This past season, the Pirates were 18th in Hard Hit% (37.1%) and 21st in Barrel% (6.6%). Pittsburgh was dead last in Hard Hit% in 2021 (34%) and Barrel% (5.4%). At least when the Pirates made contact, it was of a higher quality. Only the Angels (25.7%) struck out more than the Pirates (25.3%) and that is a major concern heading into a post-shift world that is going to reward making contact. Pittsburgh did hit 34 more home runs as a team, but it came with a cost in the form of more walks of shame back to the dugout. This was a group that finished 16% below league average by wRC+ and had one of the highest strikeout rates in the league. The Pirates finished 28th in wRC+ last season and actually finished with a lower wOBA than the season prior at. Manager Derek Shelton is entering the last year of his contract with a roster that isn’t ready to compete regularly at the MLB level, but is starting to show some signs of life.Įxplanations of the stats used in this preview can be found in my “ MLB Stats to Know” article. There is a high level of disgust among fans regarding owner Bob Nutting, who will run out a bottom-five payroll for the sixth consecutive year.

The Pirates drew well under 1.3 million fans last season and under 1.5 million in 20. PNC Park is widely-regarded as one of the top stadiums in baseball and the backdrop of downtown Pittsburgh makes for an incredible view behind home plate. The apathy from the fans can be seen in the attendance numbers. In fact, with the expectation of three straight playoff appearances from 2013-15, the Pirates have ONE other winning season since 1992. The bar is probably as low as it's ever been. That was on the heels of going an abysmal 19-41 in the COVID season. After going 61-101 in 2021, the Pirates improved by one game and went 62-100 in 2022.

They are in danger of doing exactly that this season. In 141 seasons, they have only lost 100 games in three consecutive seasons one time (1952-54). The Pittsburgh Pirates franchise has been around since 1882 when the Pittsburgh Alleghenys began play in the American Association.

Vegas pro 18 373