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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
Following are Mirror sports writer John Hartsock's keys to success for the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates:
n Rotation, rotation, rotation. Cobbling together an effective and capable starting pitching rotation will be at the top of the Pirates' to-do list for this season. Right-hander Mitch Keller, an all-star last season, is very dependable every fourth or fifth day, but the other four spots in the rotation are rife with question marks. Prized right-handed prospect Jared Jones had an outstanding spring training and is on the Pirates' Opening Day roster. Rebound performances by some or most of the others -- offseason acquisitions Marco Gonzales and Martin Perez, as well as youngsters Luis Ortiz and Quinn Priester -- will be very important. Top right-handed draft pick Paul Skenes will start the season at Class AAA Indianapolis and will likely be called up to the major leagues in either May or June.
n The Skenes watch. He possesses the best arm in the Pirates' entire organization right now, and there's no sense in subjecting him to an extended minor league stint. The Pirates' need to secure another year of club control and avoid arbitration with Skenes will require delaying his call-up, but his arrival will be the most anticipated for a pitcher in MLB in over a decade.
n Bullish bullpen. The Pirates are counting on their bullpen to hold leads and shorten games this year. Aroldis Chapman and all-star David Bednar will provide the Bucs with a lock-down back end of the pen, and the middle relievers will probably be solid enough that the Pirates can rely on them for the sixth and seventh innings.
n Settling the catching question: It appears to be top draft pick Henry Davis's position to lose. The Pirates are hoping that Davis can step up and fulfill his potential behind the plate this year, and leave the backup roles to Yasmani Grandal and Jason Delay.
n The Cruz factor: Shortstop Oneil Cruz has superstar level potential, and losing him for essentially all of last season with a broken leg threw a wrench into the Pirates' batting lineup. It will be interesting to see how much of a difference a first full season of Cruz makes for the Bucs this year, but it should be significant.
n Avoiding the long skids: The Pirates have made a habit of playing well for stretches - they won 20 of their first 28 games to start last season - but they've also been prone to extended and dreadful losing streaks in the recent past that have torpedoed their season, which was exemplified by their combined 19-33 record in May and June a year ago. Included in an 8-18 month of May was a 1-10 slide in which they essentially gave up everything that they had accomplished in April. Decent, consistent pitching will be one of the biggest factors in eliminating those long skids.
n A wide-open NL Central: No longer are the defending division champion Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals the beasts of this division. The race for the division's top spot could be hotly contested among all five teams. Most preseason polls are forecasting a last-place finish for the Pirates, but the people who run those polls could be in for a big surprise if the Bucs take care of most of their question-mark areas.
n Coaching crossroads: Field manager Derek Shelton and his coaching staff may not be quickly jettisoned if this season doesn't see the Pirates making marked improvement, but they could certainly be placed under very increased scrutiny. This is the first season that Shelton — who took over the club's reins under extremely adverse circumstances back in the 2020 COVID 19-shortened season - will have considerable talent with which to work, and noteworthy progress will be expected.
n Season prediction: I'm picking an 84-78 record and a third-place finish in the National League Central Division for the 2024 Pirates, provided the starting pitching holds serve. Last season, the Arizona Diamondbacks rode an 84-win regular season into a torrid postseason run that secured them a National League Wild Card playoff berth and included ousters of the Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies en route to a berth in the World Series. Could the Pirates pull off a similar Cinderella act this season, or even win their division? Stranger things have certainly happened.