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With only 29 games remaining in the regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates trail the San Francisco Giants by just 2.0 games for the second wild-card spot.  

Currently, the organization cannot be thinking about the future, as it has a chance to win right now.  

Still, when the season is over and talks arise about potential call-ups in 2015, the organizational leaders in Pittsburgh have to smile.  

Lately, fans and analysts across the nation have been talking about just how good the New York Mets can be with a potential pitching rotation consisting of studs Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard, but the Pirates have a chance to match or even top that rotation.  

Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow has been lights-out in 2014 with the High-A Bradenton Marauders.  In 23 games started, Glasnow is 12-5 with an earned run average of just 1.74.  

According to his team’s official Twitter page, Glasnow even set a team record this season:

The 21-year-old right-hander was ranked third among all Pirates prospects entering this season, according to Baseball America.

According to Karen Price of the Tribune Review, Glasnow and teammates Nick Kingham and Josh Bell will play in the Arizona Fall League.  The league serves as a showcase for some of the game’s brightest prospects, providing them a chance to display their abilities deep into the year.  

Glasnow recently was named Florida State League Pitcher of the Year, according to Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com.  There is no doubt this kid has the potential to be the future ace of this organization in the next few seasons.  

Like Glasnow, Kingham has performed well in 2014, going 5-4 with a 3.28 ERA in 13 starts with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.  Kingham was called up from Double-A Altoona only 12 starts into the season.  

According to the same report from Baseball America, Kingham is ranked fifth among all Pirates prospects. However, considering he is two years older than Glasnow and has already pitched at the highest minor league level, it is conceivable that he may get the call to the majors first.  

Now, let’s not forget about the most highly touted pitching prospect of all in the Pirates farm system, Jameson Taillon.  

Many believed Taillon would make his major league debut at some point during this season.  However, he was just another victim of a torn UCL leading to Tommy John surgery in April.  

The 22-year-old has played three minor league seasons for the Pirates, averaging 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.  

Taillon was ranked 22nd among all minor league prospects around the league heading into the 2014 regular season, according to Baseball America.  

Barring any major setbacks in his road to recovery, Taillon should be ready to pitch again next spring, and if he pitches as well as he had prior to the injury, we may see him in a major league uniform sometime during 2015.  

These three prospects alone have the potential to make up one of the strongest starting rotations in baseball in the next few years, and the Pirates have to feel pretty good about that.  

A player who cannot be forgotten about is one who has already proved he can excel at the major league level, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole.  

Over his first two major league seasons, Cole has gone 17-11 with an ERA of 3.42, and he was one of the main reasons the Pirates won 94 games last season.  

Cole is not eligible for arbitration until 2017, and he will not become a free agent until 2020.  The Pirates have locked in a player who has the ability to lead the rotation, which is what they will need going forward.  

Pittsburgh also currently has the four-year veteran Jeff Locke, who has done well in 2014, going 6-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 16 games started.  Locke will not be a free agent until 2019.  

Then there is Francisco Liriano, who led the Pirates to the postseason in 2013 with a 16-8 record and a 3.02 ERA.  Although Liriano has improved during the second half of this season, his poor start to 2014 has resulted in his 3-10 record and 3.98 ERA.  

Liriano will be a free agent at the end of the 2014 season, and unless he is willing to take a short-term deal, the Pirates probably won’t bring him back.  After all, he will turn 31 in October and has made over 30 starts in a regular season just once in his nine-year career.  

With the amount of talented prospects in the farm system, it would not make much sense to sign Liriano to a huge deal, as a number of players are just a few seasons away from making an impact at the major league level.  

As they are led by Gerrit Cole over the next few seasons, the Pirates may have one of the best rotations in baseball for years to come, and while it is certainly true that all prospects do not pan out, it is hard to doubt the talent the Pittsburgh Pirates have in their farm system.  

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball-Reference

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Throughout the first two months of the 2014 regular season, Pittsburgh Pirates fans all over the nation were anticipating the major league debut of the organization’s top prospect, Gregory Polanco.  

When his big day finally came on June 10, the 22-year-old phenom made an immediate impact on his team’s struggling offense.  

