Raise your hand if you had the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 12-7 start in 2023.
Don’t lie!
They don’t lead their division, the NL Central, because the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs have been slightly better, but what the Pirates are doing is nothing short of special.
Even without the injured Oneil Cruz and with Bryan Reynolds now slumping, the Bucs keep winning games.
They have a three-game winning streak and a +19 run differential.
We didn’t have those in the pool.
The league’s official Twitter account is sharing some interesting facts about Pittsburgh’s hot start.
The Buccos have set sail and are off to a hot start! pic.twitter.com/rfhDJ8F4le
—MLB (@MLB) April 20, 2023
They haven’t started this well since 2019, but the hope is that this group can do better that their 69-93 finish that season.
They did pad their offensive stats with a 33-run attack against the lowly Colorado Rockies, but these Pirates are looking competitive and that’s something that hasn’t happened in a long time.
One of the main reasons behind their success was Reynolds, in the early going.
He cooled off, but now Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh’s favorite son, took over as the main producer.
He is sporting a cool 1.003 OPS, which would be the highest mark of his career.
Jack Suwinski, Connor Joe, Rodolfo Castro, Jason Delay, Carlos Santana and Ke’Bryan Hayes have all been solid contributors.
Of course, they wouldn’t be where they are without the pitching stepping up.
They have a very decent 4.08 collective ERA, and Johan Oviedo (2.22 ERA in 24.1 frames) appears to be breaking out.
Mitch Keller, David Bednar, and other hurlers have helped bring some stability to the much-maligned Pirates pitching staff.
It has been a true team effort, and the results are evident.
We don’t know if the Pirates will make the playoffs this year.
They probably won’t, but it’s refreshing to see them compete.
Their time will come: it might just be here, in fact.
NEXT:
Pirates Keep Making Noise In The NL Central