30 Teams in 30 Days 2018 20 Pittsburgh Pirates

If you looked at the Pirates as somewhat of an afterthought in a strong and busy NL Central coming into the season, nobody would have second-guessed you. After all, they did trade away not only their best starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, but then two days later, they shipped out longtime face of the franchise Andrew McCutchen. But, to Pittsburgh's credit, they got back some MLB-ready talent in those deals (and others), and planned to put a competitor on the field in 2018, which has worked out so far, as they're currently in [1st place with an 11-6] record.

All-Acquired Factor

Outfielder Corey Dickerson quietly put up an All-Star season in 2017, then he was quietly designated for assignment by the Rays just before Spring Training, in what was a pretty blatant cost-cutting maneuver, even though analysts will spout some line about Tampa Bay systematically jettisoning players who struggled against the high fastball or something. The Pirates picked him up for a mid-level prospect and a relief pitcher who has since been cut, and now Dickerson is leading the team in WAR. Colin Moran hasn't yet lived up to his former top prospect billing, and he was blocked in Houston, so he was included in the return for Cole and has settled in as the Buccos' everyday third baseman.

Fifth Starter

I'll actually need to profile two different starters to round out Pittsburgh's rotation, because another part of the return for Cole, starter-turned-long-reliever-turned-back-to-starter Joe Musgrove started the season on the DL due to a shoulder strain. For the moment, it's Trevor Williams (ranked 338 by MLB.com) and Steven Brault (520) filling in those slots, as another former top prospect Tyler Glasnow (448) has moved to the bullpen, where he can hopefully better harness his electric stuff than he did in his debut last year.

Bullpen

Continuing the All-Acquired theme, the third piece that the Bucs got back for Cole, Michael Feliz, has immediately stepped into a relief role. Lefty Josh Smoker, picked up in a minor trade with the Mets, started the season on the active roster, but has since been optioned to the minors. Kyle Crick did not start with the big club, but the top return in the McCutchen trade has since been promoted for [two] scoreless innings. But the biggest change to the Pirates' bullpen was in name only: their breakout closer, previously known as Felipe Rivero, has legally changed his name to Felipe Vazquez for the 2018 season (although he will keep his jersey number 73). We'll see if a closer by any other name will throw as hard, as the season goes on.

Fantasy Astrology Relevance

Starling Marte's move to center field full time has made him the front runner to take over that spot for Libra from his one-time teammate Andrew McCutchen. Vazquez (né Rivero) will serve as Cancer's closer, a team on which he would have joined Josh Harrison, if he were not on the DL with a fractured bone in his hand. Actually, Harrison is behind both Ian Kinsler and DJ LeMahieu on the "Decapods" depth chart, but I always like to mention him because he and I share a birthday, albeit one year apart. Meanwhile Corey Dickerson should start in the Gemini outfield while neither Jameson Taillon nor Ivan Nova will crack the Scorpio or Capricorn rotations, respectively.

Song

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (a.k.a. There's a Pawn Shop on the Corner) - Guy Mitchell

When I first got the idea for this part of the feature, I was pretty excited about it, jotting down a list of a little under 20 songs that popped into my head. But that leaves about a third of the league where I had to just type in "songs about [team's home city]" into Google and hope for the best. This is a fun enough tune, although it's not super emblematic of the city of Pittsburgh, other than having the city in its name. For an honorable mention, not to mention a more modern, hip take on music in general, there's always "Pittsburgh Sound" by North Dakota-born hip hop artist Wiz Khalifa.