Developed Teams 2015: Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are the next team eliminated from the 2015 postseason, falling victim to the brilliance of Jake Arrieta and the Cubs in the NL Wild Card Game. But it wasn't for lack of effort from a mostly homegrown roster, which many pundits believe is the best and most well-rounded in the sport. Check out how similar their developed lineup is to their current lineup in the chart below:

You'll notice that there's only one developed starting position player not currently with the Pirates, but Jose Bautista is a big time threat that can change the shape of any lineup. You'll also notice that there are nine position players in said lineup, despite the fact that Pittsburgh plays in the NL, which is because I've decided to include a DH for each team. I'm not shy about supporting the universal implementation of the DH, despite the protests from certain members of the Giants (which basically boil down to, "We have a good hitting pitcher, so it benefits our team not to change the rules"), and since I did all the work on this project, we're gonna do it my way. Meanwhile, Bautista will slot into the full time DH slot because the Bucs already have three pretty darn good outfielders.

The fact that this lineup is almost exactly the same as what they trotted out on the field for 2015 makes it one of the least interesting to analyze. I could simply refer you to an article such as Grantland's NL Central Preview (and keep in mind that Jordy Mercer would have a spot on this team if it weren't for Jung Ho Kang's emergence this year). They even reacquired third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who was originally a Pirate before spending most of his career as a member of the Cubs. Brock Holt and Rajai Davis are both great additions to the bench because the former can play litrally anywhere on the diamond and the latter's base stealing ability makes him a superb pinch hitting candidate. The only black hole in the lineup is behind the plate, where none of the candidates have even eclipsed 100 games in their respective careers.

The pitching staff is another story, and it's a sad one once you get past bona fide ace Gerrit Cole. Chris Young (the tall white pitcher, not the average-height black outfielder) had somewhat of a resurgence with Seattle last year, but found himself pitching in relief with Kansas City more often than your #2 starter should be. Jeff Locke has shown that he might be able to stick in a major league rotation, and while that doesn't sound like a glowing endorsement, it isn't. After those three, you're stuck with five options who started a combined total of one game in 2015 (Casey Sadler's winning effort on April 12, after which he landed on the 60-day disabled list. That's what the orange highlight in the Bat/Throw column is for, by the way - Tony Sanchez's blue means he is on the 40-man roster, but in the minor leagues). Bronson Arroyo and Brandon Cumpton were injured for the whole year and Tom Gorzelanny hasn't started a major league game since 2013.

One guy who used to start while with the Pirates is Zach Duke, but he moved to the bullpen full time four years ago and hasn't looked back (except for that one spot start he had with the Nationals in 2013). He's one of four lefties in the pen, including projected closer Tony Watson, who has never been a closer in real life, but his 41 holds in 2015 prove that he doesn't crack under pressure. This is not a terrible bullpen by any means, but it's not the type of lights out relief corps you want to support a rotation as spotty as this one.