Pirates off to One of Best Starts This Century; 3 Key Reasons Why
For only the sixth time this century, the Pittsburgh Pirates have won at least 32 of their first 60 games.
Pittsburgh won its 32nd game of the year on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins, capping off a series sweep and pushing the team to four games over .500 to start the year.
The Pirates are currently tied for third in a strong National League Central, five games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. They are also tied with the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks for the third wild card spot.
It’s been quite a turnaround for the Pirates, who were 22-38 and buried in the cellar of the division 15.5 games out of first place at this point last year.
Why have the Pirates been so much better this season? Here are three key reasons.
Offense Went From Historically Bad to Quite Strong
Last year, the Pirates were the worst offensive team in the league. They finished last among all 30 teams in runs (583), home runs (117), slugging percentage (.350) and OPS (.655). They were near the bottom in most other major offensive categories, too.
Of the 27 players to have at least one plate appearances for the Pirates last season, Spencer Horwitz (116 OPS+) was the only player considered above league-average.
This year, the Pirates are one of five teams to score at least 300 runs so far — they have 301 through their first 60 games. Their 68 home runs are 58% of their total from last season, and they rank third in MLB in on-base percentage (.335), fifth in batting average (.253) and OPS (.733) and eighth in slugging (.398).
The Pirates have also been extremely successful in stolen base attempts. They’ve swiped 57 bags (fourth in MLB) and have only been caught eight times, a success rate of 87.7%, which leads baseball.
Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz are having strong bounce-back seasons after disappointing showings last year. Spencer Horwitz has been even better than last year and is playing at an All-Star level, while Nick Gonzales leads the team with a .303 batting average.
Newcomers Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn have been difference-makers (more on them later), and Konnor Griffin has added a spark to this team. His absence after being placed on the IL will be felt, but the team is optimistic he won’t be out of commission for too long.
It wasn’t going to be hard for the Pirates to have a better offense this year, but the level of improvement they’ve shown so far is pretty miraculous.
Braxton Ashcraft Pitching Like a Cy Young Candidate
Paul Skenes gets the most attention among pitchers in the rotation and rightfully so as the reigning Cy Young winner. But so far this year, he’s actually been outperformed by one of his teammates.
Braxton Ashcraft was on the mound in the Pirates’ win over the Twins on Sunday and struck out a career-high 11 batters without issuing a walk. He became the first Pirate and one of 11 major leaguers during the Modern ERA (since 1901) with at least 11 strikeouts and zero walks in an outing of 80 or fewer pitches.
The right-hander allowed two runs in six innings, which actually raised his season ERA. Through his first 12 starts this season, Ashcraft is 5-2 with a 2.77 ERA, which ranks seventh among National League starting pitchers.
Ashcraft’s 74.2 innings are the third-most among NL starters, and the 26-year-old completed at least six innings in each of his six starts during the month of May. His 81 strikeouts also rank third in the Senior Circuit, and his 1.03 WHIP is seventh.
The Pirates will have to monitor Ashcraft’s workload moving forward. That could include shortened starts here and there amongst other things, but any time he takes the mound, Pittsburgh has to feel good about its chances of winning.
A Little Spending Goes a Long Way
The Pirates, for the first time in… let’s just say a long time, actually tried to field a competitive team this offseason.
As mentioned previously, the importance of the additions of Lowe and O’Hearn cannot be overstated.
Lowe is slashing .260/.346/.529 with 12 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs and 37 RBI in 54 games. Among all MLB second basemen, he’s the only one with double-digit home runs, leads in RBI and slugging percentage. He’s also found a way to turn himself into a strong defender.
O’Hearn, meanwhile, was off to a strong start before he was sidelined for two weeks with a quad strain. He didn’t miss a beat, though, and homered in his first at-bat back off the injured list on Sunday. On the year, the 32-year-old is slashing .294/.371/.479 with six doubles, eight homers and 30 RBI.
Stepping away from the offense, where would the bullpen be without Gregory Soto? The veteran left-hander was signed to a one-year deal this winter and has established himself as the team’s closer. For a bullpen that’s had its struggles so far this year, Soto has been dominant.
The 31-year-old has made a team-high 27 appearances and is a perfect 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA and seven saves, the most he’s had in a year since he was an All-Star with the Detroit Tigers in 2022.
The only notable move that so far hasn’t worked out is the signing of Marcell Ozuna. But hey, three out of four ain’t bad.
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If Connor impr0ves and our CF continue to dominate along with the others we may have the best offensive starting lineup in the big leagues. Our pitching staff could be unmatched if Skenes can stress utter dominance again. Our #2 Ashcraft is a is Cy Young award material, just need to know if he can be stretched out. If Bubar Chandler or both with their great arms perform well, screw you Yankess and Dodgers, we win.
If they could stop all the errors it would be great. They have lost several games on errors alone. Plenty of time lift to get it together though.