Pirates' young pitching the key to possible second-half surge
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. After decades of futility, the Pittsburgh Pirates had made themselves into the model Major League Baseball franchise. The team built from within, complimented its core with savvy free-agent pickups and returned to contention despite a limited payroll.
Coming into 2016, it was easy to expect more of the same. Perennial MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen was still around, and Francisco Liriano would shore up the top of the rotation.
That hasn’t happened. The Pirates three-year streak of making the postseason is now in jeopardy. McCutchen has experienced a bizarre down season, while Liriano is no longer with the club after being traded at the deadline.
While seemingly everything has gone wrong, the Pirates are just 2.5 games out of a wild card spot in the National League. A second half run may seem unlikely, but it’s still possible. In order for the Pirates to make it happen, they’ll need their young pitching to come through.
One of the club’s youngsters will be on display during the Yahoo Sports MLB Free Game of the Day on Tuesday. Chad Kuhl and the Pirates will take on Wil Myers and the San Diego Padres. You can stream the game on the Yahoo Sports app, Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index, video home and this very post. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules.
Kuhl isn’t as well known as either Tyler Glasnow or Jameson Taillon, but could still factor into the team’s future rotation plans. The sinkerballer has overachieved in the minors, posted an excellent 2.74 ERA over multiple levels in four seasons.
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His performance thus far in the majors has been mixed. Through four starts, he has a 4.19 ERA. Two of his starts have been strong, while the other two failed to produce a quality outing. Kuhl doesn’t profile as a top of the rotation talent like Glasnow or Taillon, so each outing is an audition for him. Given the team’s current status in the standings, that audition isn’t going to happen during meaningless games.
If Kuhl can prove he’s a major-league starter, his performance down the stretch could help the Pirates make a possible second half run. If that’s going to happen, though, he’ll need plenty of help from both Glasnow and Taillon.
Both players have profiled as future stars at points in their careers. Taillon peaked at 11 on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list back in 2011, but injuries prevented him from reaching the majors prior to 2016. Glasnow came into this year ranked 14th on BA’s annual list. Glasnow is currently on the disabled list due to a shoulder issue, but is expected to throw a simulated game Tuesday.
Getting both players to produce down the stretch will be a major key for the Pirates. Under pitching coach Ray Searage, the club has been able to coax better production out of weaker pitchers for a couple seasons now. That Searage magic hasn’t worked as well this time around, as Pirates starters rank 22nd in the league with a 4.72 ERA.
Though Glasnow is injured, Taillon has done his part in the majors thus far. Over 52 innings, he’s posted a 3.29 ERA, and has displayed solid strikeout and walk rates. Home runs have been a bit of an issue, but it’s too early to say whether that’s a problem going forward, or just small sample nonsense.
After the trade of Liriano, it would be easy to look at the Pirates and think they are already playing for next year. That’s not entirely the case. With the club just 2.5 games out, they decided to make a bet on their young pitching.
If Glasnow can get healthy, Taillon can stay healthy and Kuhl can prove he belongs, the Pirates still have a shot at living up to their lofty preseason expectations. If not, at least the team has more information about how those players fit into their future plans.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
