Pirates Get Encouraging Praise in Final Rankings
The Pittsburgh Pirates ended the 2024 MLB regular season with a record of 76-86, which is right around where most expected them to land.
In spite of the fact that the Pirates once again missed the playoffs, they have plenty to look forward to, and Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer specified that in his final power rankings for the year.
"The Reds and Pirates can likewise look at this season as a step in the right direction," Rymer wrote. "Pittsburgh gets a tip of the hat for letting Paul Skenes pitch, resulting in the first sub-2.00 ERA by a rookie starter in the live-ball era."
Rymer ranked the Pirates 22nd.
While Skenes was obviously the most notable thing about Pittsburgh's campaign, there are certainly other reasons to be excited if you are a Pirates fan.
Pittsburgh has a couple of other intriguing young pitchers in Jared Jones and Quinn Priester, and it also has arms such as Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington in its farm system.
The Pirates also have a very impressive young slugger in Oneil Cruz (moving the 6-foot-7 star from shortstop to the outfield was the right decision), and Nick Gonzalez and Joey Bart are also solid, youthful talents in the lineup.
Of course, Pittsburgh has a long way to go to seriously contend.
Most specifically, the Pirates need offense, as they ranked toward the bottom of baseball in every major statistical category.
Pittsburgh didn't have a single player register an .800 OPS in 2024, and while Cruz (.773 OPS) is certainly a candidate to do that moving forward, the Pirates need other dependable hitters. It should also be noted that Bryan Reynolds (.791 OPS) has logged an OPS south of .800 two years in a row.
However, for a Pittsburgh squad that has not made the playoffs since 2015 and has only made three trips to the postseason the last three decades, progress is progress.
