How Confident Should Pirates Be in Pitching Staff?
Had it not been for the league’s worst offense last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates might have been much better than their 71-91 final record.
While the offense struggled throughout the season, the pitching staff was consistently solid as the obvious strength of the team. Pirates’ pitchers combined for a 3.76 ERA, which ranked seventh in baseball and third in the National League.
Although the staff will look somewhat different than it did entering last season — notably without David Bednar, Mike Burrows and Johan Oviedo — most of the key pieces remain.
The starting rotation heading into the season looks strong. It would be hard to say otherwise for a rotation headlined by reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, who has already established himself as arguably the top starting pitcher in baseball 55 starts into his career.
The Pirates know what they’re getting from Mitch Keller, who consistently takes the ball every five days, almost always goes at least five innings and will keep his team in the game. A better second half after fading down the stretch the last couple seasons would go a long way.
Two promising young arms in Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler are expected to follow Skenes and Keller in the rotation. Ashcraft was used mostly out of the bullpen last season to manage his innings and did a good job. He was equally as good when used as a starting pitcher down the stretch and has a strong minor-league track record when healthy. Chandler is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and showed plenty of upside with the Pirates at the end of last season.
The fifth and final spot in the rotation is up for grabs. It could be José Urquidy. It could be Mike Clevinger. It could be Carmen Mlodzinski, Hunter Barco or Thomas Harrington. But to be honest, the Pirates can fiddle with that spot until Jared Jones — who was placed on the 60-day IL as he recovers from elbow surgery — is ready to return around June. Getting Jones back into the rotation gives Pittsburgh an even more formidable rotation.
While the Pirates had been seeking a starting pitcher prior to the start of spring training, they could probably go into the regular season with the current in-house options and do patchwork if necessary until Jones returns.
But what about the bullpen?
Dennis Santana has been a revelation since joining the Pirates in 2024. Since making his debut for the Pirates on June 13 of that year, Santana is ninth in baseball among relief pitchers with a 2.28 ERA. Skip past a clunker at Coors Field in his second Pirate appearance and Santana is second with a 1.83 ERA since June 18.
Santana will be the primary closer for the Pirates to start the season with free agent signing Gregory Soto a left-handed alternative to handle high-leverage situations when needed.
If he doesn’t make the starting rotation Mlodzinski has proven to be a very effective reliever in his career. Isaac Mattson had a breakout season last year and will look to replicate it. Justin Lawrence was hurt most of last season but was untouchable when healthy.
The final couple spots are yet to be settled. Left-handers Mason Montgomery and Evan Sisk are in play. Kyle Nicolas and Yohan RamÃrez are among the top right-handed options.
If I’m the Pirates, I’m feeling much more confident with the starting rotation than the bullpen. Santana and Soto are a solid 1-2 punch late in games. Mlodzisnki has been consistent. But there are question marks with the rest of the group.
Can Mattson have another great season? Absolutely, but it’s no guarantee. Prior to the start of last year, he had just seven big-league appearances. How will Lawrence’s health hold up? He’s been relatively healthy for most of his professional career but he totaled a mere 25 innings between his time with the Pirates and rehabbing in the minor leagues last season.
The final three spots in the bullpen could very well go towards one of the four aforementioned names listed earlier. But they’re all battling for a spot on the Opening Day roster for a reason.
Overall, the Pirates’ pitching staff looks like it should be pretty strong again, but it’s at least somewhat surprising to see more wasn’t done to shore things up a bit.
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The pitching staff appears fine. Assuming there are no injuries and no one regresses, the Pirates will have one of the top staffs in the league.
Confident in the pitching…not so much in the defense behind the pitching.
Lotta pitching! Really great depth I think considering also Jones is coming back soon. Some more in the minors who are on their way as well. Obviously the team’s hitting is gonna be the deciding factor on whether this team can compete for a postseason spot finally after this long drought.