By The Jersey Hitman
League 6
League 17
The Pittsburgh Pirates head into the 2008 season with a steak of 15 consecutive losing seasons. New manager John Russell has his work cut out for him, but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
With a bunch of good young arms on the pitching staff, rebounding veteran hitters, and a few very good prospects in the minor leagues, the Pirates may make a run at 82 wins and snap that streak of losing seasons. Hope springs eternal.
The fact is … the Pirates are not a very baseball good team, but they do have quite a few players that can help out any fantasy team.
Projected Batting Order
1 - Nate McLouth or Nyjer Morgan CF
2 - Jack Wilson SS
3 - Freddy Sanchez 2B
4 - Adam LaRoche 1B
5 - Jason Bay LF
6 - Xavier Nady RF
7 - Jose Bautista 3B
8 - Ronnie Paulino C
Look for Ryan Doumit to get plenty of ABs. He’ll catch on Paulino’s days off. He will also play RF when Nady gets an off day. And when Adam LaRoche sits against a tough lefty or two … Nady will sub at first. All of this adds up to a respectable amount of ABs for Mr. Doumit.
Projected Rotation
1 - Tom Gorzelanny
2 - Ian Snell
3 - Paul Maholm
4 - Matt Morris
5 - Zach Duke
The Pirates take plenty of pride in the fact that four of their starting pitchers are home grown. They are all young with Snell being the oldest at 27 years. Despite their youth, none can be considered inexperienced as they all have at least 45 Major League starts. If the Pirates are going to reach 82 wins this season, it is time for them to step up and pitch more consistently.
Projected Closer: Matt Capps
Capps was sensational last season. Only 24 years old, he was given the closer job on June 1st and took off, converting 18 of 20 save chances. He ended the season pitching 76 innings with 64 Ks and only 16 walks … and 10 of those were intentional! He was scored upon in only 3 of his final 36 appearances. We all know how up and down the world of closers is, but Capps seems to be a darn good option this year and should hold the job the entire season.
Key Setup Option(s): Damaso Marte and John Grabow
Spring Training Battle: CF
The centerfield job, and leadoff spot that comes along with it, will be decided in spring training. Nate McLouth and Nyjer Morgan both played well last season when given the chance and are the two frontrunners.
And don’t count out wild card Chris Duffy just yet. This was his job at the start of last year until a badly sprained ankle in June ended his season.
Team Strengths: The Bullpen
With Matt Capps as the closer, and the two primary setup men, the bullpen seems to be solid for the 8th and 9th innings. The key for the Pirates will be having a lead to hold onto, of course.
Team Weaknesses: Too Many Question Marks
Will Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche rebound from last season? Can the young pitchers come through consistently? Will the centerfield battle have a clear cut winner? If the answer to all these questions is yes, then 82 wins is within reach; if not, that consecutive losing seasons streak will reach 16.
Key Additions: Matt Morris
Veteran pitcher Morris was the only key addition to this team … and that was made last season! Even then, he’ll only be the number four starter. But perhaps his bigger role will be that of mentor to the four younger members of the rotation. The only other additions have been bench players who won’t interest fantasy team owners.
Key Losses: Salomon Torres
Torres was traded to the Brewers.
Impact Rookies: Steve Pearce (maybe)
The outfielder is a stud in the making. Last season he began in A ball, moved up to AA, and then to AAA before getting called up in September. He hit everywhere he went. In 134 games played at the three minor league levels he hit a combined .333 with 31 HRs and 113 RBI. He then hit .294 in 23 September games for the Pirates.
He is scheduled to start the season in the minors but really has nothing left to prove there. If he starts off hot you may see the 25 year old playing everyday with the big club sooner rather than later.
Core Fantasy Options: Jason Bay, Adam LaRoche, Matt Capps, Ian Snell
OF Jason Bay is coming off a very disappointing season. He hit just .247 with 21 HRs, 84 RBI and 78 runs. The most alarming thing about last season was the fact that he was hitting .312 on June 3 … then hit only .204 in the remaining 89 games! Though Bay made no excuses for his poor season, the Pirates believe the offseason knee surgery [he had prior to the 2007 season] was largely to blame.
Heading into this season Bay reports no pain in his knees, but he has slipped in mock drafts going in the late seventh or early eighth rounds most of the time. If he returns to form, he is a steal here and well worth taking the chance.
1B Adam LaRoche hit .272 last season with 21 HRs, 88 RBI, and 71 runs. Almost as disappointing as Bay was, LaRoche did it the exact opposite way. He had an awful start to the season but finished strong hitting .313 in 67 games after the All-Star break. The only problem was that his power numbers went down as he hit only 8 HRs with 37 RBI during that stretch.
LaRoche is a hard one to figure out heading into this season. Will he hit for average with little power as he did the second half last season? He is not a guy you want as your first baseman, but late in the draft he may be worth a shot as a corner infielder.
Ian Snell is no longer a secret. Last season, he had an ERA of 3.66 with 177 Ks but finished with a 9-12 record … thanks mainly to poor run support. Look for Snell to have another solid season, but understand that wins are sometimes hard to come by for Pirate pitchers.
Potential Sleeper(s): Tom Gorzelanny, The Nameless CF
Gorzelanny gets overlooked in many drafts. In his rookie season, last year, he put up a 14-10 record with a 3.88 ERA. His 135 Ks weren’t great but not too bad either. He was great the first half of last season, going 9-4 with a 3.10 ERA and 75 Ks before the All-Star break. He seemed to hit the wall in the second half, which may have been the result of throwing a career high 201 innings for the season. I think he can put it all together for a full season this year.
The starting center fielder, whoever it may be, could be a good source of late round steals. All of the candidates have good speed and have demonstrated an ability to steal.
Potential Bust(s): None
The Pirates don’t have anyone getting drafted early enough to be considered a bust if they don’t perform. Even Jason Bay can be had late enough that if last season’s numbers become the norm you can live with it.
Late Round Steal: Freddy Sanchez
2B Sanchez saw his batting average drop 40 points from 2006 to 2007, falling from .344 to .304, but, even then, .304 isn’t too shabby. Despite the drop, all his other numbers went up, setting career highs with 11 HRs and 81 RBI. Not too many second basemen bat third, and Sanchez may even improve on last season’s numbers. 15 HRs and 85 RBI, or more, are not out of the question. You can usually find Sanchez on your draft board very late.