It’s been a minute since the Bucs were a Top 10 team in baseball!
As if the start of the 2024 season couldn’t get any better for the Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB one-upped that thought Monday morning by placing them ninth in its latest Power Rankings.
At 11-5 through their first 16 games, the Pirates are turning heads by posting the league’s seventh-best team batting average (.259) and RBI total (82). They’ve also drawn the second-most walks in the league (74), falling 10 shy of the New York Yankees.
On the mound, the Pirates have the sixth-best ERA in baseball and the best in the National League (3.48).
Stats aside, the Pirates have yet to lose a series this season. They started with a four-game sweep, followed that with a series win over the Baltimore Orioles, and then back-to-back splits against the Tigers and Phillies.
CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder also has high praise for the Pirates as he put them fifth in this week’s Power Rankings. Snyder credited pitchers Jared Jones and Mitch Keller for their recent string of strong starts while also foreshadowing the impact of Paul Skenes when he arrives:
“Rookie Jared Jones has coughed up a few homers, but he’s struck out 25 against only two walks in 18 innings and sports a 0.94 WHIP. Mitch Keller got himself back on track on Sunday and we know plenty about the upside of top prospect Paul Skenes. It looks like a pretty nice Big Three here in the near future.”
Looking back at this time last year when the Pirates were 9-7, they were barely breaking the 20th spot, but a retooled and (mainly) healthy roster has people believing in them again.
The Pirates will look to keep building on the early success tonight as they open a three-game set with the New York Mets on the road.