The Pirates are almost halfway done with their season. That unofficially important mark will come Wednesday, when they wrap up a two-game set against the best team in baseball, the New York Yankees.
So here's what we think we know about the Pirates as they get set to break into the second half of the season.
Young guys need time
This could be taken in a couple of ways. For one, yes, young guys need playing time. In part due to injuries, the Pirates have given a whole lot of players a shot in the majors this season, leading all of MLB by using 53 different players.
Many of those have been rookies. They're the hopeful pieces of the future, and for many, the allure of this season starts and ends with young guys who could develop into contributors on the next good Pirates team. To see that come to fruition, they might as well play right now.
But that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about the need to wait and see what the rookies will turn into before writing them off or anointing them king of baseball.
Take Oneil Cruz, for instance. The 6-foot-7 shortstop has flashed every tool in his bag with the Pirates this season. He's setting Statcast on fire, hitting the ball, throwing the ball and running with various elite velocities. And yet, he's hitting just .204 with a .677 OPS through his first 14 games.
Take Jack Suwinski, even. He's probably performed best among all Pirates rookies, hitting 13 homers with a .782 OPS. You'll remember, though, that Suwinski was hitting just .167 after 22 games back on May 21.
The point is that finding consistency in the majors is difficult. Not everyone comes up and rakes like Ke'Bryan Hayes in 2020 or Bryan Reynolds in 2019. Not every rookie is the same. After the year, we may have a better understanding of each individual player, but it takes time. That's not to say all will impress and slot into the future plan, but patience is a virtue in prospect analysis, too.
Power hasn't equaled offense
The Pirates hit 44 homers in June, the second-most homers in a single month in franchise history (45 in August 2007). Entering Monday's games, the Pirates' 86 home runs are the 14th-most in MLB this season. And yet, the team has scored just 291 runs, the third-fewest in MLB, and has a team OPS of .662, the third-lowest in baseball. So, what gives?
Well, while the Pirates have more power threats up and down their lineup this season, with Suwinski, Cruz and Daniel Vogelbach all strong power additions, once again, consistency has been an issue. MLB's median on-base percentage is around .316, as a rough estimate. The Pirates have just four qualified players with a mark higher than that, in Hayes, Reynolds, Vogelbach and outfielder Ben Gamel, who will rejoin the team this week after sitting out June.
It's hard for the home runs to matter as much when there aren't always guys getting on base, and the Pirates would likely exchange more traffic on the basepaths for some of the power.
And then, obviously, there is situational hitting. The Pirates are hitting .200 as a team with runners in scoring position, including a paltry .143 mark with just a runner on third, a .177 mark with runners on the corners and a .222 mark with the bases loaded. So the homers are great, and truly a sign of progress given the dearth of power in the lineup the past couple of seasons, but the Pirates need to manufacture some runs too to build a competitive offense. Perhaps that will come in time as well as the young players gain experience.
Pitching depth needed
This is probably the most obvious takeaway from the first half(ish) of the season. José Quintana has been far better than expected. JT Brubaker, Mitch Keller and Zach Thompson have shown improvements lately. Roansy Contreras struggled in his last start, but there is a lot to like from his first eight starts. Yet the starting options get scarce after that.
Miguel Yajure and Bryse Wilson both did well in their most recent starts for the Pirates, but possess an 8.16 ERA and a 7.49 ERA, respectively this season. Lefty Dillon Peters performed pretty well as a multi-inning reliever, and there are options like Cody Bolton and Mike Burrows who could turn into something interesting in Class AAA Indianapolis. Nothing, however, is a sure thing.
That's a problem. Injuries happen. When Thompson went down recently, the Pirates used Wilson and Jerad Eickhoff, and both threw one horrific outing each. Even when everyone's healthy, the margin for error is small if there aren't reliable options behind them.
The depth questions reach to the bullpen. David Bednar, Wil Crowe, Chase De Jong, Tyler Beede and Peters have been good. Yerry De Los Santos is a young option. But when those pitchers aren't available, the likes of Aaron Fletcher, Cam Vieaux, Anthony Banda, Austin Brice and even Sam Howard early in the year have proved frustrating. And, Chris Stratton has struggled to find consistency as well.
With the likes of Crowe, De Jong and Peters, the Pirates proved an ability to transfer starters into relievers, which is a good way to build bullpen depth. That also requires a team to replenish the starting depth it lost. So, then, the Pirates could stand to just keep adding more and more arms. Whether that means cheap free agents, targeting the position at the trade deadline or just continued development, it's a position of need moving forward.
