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The technical term for Andrew McCutchen‘s performance in 2012 and 2013 is “a hard act to follow.”

All he did was hit .322 with a .932 OPS across those two seasons, with last year’s National League MVP award being the bow on top of it all. It’s hard to ask a guy to be any better than that.

And yet, that’s what McCutchen has become in 2014: better.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the Pittsburgh Pirates superstar, you’ve been missing a heck of a show. McCutchen has been absolutely scorching in the month of June, owning a .421 average and 1.440 OPS in 14 games, the last eight of which have been multi-hit games.

MLB figured that was worth an award:

“It’s just so fun to watch a guy up there with that kind of confidence night in, night out,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle recently told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of his superstar center fielder. “Once this calendar month flipped, man, he’s hit another gear.”

McCutchen was doing pretty well before June came, mind you, hitting .298 with an .862 OPS through 54 games. But with his June hot streak tacked on, his season now looks like this:

McCutchen has hit better than .325 (in 2012) and posted a slugging percentage better than .550 before (also in 2012). But the .990 OPS he’s carrying would be a new career best by close to 40 points, and you can trace that to the most-impressive .437 OBP that McCutchen is rocking.

That’s as good a place as any to start our investigation into how McCutchen has improved this year.

Take one look at McCutchen‘s OBP, and you might conclude that he’s been walking more often.

Indeed he has been. After never walking in more than 13.1 percent of his plate appearances coming into this year, according to FanGraphs, McCutchen is walking in 16.2 percent of his plate appearances. With 50 walks, he’s already over halfway to his 2013 total of 78.

Rather than an accident, consider this a product of McCutchen finally accepting how he’s been treated for years.

Via FanGraphs, here’s a table that shows how often McCutchen has chased pitches outside the strike zone (O-Swing%) relative to how many pitches he’s seen inside the strike zone (Zone%) since 2010:

Every year since 2010, McCutchen has seen a smaller percentage of pitches in the strike zone. And even through his MVP season, his response had been to go chasing after more and more pitches. In doing so, he was incentivizing pitchers to keep staying out of the zone.

Things have changed this year. McCutchen has once again seen a decrease in pitches in the strike zone, but he’s chasing less often rather than continuing his pattern of chasing more. Instead of obliging pitchers when they’ve thrown balls, he’s taken them.

This obviously helps explain McCutchen‘s elevated walk rate. But besides that, it also helps explain his excellent hitting.

Besides more walks, McCutchen‘s improved discipline has also earned him a career-low first-pitch strike rate of 55.3 percent. He’s getting ahead in the count more often, which is his best hope of seeing good pitches to hit.

According to BaseballSavant.com, only 7.7 percent of the pitches thrown McCutchen‘s way have been inside the strike zone when he’s been behind in the count. Switch things to when he’s been ahead in the count, and the number jumps to 11.4 percent.

Which brings us to another thing about McCutchen‘s stupendous 2014 season: When he has seen pitches in the zone, he’s never been better at dealing with them.

In so many words: If you throw McCutchen a pitch inside the strike zone, that pitch will die.

What is it, exactly, that McCutchen is punishing inside the zone? Well, there’s really no better word than “everything.”

BaseballSavant.com tells us he’s hitting .385 against hard stuff in the zone, .360 against breaking stuff in the zone and a whopping .529 against off-speed stuff in the zone. All of those are career bests.

Granted, the slow stuff McCutchen has seen inside the strike zone hasn’t been as frequent as the hard stuff. If he was being overmatched by hard stuff in the zone, we’re not having this conversation.

As for why McCutchen hasn’t been overmatched against hard stuff in the zone, that would have something to do with how (A) he was an excellent fastball hitter to begin with, and (B) it seems he’s corrected a couple of previously subtle shortcomings.

Courtesy of Brooks Baseball, here’s a look at McCutchen‘s averages against heaters in the zone through 2013 (him being a right-handed hitter, picture him on the left side of the box):

In terms of only heaters that found the zone, McCutchen didn’t have any real problem areas. But he was weaker in some spots, namely low and away and up and in.

Keep that in mind while you look at his averages against heaters in 2014:

Remember those two weak spots? Those have become strengths in 2014. Pitchers who have thrown heat either up and in or down and away have been punished for doing so.

That means that, even despite how he’s not dominating the high-outside corner like usual, McCutchen has the strike zone covered better than ever when it comes to hard stuff.

Here’s the short version of all this: McCutchen has renewed his focus on the strike zone, and any pitcher who goes in there basically has nothing to get him out with. Or, if you prefer the even shorter version: He’s more locked in than he’s ever been.

