The 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates: A Shipwreck

Pirate Positives

The Pirates saw big strides from some key players in 2019. Their overall team average of .266 is currently second in the National League. The offense as a whole averaged a solid 4.71 runs per game. Bryan Reynolds, one of the key acquisitions in the Andrew McCutchen trade, had a very strong rookie season. He’s hit .320/.384/.514 with an OPS+ of 135. He has 16 homers and 67 RBIs with 10 games left in the season. That’s good for a 4.3 bWAR. His .320 batting average is tops amongst all qualified rookies in the majors.

Kevin Newman also took a big leap this season, posting 3.0 bWAR while batting .316/.362/.449. That gives him an OPS+ of 113. He has spent 2019 striking out 55 times in 488 plate appearances. That’s good for an 11.3% strikeout rate. Perhaps the biggest breakout for the Pirates was Josh Bell, who earned his first career All Star appearance. He spent 2019 batting .277/.367./.569 (142 OPS+) with 37 homers and 116 RBI.

Additionally, the Pirates saw another strong season out of Starling Marte, who set career highs with 23 homers and 82 RBI. Marte also posted a .295/.342/.503 (119 OPS+) line with 25 steals, making this his best all-around offensive campaign. Felipé Vázquez had another great season for the Pirates. Vazquez served as the team’s closer, and earned his second straight All-Star Game nod. He was 28 for 31 in save opportunities with a 1.65 ERA. He also had a 2.15 FIP and 0.93 WHIP to go with 90 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched (13.5 K/9).

Negatives

The Pirates’ pitching staff took a big step back this season. After posting a 4.00 ERA in 2018, the staff saw the team ERA skyrocket to 5.24 in 2019. That’s good for the second highest in the NL. The staff as a whole combined to give up 231 homers, which was the third highest total in NL. The pitching struggles could partially be attributed to ace Jameson Taillon going down with a torn UCL and having to undergo Tommy John Surgery. The Pirates called up top pitching prospect Mitch Keller, but so far Keller has been lit up to the tune of a 8.29 ERA in 38 innings pitched. While Keller’s strikeout and walk numbers are promising (51 Ks, 12 BBs––hence why he has a 3.61 FIP), opposing hitters are batting .355/.400/.572 against him.

Chris Archer, who was a big acquisition at the 2018 Trade Deadline, continued to disappoint. Archer got hit hard this season. He ended up with a 3-9 record with a 5.19 ERA in 119.2 innings pitched. Archer was eventually shutdown for the season with right shoulder inflammation. To add insult to injury, two of the key pieces that the Pirates gave up, Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow, have blossomed into all-star caliber players with the Rays.

Trevor Williams was one of the most reliable pitchers in the Pirates’ rotation in 2018, but missed time with injury this season and was shelled to a 5.59 ERA in 131.2 innings pitched.

No player on the roster seemed to fade with the team harder than Josh Bell. Bell was hitting a torrid .302/.376/.648 with 27 homers and 84 RBI at the break. However, Bell has just hit .233/.351/.429 with 10 homers and 32 RBI since the break. While Bell has still overall had a strong season, it’s been a very rough second half of the season for him.

Off-Field Issues

The Pittsburgh Pirates also dealt with their fair share of issues off the field as well. Keone Kela was suspended by the team on July 24 for getting in an altercation with a team employee. That wasn’t the only time Kela got suspended this season, as he was suspended for 10 games on August 1st for a bench-clearing fracas against the Cincinnati Reds. On September 10th, Kyle Crick and Felipe Vázquez got into a fight in the clubhouse, which led to Crick needing season-ending surgery to repair a broken finger.

To cap off all of the off-field shenanigans, Vázquez was arrested on September 17 for solicitation of a child and providing obscene materials to minors. Reports said that Vázquez had sent a message to a 15-year-old girl that suggested they would meet for sex after the season ended. He was placed on administrative leave by the MLB. This fiasco could very well end Vázquez’s time with the Pirates and in Major League Baseball.

Pittsburgh Pirates Look Towards 2020

The Pirates’ offense gives the club a reason to be hopeful going into the future. They should see young players such as Bell, Newman and Reynolds continue to grow. If there is one aspect that the offense needs to improve upon, it’s power. The offense ranked third from the bottom in the NL in homers.

However, their pitching staff is in desperate need of help if they want to get back to contention quickly. While their staff was hampered a bit by injuries, the Pirates had only one qualified starter (Joe Musgrove) with an ERA under 5. They should look to sign a starter or two and some relievers (especially after the Vázaquez fiasco)

Lastly, with all the off-field issues, it’s time for the Pirates to fire Clint Hurdle and Neal Huntington. While they brought the team back to relevancy in the first half of the decade, Hurdle appears to have lost control of the clubhouse. Huntington has watched his moves blow up on in his face, specifically the trade of Gerrit Cole and the acquisition of Archer. While it will likely be a while before Pittsburgh sees a contender, the Pirates can improve if they find some pitching, a new manager, and a new GM.

Author Twitter: @maktheknife2000

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