Analyst Names Pirates' Two Biggest Building Blocks
While the Pittsburgh Pirates haven't quite enjoyed the kind of season they originally envisioned in 2024, the emergence of two budding stars has provided renewed optimism for the organization moving forward.
In a recent column, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Paul Zeise championed Paul Skenes and Oneil Cruz as two premier talents who have already become the faces of the franchise and can lead the Pirates into their next window of contention.
For the latter part of that statement to materialize, Zeise expressed that general manager Ben Cherington must take a proactive approach this offseason as he fills numerous holes on the roster.
The good news for Pittsburgh, however, is that Skenes' and Cruz's presence has already accounted for a lot of leg work, meaning the organization won't have to blow all of its assets on a big name player or two when they already have that pairing in-house.
"It is obviously now up to Ben Cherington and company to fill in some of the blanks in the everyday lineup and the bullpen," Zeise wrote. "These are things that absolutely have to happen in the offseason, but the Pirates are probably not as far away from contending than it appears.
That’s especially true given the fact that they have a stud pitcher and a potentially elite superstar to build around. I look back at a lot of teams who were trying to climb into contention, and many that failed didn’t have that going for them."
There isn't much that needs to be said about Skenes' excellence so early into his professional career. Selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft 14 months ago, he has posted a 2.07 ERA over his first 21 starts in the majors with 158 strikeouts and a 3.9 fWAR across 126 innings this season.
While Skenes is a National League Rookie of the Year favorite alongside San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill, Zeise believes his performance thus far should also draw consideration for one of the league's most prolific awards.
"Forget about rookie of the year numbers, those are Cy Young award-worthy numbers, and I expect Skenes to only get better as he gets more experience pitching in the major leagues," Zeise wrote.
As for Cruz, Zeise has been impressed with the development of the former top prospect as the year has gone on and thinks he can another step up should he showcase more consistency at the plate while circumventing any injuries.
"There was a long period where it looked like Cruz might not figure it out at the plate, but the reality is he has slowly but surely begun to figure it out," Zeise wrote. "His numbers aren’t overwhelming yet — he is .268/.326/.459 with an OPS of .785 with 19 home runs — but he did hit .389/.449/.537 with a .986 OPS in August. He has cooled off in September, but he has been hampered by some nagging injuries.
Cruz showed in August how important of a player he is and how good of a player he can be. He clearly has develop more consistency. He needs to stay healthy and he needs to continue to improve, but given his skill set and his relative inexperience, the room for growth is there and his ceiling is high."
On the defensive side of the conversation, Cruz's recent transition to center field hasn't come without some snags, but the fact that the Pirates are entrusting him with patrolling one of the most important positions on the field says a lot about their faith in his tools and work ethic after he moved away from shortstop.
It may be hard for fans to get overly excited about Pittsburgh's future due to its recent failures and ongoing playoff drought, but the fact of the matter is that there's enough high-end talent currently within the organization to help fuel them towards a sustained period of winning for the first time in a decade.
JACK MARKOWSKI