By: John Toth · 7mo
Photo: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It's a beautiful summer evening. Paul Skenes on the mound, and a sellout crowd of Pirates fans sitting on every pitch. This is what PNC Park should be on a regular basis.
The National League is going through a down year where a team such as the 42-45 Pirates have a shot at the wild card. With Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller at the top of the rotation, the Pirates are a team that nobody would like to match up against.
On the other hand, the hitting has been suspect to say the least. Besides Bryan Reynolds, who we need to start appreciating as a superstar and face of this franchise, the team has had trouble finding consistency through the lineup. The biggest disappointment may be fifth-year veteran third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who is only hitting .229 and has shown very little gap power.
Hayes appears to be going through the motions for the most part at the plate and is not providing the production needed from a corner infield position. I understand that Hayes glove is a huge plus, but .229 with three homeruns is more detrimental than the glove is beneficial. Other than Reynolds, the outfield has been putrid. Jack Suwinski is hitting .182 with eight homers, and that is only because of a recent hot streak. Michael A. Taylor, coming off a four-hit game, is only hitting .210 with two long balls. The catching production has been spotty between Yasmani Grandal, Joey Bart, Henry Davis and Jason Delay. Shortstop O'Neil Cruz has showed some flashes of potential, but still looks lost on most at-bats. Second baseman Nick Gonzales has seemed to settle in nicely and opens up the idea of making the No. 2 prospect Termarr Johson available in trade. The team as a whole is only hitting .231, which is tied for 12th in the National League. If you watch the Pirates on a daily basis, you are used to seeing 0-0 games in the 5th inning and beyond, as the team wastes another great start by the pitching staff.
General manager Ben Cherington seems to be holding on to prospects like a young child holds onto his baseball cards- afraid of trading away one or two to make the current team stronger. The Pirates have three bonafide starting pitchers in the rotation for the next several seasons in Skenes, Jones and Keller, and four of their top five prospects are starting pitching prospects. Management needs to take advantage of the time they get with Skenes. There is little doubt that this team needs a bat or two (or three) to make a legitimate run to a playoff berth in 2024. Cherington cannot be afraid to move a pitcher or two to bring in a legitimate bat that can solidify this lineup, not just for this season, but the next several as well.
The team's organizational depth in outfielders is laughable. Besides Lonnie White Jr. and Shalin Polanco down in the low minors, they are barren of any future big league help. Matt Gorski could have potential and is having a nice year at AAA Indianapolis, hitting .254 with 14 homers, but that only fills one spot in the outfield and it is not a guarantee he comes in and hits right away.
There is room to grow the payroll and prospects to be moved for management to step up and make a trade that could help make the electricity of last night become a reality. Paul Skenes is a generational pitcher, why waste any time trying to win? Owner Bob Nutting always seems to say the right things and says he is committed to winning, now is the time to step up and show the fans, the time is now.
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