Through his first 93 at bats, Polanco was batting .301 with three home runs and 13 runs batted in.  

Since then, however, the rookie has hit a wall, as his batting average has dipped to just .241 on the season.  

After collecting just one hit in his last 30 at bats, Polanco was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is confident that the move will only help the young star.  

According to Stephen Pianovich of MLB.com, Hurdle said, “We’ll give him the opportunity to get down, get some at-bats, get out of the spotlight that’s been here for a week and find his way. I believe he will and come back and help this ballclub in September in a very positive fashion.”

It would be no surprise if Polanco is one of the players who will be called up when the roster expands in September, as he is simply too talented to continue to struggle this mightily.  

The Pirates were smart in sending Polanco down to Triple-A at this point in the season.  Considering there are only seven games remaining in the regular season for Indianapolis, Polanco will have a week to regroup and get back into the swing of things.  

The Pirates have struggled to play consistent baseball all season, yet they only sit just 1.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants for the second wild-card spot.  

With just over a month left to play in the regular season, the Pirates have to find a way to ignite their offense and string together a nice winning streak.  Otherwise, it will be an extremely disappointing season for a team that just reached the postseason last year for the first time since 1992.  

If Polanco can regain his confidence at the plate over the next week down in Triple-A, there is plenty of reason to believe the Pirates can make a playoff push in September.  

There is no harm in removing Polanco from the lineup considering just how ineffective he has been. Instead, it is a great move that can pay great dividends for the Pirates come September, when the organization will be seeking another trip back to the playoffs.  

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball Reference

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In starting pitcher Edinson Volquez‘s first four games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014, the righty went 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA.  

Suddenly, it looked like the Pirates made a great decision in signing him to a one-year deal during the offseason.  

In his next five, however, he took the loss in four of those games while surrendering 22 earned runs in 18.2 innings.  

He then won two straight decisions in his next three starts, putting him one game under .500 with a 3-4 record.  

After a loss on June 7 to the Milwaukee Brewers, Volquez bounced back and pitched brilliantly in his next start, shutting out the Chicago Cubs over 7.0 innings pitched.  

What happened in his very next start, however, had many critics raising the same question: In the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which one is the true Volquez?

He pitched horribly in his next start, lasting just 2.1 innings while surrendering eight earned runs to the Cincinnati Reds.  

On Saturday, Volquez held the Philadelphia Phillies to just one run over 7.0 innings of work, and the victory was his third straight decision with a win.  

With the win, he climbed over .500 for the first time since he started the season 1-0. However, the same case still remains.  

He looked shaky in the top of the first inning Saturday, allowing three batters to reach base safely. 

However, with what seemed like the click of a switch, Volquez instantly settled down to escape the inning unharmed. From there, he was dominant.  

So, it remains uncertain what kind of pitcher he really is at this point in his career. He has shown flashes of greatness at times while looking lost on the mound at others.  

One thing is for sure, however: With a potential National League Central Division title on the line in the second half of the season, Volquez will have to prove his true identity.  

The Pirates have been dealt heavy blows throughout the season to their starting rotation, with Francisco Liriano and Gerrit Cole both spending time on the disabled list.  

Volquez is the veteran with the most experience in Pittsburgh’s rotation, and now is the time for him to continue pitching well into the second half of the season and potentially even the postseason.  

So, while the question remains unanswered, you decide: Who is the real Volquez, and what do you predict his final statistics will be at the end of the regular season?

*Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference

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The Pittsburgh Pirates received a major boost last Saturday when their young starting pitcher, Gerrit Cole, made his first start in over three weeks.  

The 23-year-old had been shelved with right shoulder fatigue, which had caused him to lose velocity on his fastball and yield more hits to batters.  

Cole took the mound for the second time since coming off the disabled list Friday as the Pirates hosted the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.  

Simply put, Cole was dominant through five innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out five batters.  

Cole did all that on just 80 pitches, which is why fans were shocked when they saw Pirates manager Clint Hurdle walk out to home plate prior to the start of the sixth inning to make a pitching change.  

According to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cole was pulled from the game due to soreness in his right lat.  