It’s saying something that, even after all this, there are still some things left to praise.

There’s how FanGraphs has McCutchen working on a career-best 1.074 OPS on balls to right field. There’s how he’s a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts. And while the advanced metrics are actually down on his defense this year, this video has another opinion of his D:

With McCutchen playing the way he is, you can’t help but think of the possibility of a second straight MVP award. His numbers certainly make it possible, and that the Pirates have turned things around with a 17-10 record in their last 27 games makes it even more possible.

If McCutchen does make it two straight MVPs, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reminds us that he’d be putting himself “in rarefied air, as only Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds (multiple times), Mike Schmidt, Dale Murphy, Joe Morgan and Ernie Banks have won consecutive MVP awards in the National League.”

I want to say that joining that list of names isn’t going to be easy, but I should probably save that sentiment for a guy who isn’t making it look as easy as McCutchen.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.

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Grab a pen and mark this down: Friday, June 13, 2014, at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. That’s the date and the venue of Gregory Polanco‘s coming-out party.

Oh, and the other two members of the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ homegrown outfield also showed up.

But we’ll get to them in good time. For though he didn’t do it alone, the Pirates’ 8-6 win over the Miami Marlins in 13 innings Friday night was first and foremost the Gregory Polanco Show.

Batting leadoff in just his fourth major league game since his call-up earlier in the week, Polanco paced the Pirates offense by racking up three runs, two RBI and five hits in seven at-bats. The last of those was a two-run homer off lefty reliever Mike Dunn in the top of the 13th, the first of the rookie right fielder’s career and, ultimately, a game-winner for the Pirates.

It looked a little something like this:

On its own, this is a cool home run. But some home runs can become even cooler with a little context, and Polanco‘s dinger off Dunn just so happens to be one of those.

The pitch that found its way over the right field wall was the sixth of Polanco‘s at-bat. The first five had all been sliders, and understandably so. According to Brooks Baseball, Dunn has held lefties to a .210 average against his slider since 2009, with just two home runs to boot. It’s a lefty-hitter killer.

But that sixth pitch? That was also a slider. When Polanco made contact with it, he took a legit lefty killer and killed it.

As the man himself told Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

And indeed, we shouldn’t lose sight of how that homer was one of five hits. The team let everyone know that five-hit games by Pirates rookies don’t happen every year:

In all, not a bad night for Polanco‘s bat. After coming into the game with just three hits in 14 at-bats, he now has eight hits in 21 at-bats for a .381 average. 

And by the way, his glove also had a nice night. The highlight was this dandy of a diving, juggling catch to rob Reed Johnson of a hit in the third inning:

Here’s where we’re obligated to say that four games is far too small of a sample size to make any definitive judgments about what kind of player Polanco is going to be. Therefore, we won’t make any in this space.

But we do know that Polanco was a top-15 prospect in the eyes of MLB.com and Baseball America at the time he was called up, with the book on him being that he could one day be a player with the goods to make an impact on both sides of the ball.

On Friday night, Polanco showed that, yeah, he could indeed be that guy. And it was damn fun to behold.

That his two running mates in Pittsburgh’s outfield joined in the fun only made it better.

Batting behind Polanco in the No. 2 spot was left fielder Starling Marte, and he also had a heck of a night. The 25-year-old opened the scoring with a two-run missile to left field in the first inning and eventually finished with four hits of his own.

Batting behind Marte in the No. 3 spot was Andrew McCutchen. He only had two hits in seven at-bats, but those two hits were good enough to continue a personal streak. McCutchen has now collected two hits in six straight games, as well as seven of eight. His average for the month of June is .408.

Add it all up, and it was an 11-for-21 night with six runs and six RBI for the Pirates outfield at the top of the order. Just as the Pirates drew it up.

And there’s a notion that doesn’t just apply to Friday night’s game.

It looks like the Pirates have something special brewing in their outfield. Polanco‘s a top prospect who looks like he belongs. Marte was a top prospect in his own right not too long ago, and the 12 hits he has in his last 23 at-bats signal that he may be regaining the form that made him a star-level player in 2013.

And McCutchen…

Well, we know about McCutchen. His own days as one of baseball’s top prospects are further in the rear-view mirror, as he’s been an All-Star and an MVP since breaking into the league in 2009. And with a .320 average and a .974 OPS in his age-27 season this year, he’s making it clear that he’s still in the thick of his prime.

