Sports Illustrated's anonymous scouts dish on the Pirates' chances



… not really a playoff team 

Sports Illustrated talked to many pro baseball scouts about the chances of each team. The good news is that they do not expect the Cubs to win 103 games again.

The bad news is that they do not expect the Bucs to make the playoffs, though they have an outside chance.

In a division with the Cubs and Cards, they will probably not make it.

My dream

I had this dream a few years ago that the Pirates would make the World Series again in my lifetime. After all, it has been 38 years since 1979. It is time. If the Cubs can do it after much longer, so can the Bucs.

I am resigned to the reality that is not going to happen. Small-market teams need a billionaire owner who is willing to spend big bucks. The Cubs, certainly not small market, bought their team that way after disposing of the penny-pinching Wrigleys.

Pittsburgh does not have that, but they do have enough to make things interesting, at least according to these scouts.

The SI analysis

Here are the snippets that SI used about the Bucs.

"There's a good chance they're the third club in the division. If they're a playoff team, they're on the outer edge … The rotation is pretty iffy … They're counting on Gerrit Cole to be the ace. I don't know if he is. When he had Russell Martin behind the plate, he was very good. Martin's gone, and I don't think Cole connects well with Francisco Cervelli … the starter who has stood out is Tyler Glasnow. He has the best stuff on the staff; this spring he's been as good an arm as there is in Florida. The question is, Can he throw enough strikes? … Chad Kuhl will be in the rotation somewhere. His stuff's not great, but he knows what he's doing … Ivin Nova's in a battle for the five hole, but he may be better than that … This is a very solid defensive club in the outfield -- Gregory Polanco, Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen has played well in right field. He's swung the bat better. Getting him out of center is a good move, but he is getting old. He's just not a premier outfielder like he was … They're going to need Josh Bell, because you're not going to October with John Jaso as your first baseman. But Bell had left knee surgery and hasn't been on there this spring … Somebody else is going to have to get in there offensively other than the outfielders. David Freese is solid. Jordy Mercer is an average starting shortstop on a decent team, but he's not all-star … Juan Nicasio is a key figure. If he has to go in the rotation, he can be a reliever, but he can give you multiple innings … The bullpen is pretty good. Tony Watson hasn't been sharp, but I'm not worried. Daniel Hudson's a solid setup guy."

Conclusion

Lot of food for thought there. I would love to see Gerrit Cole become one of the best pitchers in baseball. Thought that he would a few years ago. Not sure now.

Notice the name Kang is not in there at all. Freese is the heir-apparent.

They still have a very good outfield. Love to see Cutch have one more good year.

We shall see.

SI Link

http://www.si.com/mlb/2017/03/28/scouts-takes-season-preview

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