soon. The same goes for Priester (drafted 18th overall in 2018), who struck out 11 in six shutout innings in his most recent start and has been mostly pitching well for two months, albeit with some blowup starts. His wicked overhand curveball is a showpiece.
Throw in Cruz, who was MLB's unicorn prospect until De La Cruz came along, and these are the players who combined with the youngsters already here could make this season interesting, even if the Pirates continue to flounder between now and then.
But here's the thing about prospects: Other teams have 'em, too. Look at the Reds. MLB Network posted a graphic on their hot rookies the other day. It looked like this:
De La Cruz: 17 games, .333 average, .989 OPS
Spencer Steer: 75 games, .274 average, 11 HR, .838 OPS
Matt McLain: 37 games, .325 average, 5 HR, .922 OPS
Andrew Abbott: 3-0 record (now 4-0), 1.14 ERA.
Baseball has a way of evening out numbers over time, but you can understand why Reds fans are so excited. Pirates fans might be, too, once the young guys take their places. Some already have. Others are headed this way. Others are still in their early stages of development in the low minors.
No matter the record, the influx of young talent should make things more interesting than usual around here as Steelers season approaches.
