Perrotto: What The Projection Systems Think About the 2023 Pirates (+)

The numbers crunchers have crunched their numbers and come to the same conclusion about the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Both Baseball Prospectus and its PECOTA projection system and Fangraphs and its ZiPS projection system expect the Pirates to finish with a 72-90 record this season. They also peg the Pirates to wind up in fourth place in the National League Central ahead of only the Cincinnati Reds.

That is a sign of potential progress for the Pirates if the statistically oriented websites’ projections are correct. The Pirates would show a 10-win improvement over last season’s 62-100 record and finish out of the division basement for the first time since 2018.