Seems a return to mediocrity is imminent for the Pirates.
Because they lost tonight? They're three games back from the division, two from the wild card with a month left of play. They got pounded with injuries all at the same time with McCutchen, Walker, Alverez, Cole all out last month, and they still stayed up there.
They still have a very real chance to win the division, or make the wild card.
And even if they don't, the only direction is up. Have you seen their farm? Marte and Polanco already look like studs, especially in the outfield. They're both better than McCutchen in my opinion, and he's a gold glove winner! Those are the guys that are up. They have Josh Bell who they just moved to first base, he's hitting .325 down there in the minors in 425 at bats.
Then they already have Gerrit Cole up. He's still young, the only problem he has now is consistency which a lot of young pitchers have problems with. They have Taillon who was supposed to be up this year in the rotation but got set back with TJ surgery, but I'm expecting him to bounce back and be great. Those two already looked like studs, but have you taken a look at Tyler Glasnow? He's going to be their top ace in a couple of years. He's got a 1.74 era in 124 innings and 157 strikeouts! They've got Nick Kingham down there too who also looks great! So in a couple years they'll have Glasnow, Cole, Taillon, and Kingham all in the rotation.
I'm not even mentioning how good Meadows and McGuire look because they're still about three years away from the big leagues, but they're both looking good too, although I think Meadows might end up getting traded. And Alen Hanson their shortstop prospect will probably be up next year, and he's looking good too!
You're only seeing the start of this team, trust me. They're very young, but they have the best farm system in baseball and they're only getting better each year.
Even for this year how you consider three games back from the division mediocre is beyond me, when all it takes is a good run for a week to take control of the division...which is very possible. The only thing that's holding them back right now not counting injuries is Clint Hurdle's managing decisions. Doing things like batting Starling Marte 7th in the lineup are the dumb reasons why the team isn't being as productive as they should be.
Goddamn you...making me go on a Pirate rant this late at night.