Cole made his major league debut for the Pirates in 2013, going 10-7 with an earned run average of just 3.22 that year.  His efforts helped lead his organization to its first playoff appearance since 1992.  

Needless to say, Cole’s presence in the rotation is essential to the Pirates’ chances of making a deep run at a World Series title in 2014.  

In 13 starts this season, Cole is 7-4 with a 3.78 ERA.  Unfortunately, he has missed a considerable amount of time already due to injury.  

The Pirates’ top pitcher right now, according to the depth chart on the organization’s website, is Charlie Morton.  Although his 5-9 record may not look good on paper, Morton has pitched very well in 2014, posting an ERA of 3.30 in 17 starts.  

Their No. 2 starter is currently Cole, who will likely be at the top of the rotation in a year or so barring any catastrophic injury.  

Rounding out the five-man rotation are starters Edinson Volquez, Jeff Locke and Vance Worley.  

Over his last 14.0 innings pitched, Volquez has not allowed an earned run.  He has brought his ERA down to a respectable 4.07 on the year, while his record sits at an even 6-6.  

Still, Volquez has not been able to find consistency on the mound this season, as he has not been over .500 since starting the season 1-0 in early April.  

Locke is one of those guys who has shown glimpses of greatness, only to fall back to Earth quite quickly. In the first half of the season in 2013, Locke went 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA.  In the second half, he went 2-5 to finish the season with an unimpressive 10-7 record.  

This season, however, Locke is locked and loaded, owning a walks and hits per inning pitched of only 1.008 and an ERA of 3.46 in six starts.  

Then there is Vance Worley, who has shown a lot of promise in 2014, pitching at least 6.2 innings in each of his first four starts since being called up in June.  

Worley is the type of pitcher that can pitch deep into games and set his team up to win, which is why the Pirates will likely keep him in the rotation even after Francisco Liriano returns from the disabled list.  

With all that being said, it is easy to see that the Pirates have a decent rotation even without Gerrit Cole. However, Cole’s dominance on the mound is what puts the Pirates into the discussion of potential playoff contenders in 2014.  

Without Cole, the Pirates may have to look to acquire another pitcher prior to the July 31 trade deadline. For now, we will have to wait for word on the severity of Cole’s injury, but the Pirates organization couldn’t have been happy about the outcome of his start Saturday.  

Cole is an integral piece in Pittsburgh’s starting rotation, and without him, the rotation simply isn’t as effective.  

On the other hand, if the injury turns out to have been just mild discomfort and Cole doesn’t miss any more time, look out for the Pirates as they are fully loaded and primed for another playoff run in the second half of the season.  

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball-Reference.

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After being removed from his role as the closer of the Pittsburgh Pirates one week ago, Jason Grilli was settling into his new role as a normal reliever.

But according to Matt Snyder of CBSSports.com, the Pirates reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Angels to swap former closers Grilli and Ernesto Frieri.

Neither Grilli nor Frieri has performed up to potential in 2014, but this may be one of the best trades the Pirates have made in a long time.

Frieri owned an earned run average of 6.39 in 31 innings pitched for the Angels in 2014. However, he is no stranger to success on the mound. The 28-year-old from Colombia was signed by the San Diego Padres in 2003, and he has enjoyed great success pitching in the National League.

In 105 appearances out of the bullpen for the Padres from 2009-2012, Frieri owned an impressive 2.33 ERA while averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

Now, he is heading back to the National League, and he should be looking forward to a new beginning with a team that is beginning to turn its season around.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen already featured two stars at the back end: current closer Mark Melancon (2.35 ERA, 14 saves) and Tony Watson, who has been arguably the best reliever in the league this season with a record of 5-0 and an ERA of just 0.98.

Now, it has added another dangerous force in Frieri.

Sure, it seems that Frieri lost some effectiveness over the last two seasons with the Angels, pitching to an ERA of 3.80 in 2013 before his awful season this year. However, he is now heading back to the league where he dominated opposing batters from the moment he stepped on a big league mound.

Adding to the excitement in Pittsburgh, it has been proved that a change of scenery is all it could take for a struggling player to really turn his season or career around.

