The Pirates could scare some teams. The pitching staff is young, but talented. Paul Skenes is the ace, but after him only one other hurler had more than 90 strikeouts last year.  

Braxton Ashcraft and Carmen Mlodzinski have served time as relievers and starters. It looks like Pittsburgh is going to give them a chance to start. Bubba Chandler started four games in ‘25. He struck out one per inning. Mitch Keller is a fifth starter. 

The Pirates lost 11 relievers from a staff that was thirteenth in ERA last year. Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto had really good years last year. Was that an anomaly? Yohan Ramírez (5.40 ERA in 2025) hasn’t had a good year since 2021. 

Reliever Mason Montgomery’s 5.67 ERA will have to improve. Jose Urquidy is a question mark. He’s coming off injury and hasn’t pitched in more than two games since 2013. 

At the plate, centerfielder Oneil Cruz hit 21 home runs last year but seriously regressed at the plate, managing to hit only .200. He stole 38 bases but couldn’t even muster a .300 on base percentage. Part of the reason is an unwillingness to walk when the possibility presents itself. He’s only had 115 walks over the last two years combined. First baseman Ryan O’Hearn gives the Pirates 40 extra base hits a year. For a guy with a 250 career average it would be nice if he realized what his power potential is and looked to start making more contact.

Konnor Griffin had all of 122 games in the minors and only five games in AAA. His .333 average and 21 home runs at all levels was enough to call him up.

Brandon Lowe was a good pick up from Tampa Bay. He gives the Bucs some power out of the second base position. One problem he’s had is staying healthy. He’s only had one season where he appeared in more than 110 games. Brian Reynolds has been through the worst and best of times. It would be nice to see him have some success again. He certainly been doing his part. He usually comes in at .270 and 25 home runs a year. One key could be Marcell Ozuna. I see the guy who hit .302 years ago or the guy who hit .232 last year? Jake Mangum hit .29 for his rookie year. Pittsburgh hopes he does not have a sophomore slump. He could be great. All told the team has a bunch of question marks on the mound but several solid players offensively. If everything goes perfectly and the pitching comes around, they could win 88 or even 90 games. Right now? Looks like 86.