It’s not a finished product yet. But with Marte in left, McCutchen in center and Polanco in right, the Pirates have the makings of the best homegrown outfield we’ve seen in recent memory. The three of them are young, athletic and, based on what evidence we have, quite talented.

If this Pirates outfield does indeed reach its explosive potential, maybe we’ll look back on Friday’s barrage of the Marlins and Polanco‘s homer in particular as the lighting of the fuse.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates already have two homegrown talents in their outfield in Starling Marte and 2013 National League MVP Andrew McCutchen.

Now here comes a third. At long last, the Pirates are calling super-prospect Gregory Polanco to The Show.

The news was first reported by Polanco himself, who sent the word out via Twitter:

The Pirates—who likely would have made this move sooner had it not been for the Super Two deadline—would confirm Polanco‘s call-up, with the corresponding transaction being second baseman Neil Walker going on the disabled list after undergoing an appendectomy.

For a while there, it actually didn’t look like the Pirates had anything special after signing Polanco out of the Dominican Republic in 2009. He struggled at the low levels of the minors between 2009 and 2011, failing to make the grade as a top prospect in Baseball America‘s eyes.

Everything changed when Polanco broke out with a .325 average and a .910 OPS at Single-A in 2012. That put him on the map, and he kept himself there with a quality season across three levels in 2013.

Thus did the 22-year-old enter 2014 generally regarded as one of baseball’s elite prospects:

So what is it, exactly, that the prospect hounds love so much about Polanco?

Oh, you know. He’s just one of those guys who can pretty much do it all.

The first thing you’re liable to notice about Polanco these days is his bat. Such is life when you’ve been putting up the numbers he’s been putting up.

Here’s what Polanco had been doing at Triple-A Indianapolis before his call-up:

These numbers reek of consistent hard contact, which would indeed fit with the book on Polanco‘s swing.

The experts agree that Polanco has quick hands that allow him to generate a ton of bat speed. The scouting report on MLB.com mentions these things. So does the scouting report (subscription required) at Baseball America, which characterizes Polanco‘s bat speed as “exceptional.”

You can get a good look at Polanco‘s bat speed on this double he hit off Philadelphia Phillies right-hander A.J. Burnett in spring training:

Look how deep into the hitting zone Polanco let that pitch travel before unleashing his swing and smacking it into the gap in left-center field. That’s killer bat speed in motion, and ’tis a sight to see.

Now, even despite the bat speed, a common complaint about Polanco‘s swing coming into 2014 was that it could get long. Baseball America noted how some scouts were worried this tendency might get in the way of his power potential.

Then again, maybe not. Polanco showed off a long, loopy swing on this pitch from New York Yankees right-hander David Phelps, and that didn’t stop him from golfing the ball out of the yard:

That pitch actually seemed to catch Polanco by surprise, getting him just a little off balance on his front foot. It was also a breaking ball, meaning the pitcher wasn’t supplying much power.

It didn’t matter. Polanco still hit it out. That’s big-boy strength.

Any concerns over Polanco‘s power potential may be dated at this point anyway. In going from slugging .407 at Double-A in 2013 to slugging .540 (.194 isolated power, per FanGraphs) at Triple-A this year, it would seem the coast is clear to trust more optimistic projections for his power.

B/R’s Mike Rosenbaum offered such a projection, writing that Polanco has “enough raw power to hit 15-plus home runs” annually. Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) was even more favorable, writing Polanco‘s “power potential is easy plus.”

Polanco does have his flaws, mind you. Baseball America opined that his 6’4″ frame likely dooms him to always having holes in his swing, and he’s been known to chase after breaking balls. And while he teased otherworldly plate discipline and contact abilities at Double-A with a 12.6 walk rate and 12.6 strikeout rate (via FanGraphs), those numbers dipped to 8.8 and 16.1 at Triple-A this year.

Still, those numbers aren’t quite red-alarm-worthy, nor did they stop Polanco from putting up monster numbers. And as long as he has his killer bat speed and budding power, the Pirates aren’t wrong to believe he’s ready for big league pitching.

Not that good hitting is all Pittsburgh stands to get from Polanco, of course. He has other talents as well, ones that should make him an asset in the field and on the bases.

I’ll leave it to Baseball America to gush about Polanco‘s other tools and how they’ll come in handy:

Polanco‘s long, gliding strides enable him to cover tons of ground, especially laterally, as he can track down flyballs from gap to gap, and his plus arm would allow him to play right field. His route-running, especially on balls over his head, needs polish but should improve with experience. His above-average speed also makes him a threat on the bases, and he continues to hone his baserunning instincts.