Ask Ike Davis, and he will tell you all about it.

Davis was traded only 12 games into the 2014 regular season after batting .208 with the New York Mets. Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Davis has batted .246 with four home runs and 19 RBI in 60 games played.

At that pace, Davis is currently on track to own his highest single-season batting average since 2011. More importantly, he has helped the Pirates win games and get back into the race for the postseason.

Then there is Grilli, whose glory days seem to be almost over. Now 37 years old, Grilli probably doesn’t have many years left in his tank. After all, his current contract is set to expire after this season.

On the other hand, Frieri is still in the prime of his career at only 28 years of age. If he had owned a high ERA his whole career, this trade wouldn’t be very exciting for Pirates fans.

However, Frieri has shown the ability to dominate opposing batters in the National League, and it would be no surprise to see him turn his season around in Pittsburgh much like Davis is currently doing.

*Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.

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Over the last few seasons, we have seen the emergence of a number of young pitching prospects in Major League Baseball.  

Unfortunately, 2014 has been the year of torn ulnar collateral ligaments, resulting in season-ending Tommy John surgery for a lot of those young stars.  

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports, 18 pitchers have had the procedure done on their arms in 2014, and commissioner Bud Selig is calling it an “epidemic.”

The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the first teams affected by the procedure in 2014 when top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon underwent the operation in early April. At the major league level, however, the Pirates have been blessed with healthy arms.  

According to a report on Fox Sports, Pittsburgh has had just one player, reliever Stolmy Pimentel, land on the 15-day list with an arm injury. Pimentel was placed on the shelf on May 2 with right shoulder inflammation.  

Other than that, the Pirates have not been burdened by arm problems at the major league level in 2014.

In fact, Pittsburgh has seen how the surgery can positively affect a pitcher’s ability to pitch again.  

Starting pitcher Edinson Volquez had the best year of his career in 2008 when he went 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA for the Cincinnati Reds. The following season, he found himself in the operating room after tearing the ligament in his throwing arm.  

Volquez has never returned to his old form, but he has shown in 2014 that he looks completely healthy, giving the Pirates a solid No. 5 starter.  

Now, it goes without being said that the Pirates have had their fair share of injuries early on, but luckily those injuries did not concern pitchers’ arms (with the exception of Pimentel).  

The Pirates are very fortunate that they have not been bitten by the injury bug considering they are off to a slow 17-23 start to the season.  

According to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, when asked about staying healthy, Volquez said “We just have to to do it all season long, for the team and for myself.”

As long as their pitchers stay injury-free, the Pirates should get hot, as they certainly have enough talent to make a run at one of the wild-card spots.

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball Reference

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are set to take on the New York Yankees this weekend for the first time since the 2008 regular season.  

Pittsburgh crushed New York by a score of 12-5 in the first game of the two-game series before being shut out 10-0 in the second game six years ago.    

This is an old rivalry that will be renewed when the Pirates play in their first series at the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.  

Let’s take a look at the greatest games ever played between these two teams.  

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball Reference

Begin Slideshow

The Pittsburgh Pirates have failed to live up to expectations so far in 2014, owning an overall record of 16-21.  

However, the team has won four of its last five games, as its batters begin to heat up.  

Let’s take a look at each player on the active roster and the grades they’ve earned after the first quarter of the 2014 regular season.  

This list of grades includes only players on the active 25-man roster.  

All statistics are courtesy of Baseball Reference.  

Begin Slideshow

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is doing everything he can to bring his team out of its slump in 2014. 

The Pirates have started their season with a 10-18 record through their first 28 games.  The offensive production Pittsburgh is getting has been subpar, as their team batting average of just .225 through the first 28 games is ranked 27th in the major leagues.  

Now, Hurdle is shaking up the lineup in an effort to awaken the bats and turn his team’s season around.  

First baseman Ike Davis was penciled in as the No. 2 hitter prior to the team’s matchup with the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.  It was the first time he had ever batted second in the lineup, which just goes to show that Hurdle is attempting just about anything right now.  

