Contenders or Pretenders: Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates are currently in second place in the NL Central with a 34-31 record. They have surprised many people because most of us thought they would be in the cellar with the Cubs throughout the entire season. Manager Clint Hurdle has done an awesome job with the Bucs ever since he became the manager before the 2011 season. Last year the Pirates were in first place for a good 10-15 days and most of us predicted that they would choke. They did in fact choke once they acquired veteran sluggers Ryan Ludwick and Derrek Lee. Some think that this will be the year that they make the playoffs and end the 19 year drought of finishing the season with a record over .500. I strongly disagree and I think the Pirates are going to go downhill from here. 

Here's one reason: their offense is average at best. Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker are the only good hitters on this squad. The rest of the team is barely hitting at the Mendoza line. Overrated prospect Pedro Alvarez is hitting .196 but has 10 home runs. They Pirates will definitely want to add a bat at the trade deadline if they are still contending by then. They'll need a catcher, first baseman, and shortstop. Former Pirate Ryan Doumit could be an option, and so could veteran, injury-prone slugger Justin Morneau. There aren't too many shortstops that will be available, so Pittsburgh might have to hope that Clint Barmes, hitting .192 at the moment, will step it up. I don't expect GM Neal Huntington to sell the Pirates' entire farm system, because the team is still in the rebuilding process. Luckily for Huntington, the team is at the end of the process so if he absolutely needed to trade a good prospect, he could afford to. 

When will GM Neal Huntington get the Bucs back to being a dominant force in the NL?

As for the pitching, it has actually been borderline stellar this year. The rotation is led by the vastly underrated James McDonald, who has a 2.32 ERA in 12 starts. A.J. Burnett, who was acquired in the off-season for practically nothing, is pitching well. Kevin Correia and Eric Bedard are pitching ALRIGHT, but there is room for improvement. Charlie Morton was recently put on the 60-day disabled list and is going to be out for the season. That is a big blow to Pittsburgh and may force them to acquire a #4 or #5 starter (Joe Saunders anyone?) The bullpen has magnificent so far, with Joel Hanrahan proving that last year was not a fluke. Hanrahan has had a season almost identical to last year and he appears to be a keeper for Huntington. Late-bloomer Jason Grilli and veteran Juan Cruz have been anchoring the bullpen, both pitching to a 1.82 and 1.99 ERA's respectably. 

Its obvious that offense is a big need for Pittsburgh right now. Top prospect Starling Marte is still a year or two away and the team will have to make a deal to acquire a stop-gap player. Overall, the Pirates are currently contending in the NL Central but that is about to change. The lack of offense will kill them in the long run. The Cardinals and Reds will battle out the division and Pittsburgh will probably finish in 3rd place. Its not like this is a bad thing for the Bucs, because they're going to be awfully good in a few years, but the squad they have now is just not capable of winning 85+ games. So Contenders or Pretenders? I'll choose Pretenders.