Polanco had been putting his speed to use in center field before 2014 but has played exclusively in right field this season. With Marte in left and McCutchen in center, that’s where the Pirates have a fit for him.

And it’s probably where he fits best anyway. Beyond Polanco having the arm for right, his unpolished route running will be less of an issue in right than in center. With less ground to cover, it should be easier for him to use his speed to hide any poor routes he might take.

That Polanco should be able to cut it in right field ought to sound good to a Pirates club that, per FanGraphs, has gotten the National League’s worst UZR out of its right fielders in 2014. With Polanco joining Marte in left and McCutchen in center, Pittsburgh’s outfield should become where fly balls go to die.

As for Polanco‘s speed on the basepaths, ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required) praised him as a “70-grade runner out of the box.” And after stealing 40 bases in 2012 and 38 in ’13, he was already up to 15 this year. That Polanco got caught five times says his instincts need work, but the speed is there.

“This kid loves to run,” Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor told Sports Illustrated‘s Albert Chen. “His strides are so big, it’s like he takes two steps and he’s gone from second to home. He’s like a young colt on the bases.”

In the short term, Polanco should upgrade a position that hasn’t done the Pirates much good in 2014. Per FanGraphs, Pittsburgh has gotten just 0.5 WAR from its right fielders. With his hitting, defense and baserunning, it won’t be hard for Polanco to improve on that even if he doesn’t hit his ceiling right away.

That ceiling, to put a finer point on it, is that of a .300 hitter who’s going to hit for power, steal bases and be an impact fielder with both his arm and his glove.

The Pirates already have one guy like that. That they’re now fixing to have two borders on being unfair.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.

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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

The Pittsburgh Pirates Systems Check video offers a quick overview of the team’s farm system, addressing its strengths and weaknesses and how it can improve moving forward.

The video also provides a breakdown of the Pirates’ top prospects for 2014—outfielder Gregory Polanco, right-handed pitcher Jameson Taillon and middle infielder Alen Hanson—including each player’s ETA in the major leagues and potential long-term role within the organization.

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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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A division cannot be won for a team in April, but it can certainly be lost. Such is the case for the 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates, who fell to 9-14 and 7.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. 

After letting starting pitcher A.J. Burnett find another home in free agency prior to the 2014 season, the Pirates knew they would have to find another arm to round out their rotation. 

Gerrit Cole is the only starting pitcher in Pittsburgh’s rotation who has a winning record, currently sitting at 2-1 on the season. 

While Edinson Volquez has exceeded expectations so far in 2014 pitching to an earned-run average of 1.93 in four starts, the rest of the rotation has struggled. 

Francisco Liriano, who was the ace in the rotation last season, has gone 0-3 with a 4.22 ERA in his first five starts in 2014. Charlie Morton has been even worse going 0-3 with a 4.35 ERA in five starts. 

In all, the Pirates starting rotation has amassed only three victories on the season. However, that is also due in large part to the almost nonexistent offense. 

The Pirates are batting .229 as a team this season, as batters throughout the order simply aren’t getting the job done. Pittsburgh has been limited to just four runs scored in its last three games losing all three and six out of its last seven overall. 

This would not be such a big story if the Pirates were losing against teams outside of their division.  Instead, they are falling further and further behind as every single game they have played so far has come against a member of the National League Central division. 

The Pirates will travel to St. Louis to play the Cardinals, who most people expect to win the division again in 2014. The Cardinals currently sit in second place with a record of 12-11. 

Pittsburgh has to find a way to shut down the dangerous Cardinals this weekend to avoid falling completely out of the race early on. 

Andrew McCutchen has come out of his slump picking up eight hits in his last four games and raising his average to .299 on the season. Still, the Pirates need production from a lot more players than just McCutchen himself. 

Two of the best young pitchers in the game will square off Friday night as Gerrit Cole will face St. Louis’s Shelby Miller in the first game of the weekend series. 

Cole can really make a statement tonight if he goes out and pitches well, as he could set the tone for the rest of the starters in the series. 

Liriano will be given a chance to get on the right track Saturday afternoon against Tyler Lyons before Volquez and the Pirates have to deal with Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright in the final game. 

The pitching has not been awful, but with the lack of production on offense, the pitching will have to be nearly flawless to win games. 

If the Pirates don’t start hitting soon (as in tonight) and the Cardinals come away with a series win, the Pirates will find themselves in an even deeper hole. They cannot afford to let that happen, and a turnaround will have to start tonight in St. Louis. 

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball-Reference

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