In 2024, pirates will have ten questions to answer.
The 2023 season was a step forward for the Pirates. They finally climbed out of the National League Central’s basement, improved by 14 wins and are positioned for what should be the best season of the Ben Cherington-Derek Shelton era. But with hightened expectations comes plenty of questions. This team is still far from a finished product, and while there are prospects and potential in the immediate future, there are still uncertainty. So on the final day of 2023, let’s take a look towards 2024 and the questions the Pirates will need to have answered before the new year is through.
So on the final day of 2023, let’s take a look towards 2024 and the questions the Pirates will need to have answered before the new year is through.
10. What happens next with Ke’Bryan Hayes?
The past two years, the narrative around Ke’Bryan Hayes was that he was a future Gold Glove winner whose offensive metrics under-performed compared to his high exit velocities. He finally won his Gold Glove this season in addition to putting together an above-average offensive campaign in 2023, posting a .762 OPS and 105 OPS+.
Hayes got off to a slow start offensively last season, but heated up in June after he zeroed in on some movement and timing cues that helped him maximize that hard contact. In his 71 games played starting in June, he hit .307 with 13 home runs and an .862 OPS. Extrapolated over a full year, an offensive campaign like that would make him an All-Star.Of course, there is no guarantee he can keep that pace over 140+ starts.
We’ve seen the version of Hayes where he struggles offensively but is still an above-average player because of his defense. We’ve seen the version of him where he is an above average hitter and puts together a 4 WAR season. The Pirates have a lot invested in him and they need him to be an impact player. He was one in 2023, but it still feels like there is still untapped potential.
9. Is Jack Suwinski a building block?
There were times last year where Suwinski looked like an All-Star in the making. There were also some terrible slumps in between.
It’s hard to be too upset with a player who hit 26 home runs, provided an adequate glove in center field and had a .793 OPS, but the streakiness was tough to weather through. How much of that was Suwinski just navigating his first full season in the majors, or is he just an inherintley streaky player?
Do the Pirates have their center fielder of the future? Is he a starting outfielder? Is he a platoon? The Pirates went into last year fully backing him, and I would expect that to be the case again in 2024. What will that faith yield?
8. Does Bryan Reynolds bounce back?
You’d be hard pressed to say that 24 home runs, a .263/.330/.460 slash line and a 113 OPS+ is a bad season. But considering that was Reynolds’ output on the first year of the team’s first $100 million contract, it leaves a bit to be desired.
If you look at Reynolds’ peripherals, his expected stats were much better (.280 expected batting average and .490 expected slugging percentage). That’s more in line with the on field production the Pirates are hoping for out of him, and while it’s easy to just assume Reynolds’ expected and actual stats will just even out in 2024, they haven’t for two years now. He greatly outperformed his peripherals in 2022 and under-performed in 2023.
out of the zone too often, his strikeout and walk rates were fairly average and he posted the highest average exit velocity of his career (90.9 mph). The Pirates need him to be the big bat in their lineup. Will that approach yield better on field results in 2024?
7. Who takes over at second?
The Pirates have maintained that Oneil Cruz is still a shortstop, so write him into the starting spot there. Who will be his double play partner?
Liover Peguero took a big step forward last year on both sides of the ball, and it’s starting to look like he would be better suited for second base than shortstop. Nick Gonzales is a recent first-round pick, but there are legitimate concerns if he can hit high spin pitches. Jared Triolo could potentially play himself into an everyday role, and second base is in his arsenal.
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