Approaching the midway point of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates once again find themselves as legitimate playoff contender.
The club’s 45-33 record is the second best in the National League, and third in the Majors. After a rough start, the Pirates appear to have hit their stride and barring injuries or setbacks, should find themselves in a push for a third straight Buctober. They still trail the St. Louis Cardinals by 6.5 games in the National League Central, but are still firmly entrenched as the top Wild Card team in the NL.
Despite being on pace for 94 wins, the club could use some improvements. And they will likely need to improve their roster if they are to catch the Cardinals, or at the least to help hold off the Chicago Cubs for the top Wild Card spot.
Power bat
After having the third-most home runs in the NL in 2013 and 2014, the Pirates currently have the third-lowest total in the senior circuit this year. While Starling Marte tied his season high total in home runs with 13 when he launched a ball into the stands at Comerica Park on Wednesday, other players have seen a drop in the long ball. The biggest culprit of this is Neil Walker, whose home run count is down even with his two-home run game Wednesday. Pedro Alvarez has belted 11 dingers, but has yet to consistently show the power he displayed in 2012 and 2013 when he led the NL in home runs. Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison’s home run totals are also slightly down from last year, and Gregory Polanco has also underperformed in right field. Losing Russell Martin hasn’t helped that area either.
At this point, it is too early to get overly concerned with the drop in home runs. Walker showed Wednesday that he may be coming out of his power funk, and given McCutchen’s overall body of work, there is reason to think his power stroke will return. Alvarez has shown in the past why he has some of the best raw power in baseball, but has also proven at times to be as reliable as a wet match, thus it is hard to predict which hitter the Pirates get going forward. With no real power hitting prospects in AAA Indianapolis, the Pirates would have to address this need via trade if they deem it necessary, and it would likely come at first base or right field.
Bullpen
The Pirates’ bullpen has had some flashes of brilliance, but can also be frustrating at times to watch. No one reflects this more than Arquimedes Caminero. The flame-throwing Caminero has wowed at times with his 100 mile-per-hour fastball, helping him have more strikeouts than innings pitched, but he also has been prone to giving up the long ball. Rob Scahill has also been a nice find, but has had some costly blunders in extra innings this year and is currently on the disabled list. Antonio Bastardo has had an up-and-down year, while Vance Worley is mostly used a long reliever. The back-end combination of Tony Watson and Mark Melancon is among the best in baseball, and Jared Hughes has proven to be reliable when needed to get out of a jam.
Right now, the best hope for the Pirates is for Caminero and Scahill to continue to improve, and for Bastardo to find his consistency. Deolis Guerra has been a pleasant surprise in his brief Majors stint; however it is too soon to say if he is a keeper. Radhames Liz, Clayton Richard and Blake Wood are the top options if the Pirates need to recall a reliever long term from Indianapolis.
Starting Pitcher
The reason for this is two-fold. Right now the Pirates have one of the best top three starting combinations in baseball, and Charlie Morton is be a solid back-end of the rotation pitcher, but they have little depth after them as injuries have ravished the team’s pitching depth. Casey Sadler is the latest pitcher in AAA to go on the disabled list, leaving the inconsistent Worley as well as Richard and Adrian Sampson as the only viable starting depth options right now. The reason other is Jeff Locke, who has had some great games mixed in with some duds. The team could do a whole lot worse than Locke for a fifth starter, but if a possible upgrade becomes available they would be wise to inquire on it.
