2008 Pittsburgh Pirates Outlook
2007: (68-94), 6th place
Manager: John Russell (1st season)
Key Additions -
P Phil Dumatrait
1B Doug Mientkiewicz
P Byung-Hyun Kim
P Elmer Dessens
P Jaret Wright
SS Josh Wilson
Key Losses -
P Salomon Torres (to MIL)
P Tony Armas (to NYM)
2B Jose Castillo (to FLA)
P Shawn Chacon (to Hou)
Projected Startling Lineup -
C - Ronny Paulino
1B - Adam LaRoche
2B - Freddy Sanchez
SS - Jack Wilson
3B - Jose Bautista
LF - Jason Bay
CF - Nate NcLouth, Nyjer Morgan
RF - Xavier Nady
Projected Rotation -
1 - Tom Gorzelanny (L)
2 - Ian Snell (R)
3 - Paul Maholm (L)
4 - Matt Morris (R)
5 - Zach Duke (L)
CL: Matt Capps (R)
SU: Damaso Marte (L)
2008 Outlook:
A new general manager and a new manager mean the Pirates will…still be a cellar-dwellar. After a 68-94 season, you would expect for there to be some drastic changes made, especially when a new general manager (Neal Huntington) is hired. But not the Pirates. No, instead they decided to only add a couple of pitchers that could possibly fight for a starting rotation job, and this is after they lost one starter (Armas Jr.) and two reliable relievers in Chacon and Torres.
The Pirates do have some decent young arms at the top of the rotation. Gorzelanny and Snell would be respectable #2s or #3s but not co-#1s like they are in Pittsburgh. Both Maholm and Duke have shown flashes of being strong pitchers, but those flashes are typically quick to disappear for the two soft-tossing lefties.
Then as for the fifth member of the rotation, Morris, it is an enigma as to why the team made a move for him at the trading deadline last year. We understand Morris may know how to win and could possibly teach these young kids the ropes. He did once win 22 games, but that was years ago. He hasn’t had an ERA less than 4 in the last four seasons and hasn’t had a winning record since he left St. Louis two years ago.
Without Chacon and Torres, it is going to be even more difficult for the Pirates to get the ball to reliable (yes, we realize that’s a strange word with this team) closer Matt Capps. Not only will the team rarely ever be winning, but unless the starters go 8 (or 7 — maybe) and then hand it over to Capps, expect the bullpen to give up some leads. The good thing is that lefties Damaso Marte and John Grabow were fairly consistent last year, but the bad thing is they both will be hot commodities if they are pitching well, and the Pirates are struggling again.
The main addition to the bullpen, Byung-Hyun Kim isn’t what you would call the key piece of the puzzle, and he’s expected to be the main right-handed set-up man. Good luck with that one Pittsburgh.
The Pirates may be quite offensive this year, but they aren’t going to be putting up too many runs. They have several players whose names wouldn’t be recognizable to your average fan. When Freddy Sanchez and Jose Bautista are two guys you are counting on to drive in runs all season, then you should probably go ahead and begin praying now.
The 3-4-5 or 4-5-6 combination of LaRoche, Bay and Nady is adequate at best for a middle of the lineup, but it appears this group could be busted up at any time. Bay and Nady are both possible pawns to be traded by Huntington, especially if Bay regains his All-Star caliber play and prospect Steve Pearce develops enough that the club believes he can hold down the everyday right field duties.
Besides the heart, the Bucs have a near pathetic lineup. Okay, Wilson did hit .362 in August and .460 in September, and Sanchez did win the batting title two years ago, but don’t think an opposing pitcher is going to be intimidated by Wilson and Sanchez or Paulino, Bautista, and whoever wins the CF job.
Until the Pirates harvest some top talent in their farm systems and then occasionally pick up a key free agent, don’t expect them to be in the playoffs anytime soon (which hasn’t happened since Sid Bream and Atlanta beat them in the NLCS in 1992).
Fantasy Impact:
Gorzelanny and Snell are excellent late round picks. Unfortunately, they aren’t likely to get 18-20 wins because they will lose a couple to blown leads and that’s only when they get any semblance of offensive support. Snell will, however, be strong in the strikeout category, and he could be on the verge of becoming a top tier pitcher, which should make him be selected before Gorzelanny.
If Maholm or Duke starts off well, they could be a good free agent pickup, but don’t waste anything other than a very late pick on them if you feel you must draft them. In the bullpen, Capps should be a solid closer, but he isn’t going to get the 40-50 saves that some other closers are going to get because of the team that he’s on.
Bay had his once elite numbers fall last season due to a knee injury, but expect him to rebound after offseason surgery. He’s a viable option as a late second or a third outfielder for your team. From the Pirates, LaRoche and Sanchez are the only other fantasy choices with both being late round picks.
2008 projection: (68-94), 6th place
Team MVP: Ian Snell
Also, check out our NL Central preview with links to our team outlooks for each of Pittsburgh’s division foes.
Shotgun Spratling
| 2.5 |
Leave a Reply