Paul Skenes will be wasted by the Pittsburgh Pirates

Paul Skenes has quickly joined the conversation as the best pitcher in all of baseball. In just 12 starts, Skenes has 3.3 Wins Above Replacement, a 1.93 ERA, and started the All-Star Game for the National League team. It’s great for basketball to see a rookie with all the hype perform like that and be in contention for CY Young and Rookie of the Year even though he doesn’t start in the Majors until May 11th. It’s just a shame he’s with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are known for consistently having one of the lowest salaries in baseball. The Pirates have averaged 71.9 wins per season since the 1992 season and have only had 4 winning seasons in the last 22 years, making the playoffs just three times. The Pirates are not known for their success, they are more known for their beautiful stadium overlooking the city skyline.

There is no doubt that Paul Skenes is going to be one of the best pitchers in baseball for a long time. The way he pitches is so fundamentally sound that he is in a good position to stay healthy and pitch for a long time. However, the best player in baseball does not always translate to success for the team. Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani were wasted in Los Angeles for years and Trout still is. Aaron Judge is currently wasted for the Money Bag Yankees. Pittsburgh needs to recognize that the pitching staff they have is strong and the team they can create is capable. They just don’t have the history to believe that it will happen.

The 4 winning seasons since the 1992 season, their ranking on the payroll.

2013 – 17th on the payroll

2014 – 28th on the payroll

2015 – 23rd on the payroll

2018 – 27th on the payroll

For the 2024 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are 28th in the payroll and are currently 52-52. The strength of the Pirates this year is their starting pitching between Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, and others. The only big name on offense for them is Bryan Reynolds and they do have him under contract, but they need to find some other young hitters to grow with the young pitching staff.

There is concern about the Pirates farm system, their highest prospect is ranked 49th in the MLB Top 100 Baseball Prospects. What is next for the offense to match the success of the starting pitching?

The Pirates can be successful in the regular season and make the playoffs. The Pirates may make the playoffs in 2024, but their success in the playoffs should be a reminder that it takes a strong team to win it all.

In those 3 playoff appearances, the Pirates lost the Wild Card game in 20214 and 2015, and in 2013 they won the wild card game but lost the NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals in 5 games. These are the most successful teams for the Pittsburgh Pirates in over 20 years, and these teams also had great pitching. They had Francisco Liriano, AJ Burnett, Gerritt Cole Charlie Morton, and Edinson Volquez for one season.

The current Pirates also have a strong lineup, led by Paul Skenes, the future of MLB. The Pirates will disappoint Paul Skenes, just as they have disappoint their fans for 22 years now.

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