Predicting the Pirates Starting Lineup and Bench

The Pittsburgh Pirates enter the 2024 season with an opportunity to shock the world. Normally, they are the underdog for everything because they are considered a tanking team or a team that does not spend money to win. This year is a different story. The Pirates offense has a ton of talent throughout the order that can cause damage to many different pitching staffs. One through nine in the batting order consists of guys who have plus power. Today, Baron and Tyler will go over their starting lineup and bench predictions for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Starting Lineup

Shortstop : Oneil Cruz

Third base : KeBryan Hayes

Left Field : Bryan Reynolds

Right Field : Jack Suwinski

Designated Hitter : Andrew McCutchen

First Base : Rowdy Tellez

Catcher : Henry Davis

Second Base : Liover Peguero

Center Field : Michael A Taylor

The Pirates are heading into the 2024 campaign with one of the most well-rounded lineups they have had in a very long time. From the leadoff spot to the bottom of the order, the Pirates have power and the ability to drive in runs from every position. 

Leading off the order, O’Neil Cruz will be a vital piece in terms of the Pirates success. Starting off in 2023, Cruz showed a wide variety of his skillset before the brutal injury that derailed the Pirates season. However, the 2024 Spring Training season has shown that Cruz has come back with vengeance. In 31 AB’s, Cruz is slashing .355 with 7 home runs and 14 RBI’s. His 1.476 OPS is one of the league leaders and if he can continue this into the 2024 regular season, Cruz can be a dark horse for the MVP Award. 

Following Cruz, Ke’Bryan Hayes will be at the two hole. During the second half of the 2023 season, Hayes had a huge jump in terms of offensive production and showed he can be a top 3B in the league both offensively and defensively. The 2023 Gold Glover has had a very impressive spring where he has hit .421 with 3 homers and 9 RBI’s in 38 AB’s. Hayes is looking to continue this impressive stretch into the 2024 season.

In the 3 hole, we have Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds has been the one consistent piece on the Pirates since he was acquired for Andrew McCutchen years ago. Reynolds offers a variety of different skills, from his consistency to get on base, homeruns, and even making some highlight reel catches in left field. Reynolds is the perfect three hole hitter for this team, not only is he a switch hitter, but he also limits strikeouts. 

Cleaning up for Reynolds, Jack Suwinski is looking to have his “breakout” year. Even though Suwinski had a nice year in 2023, Suwinski needs to really improve on striking out. Suwinski has a tremendous amount of power and if all goes well, he could be a 25+ homer guy for this Pirates team. However, he needs to take advantage of the other things on the offensive side of the ball. Being able to choke up and just get singles or attract more walks will significantly help this team. As we know, we always get a “cold” or “hot” version of Suwinski, and I’m hoping he can just stay in the middle and that could lead him to a career year. He has already shown tremendous pop in Spring, hammering 4 home runs and maintaining a 1.061 OPS. 

At the five hole spot, we have Mr. Reliable and Pittsburgh’s favorite, Andrew McCutchen. Pirates fans know what they are going to get in Andrew McCutchen. Cutch has been a reliable player for the team for quite some time but last year we saw a different version of Cutch. We remember Cutch as a guy who hits homers and does it all, but last season we saw a little less home runs and more walks which is perfectly fine with me since he is in the later parts of his career. However, in limited time at Bradenton, Cutch has been smoking the ball. Cutch has a 1.278 OPS in 9 AB’s and is showing a lot of opposite field power just like the old Cutch. If all goes well, I feel like Cutch can be a perfect 5 hole hitting potentially hitting around .250 with 15 home runs. 

Following Cutch comes one of the new starters to this Pirates team, Rowdy Tellez. Tellez has the potential of hitting 30+ home runs if used correctly and his approach has changed. In Spring, Tellez has hit just one home run, but he has maintained a .240+ batting average in 29 AB’s. Last season for Milwaukee, Tellez had a career worst season that he is hoping to change in 2024. Tellez defense is average, but the real thing is that I believe the reunion with Andy Haines can go a long way in bringing 2022 Tellez back to form. 

The biggest player Pirates fans are going to watch this upcoming season is former #1 overall pick, Henry Davis. Davis got called up last season and made an instant impact hitting a double in his first game. However, Davis struggled at the plate in 2023 and caused a lot of fans to wonder if he will even start the season in Pittsburgh. However, in 2024, Davis is having a great start to the year down in Bradenton. In 36 AB’s, Davis has hit .306 with 4 home runs and 11 runs batted in. If all goes well for Davis in 2024, I could see him having a great chance of being a key part of this ball club. 

In the 8 hole, Liover Peguero, who was one of the bright spots in last year's campaign hopes to build off his 2023 season. Peguero has a lot of tools that can help this team, from his defensive highlight reel, to the moonshots he can get out of the ballpark. During spring, Peguero has hit .292 with 1 homerun and 3 runs batted in. However, the biggest thing we have seen from him is that he has shown great defensive abilities. 

Lastly in the 9 hole comes newest Pirate addition, Michael A. Taylor. Taylor was signed late into the spring where he hasn’t appeared in a game yet, however, we know what we are getting in the veteran outfielder. Taylor is a former gold glover who can play an amazing center field. The Pirates haven’t had this high quality of a defender anchoring center field since Starling Marte. Along with his defense, Taylor is coming off a career high season in home runs where he tallied 21 for Minnesota. Along with that he can swipe bags which will be useful as the 9 hole hitter setting up Cruz, Hayes, and Reynolds. 

Bench

Outfielder : Billy McKinney

Utility : Jared Triolo

Catcher : Yasmani Grandal

Utility : Connor Joe

Billy McKinney is a bold selection to be on the Pirates opening day bench because he is not currently on the 40-man roster. Therefore, someone would have to be removed from the 40-man for McKinney to be added, but he is very well deserving of this transaction. I believe that he would make an immediate impact for the Pirates after how productive he has been this spring. Through 16 games, McKinney has a batting average of .361 with two home runs and nine runs batted in. He also has an OPS of 1.060, which includes an on-base percentage of .477 and a slugging percentage of .583. 

Jared Triolo will be the backup infielder for almost every position in the infield. He has been a great defender throughout the minor leagues and even in his rookie season. His bat was also as great as his glove in his rookie season. Last year, Triolo had a batting average of .298 with three home runs and 21 runs batted in. He also had an OPS of .786, which included an on-base percentage of .388 and a slugging percentage of .398. His wRC+ also was great at 118. His bat has continued to impress this spring as he has a batting average of .379 with a home run and four runs batted in. 

Yasmani Grandal was originally signed to be the bridge catcher until Henry Davis was ready to be the starter, but with Davis having a great spring, it appears that he will be the starter after all. Grandal has been experiencing plantar fasciitis in his foot this spring which has prevented him from running. The hope is for him to be ready for opening day, but there is no time table for his return. If he does start the year on the injured-list, then Jason Delay would take his place. Last year, Grandal had a batting average of .234 with eight home runs and 33 runs batted in. He also had an OPS of .648, which includes an on base percentage of .309 and a slugging percentage of .339. 

Connor Joe wraps up this bench as another utility player, but more of an outfielder that can also play first base. He has a specific role on the team as the platoon first baseman and backup outfielder. Joe was a very solid bat for the majority of the 2023 season. Last year, Joe had a batting average of .247 with 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in. He also had an OPS of .760, which included an on-base percentage of .339 and a slugging percentage of .421. He also had a wRC+ of 107 with 31 doubles.