According to Jeff Seidel of MLB.com, Hurdle responded to the question about his reasoning behind putting Davis in the two-hole by saying “I like the way the lineup sets up. It’s about a guy that can drive in a run from first base and a guy that can get on base in front of [Andrew] McCutchen.”

The root of the problem in the lineup starts at the very top with Starling Marte, who has been awful so far in 2014.  He is currently tied for second in the league with 38 strikeouts in 28 games played.  

Marte’s batting average has decreased from .280 in 2013 to only .241 so far in 2014.  His .325 on-base percentage will not cut it as a lead-off batter, especially if his team hopes to have success moving forward. 

Hurdle tried mixing things up by moving Marte down to the very bottom of the order in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 25.  Since then, Marte has returned to the leadoff spot, batting first in the lineup in 27 of Pittsburgh’s first 28 games in 2014.  

Marte has collected just six hits in his last 32 at-bats, so removing him from the leadoff spot for longer than just one game may be a smart choice.  

The Pirates need more production from the very top of the order so Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez will have more runners to drive in.  If they can find more production there, there’s no reason the Pirates won’t be able to perform as they did in 2013.  

There is a reason that Clint Hurdle was named the 2013 National League Manager of the Year, and that is because of his ability to create lineups and field a winning team.  He is getting back at it again in 2014, making the adjustments in the lineup he feels are necessary for the team to get better.  

We will likely to see adjustments taking place as the Pirates try to straighten out their season and make it back to the postseason for the second straight year.

If those adjustments work out in Pittsburgh’s favor, expect the Pirates to be in the hunt for the playoffs as the regular season winds down.   

Statistics Courtesy of Baseball-Reference.

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Expectations were high coming into the 2014 Major League Baseball regular season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  After all, the team made it back to the playoffs in 2013 for the first time since 1992. 

Now, although it is hard to believe, it is a fact that the Pirates are currently on pace to lose 100 games in 2014.  That’s right, 100 losses. 

In case you are thinking that was a typing error, here is the calculation.  The Pirates currently sit at 10-16, which equates to a .385 winning percentage.  Over a 162-game span, that would amount to 62.37 wins.  Rounding down, that would give the Pirates a final regular-season record of 62-100 in 2014. 

If the Pirates do continue to play this poorly, the franchise could see its biggest drop ever in winning percentage between two 162-game seasons.  Their current winning percentage is a decrease of .195 percentage points from their 2013 winning percentage of .580. 

Pittsburgh’s poor performance out of the gates in 2014 has been mind-blowing, especially due to the fact that the Pirates do not have that different of a team from 2013. 

In 2013, the Pirates owned a team batting average of .245 and an earned run average of 3.26.  Through 26 games in 2014, they are batting just .221 as a team while holding an ERA of 3.65.  With that great a lack of offensive production, high ERAs from usually-reliable pitchers like Francisco Liriano and Charlie Morton simply will not lead to wins. 

So, where has the offense gone? It is seemingly nowhere to be found, as the Pirates have had trouble even collecting singles.  The Pirates have a total of 197 hits in their first 26 games, which is good for third-worst in the National League behind only the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets. 

Starling Marte leads the majors in strikeouts with 37 already in 2014.  Pedro Alvarez, who led the team in strikeouts last season but was still a huge factor in the lineup with great power, is batting just .172 with six home runs. 

Even reigning National League Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutchen got off to a slow start.  He has raised his average to .286, but the Pirates will need much more production from him to get back to where they were at the end of last season. 

So the question remains: Just how likely is it that the Pirates will stun the baseball world and lose 100 games in 2014?

With the amount of talent they brought back in 2014, it is hard to see Pittsburgh continuing to play this poorly.  After all, this is mostly the same group of players that won 94 games and made the playoffs in 2013. 

They surely don’t look like the same group of players, however. 

While it would be hard to predict the Pirates losing 100 games in 2014, the reality is that neither pitching nor offense is getting the job done.  All teams go through slumps, but very rarely does a team go through a prolonged drought like this and still go on to make the playoffs. 

Then again, anything is possible, and the Pirates have the talent needed to make a splash in their division.  Right now, however, they are looking more like a 100-loss team than a 94-win team. 

*Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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