The Pittsburgh Pirates are 52-50. Where does that put them in the latest MLB power rankings?
The Pittsburgh Pirates are celebrating after winning their series against the St. Louis Cardinals and staying above .500 for what feels like the first time in forever in late July.
With the Pirates in contention for a Wild Card berth in the National League, let’s take a look at where they are ranked in power rankings across the internet:
One of the bigger question marks of the trade season, scouts are watching the Pirates both at the major league level and in the minors in case they do some adding and subtracting. Pittsburgh has a lot of pending free agents but probably not a lot that are desirable by other teams. Why not keep them and go for a playoff spot — even if it means adding only on the margins? That’s the Pirates’ likely course of action, and though they have one of the best starting staffs in baseball, adding another good starter to ease the burden on Paul Skenes & Co. wouldn’t be a bad idea. Having said that, they could use a bat more than anything. Small add-ons make sense here.
Bleacher Report, Joel Reuter: 17
With a young team on the rise, the Pittsburgh front office can send a message that they are serious about winning by making some small-scale additions at the deadline in pursuit of the team’s first winning season since 2018. With Jared Jones (lat strain) and Bailey Falter (triceps tendinitis) both landed on the injured list earlier this month, a back-end starter who can soak up some innings and take pressure off their young arms would be a valuable pickup.
Yahoo! Sports, Jordan Shusterman: 19
It seemed like Ke’Bryan Hayes made real strides last year to get his bat to a point where, combined with his elite glove, he had become one of the better all-around third basemen in the NL. Unfortunately, Hayes the hitter has gone horribly backward this year, to the point that even on a bad offensive team, his struggles at the plate stand out. He’s still too young and too talented to give up on — not to mention, the sizable extension Pittsburgh already awarded him ensures that he’ll keep playing — but he’s one of several Pirates hitters who need to step up if this team wants to have any hope of playing in October.
BD community, what do you think of the rankings? Too high or too low? Chime off in the comments below.