The Pirates are bad. I mean, they are beyond bad at this point. I think they are 4-24 since the All-Star Break. I think most people would agree that the pitching has been awful. And yet, I keep hearing fans act like the starters are okay and that they just need some good relievers to bolster the back end. I do not understand…
Jameson Taillon (108)
Trevor Williams (87)
Joe Musgrove (93)
Chris Archer (84)
Steven Brault (102)
Mitch Keller (43)
Presumably those are your starters next year. Okay, Archer will probably be out. And Taillon will be back (I think?). People see those names and get somewhat excited. What if I said these would be the starters next year:
Miles Mikolas (102)
Kyle Gibson (108)
Ivan Nova (96)
Rick Porcello (85)
Sandy Alcantara (95)
Would that excite anyone? Would that rotation make you go “oh damn, this is a contender!” Well if you compare ERA+, these are the pitchers with relatively similar numbers (slightly better in most cases).
This season, the Pirates have given up 644 runs so far this year. If they gave up one hundred less runs, that would not even be one less run per game, that would bring them down to giving up 4.65 runs per game, which is almost exactly what they score per game.
People like to get excited about the Pirates pitchers. But in reality, they are mediocre. Joe Musgrove, Steven Brault, and Chris Archer are fourth or fifth starters. Trevor Williams is a four on a great team, a three on a bad one. Taillon? He is a number two. He would be great behind a dominant ace. Unfortunately, even if he is healthy, he is not a number one. And he is definitely not an ace.
The frustrating part is that there seems to be no real solution. The Pirates will not sign someone, at least not someone who is great. Also, it seems clear that the way they handle and approach pitching is not working. If they bring in another stud like Gerrit Cole, do we have any confidence that will get the most out of him? Do we believe that Mitch Keller will ever be great for the Pirates? I think many of us fans are pissed off about this and yet there is no end in sight.
