Pittsburgh Pirates could see slow start to season again

Factors may be adding up for another slow start to the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Each of the past few seasons, the Pirates have gotten off to slow starts. After April of 2015, the Pirates were 12-10, and stood at 18-22 on May 20th. After April in 2014, the Pirates sat at 10-16, and fell to a lowly 18-26 on May 20th. In 2013, the team started off a little better, going 15-12 in April, but that was after recovering from a 1-5 start.

And none of these starts could be attributed to anything other than under-performance. The team saw a few minor injuries, but it was more the team’s stars not performing to the level they should be. Most notably, in 2015, Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison, and Jordy Mercer each batted under .220 in April; that’s not a recipe for success. These slow starts, along with a poor record within the division, have been factors in holding the Pirates back from getting over the hump and winning the division. Unfortunately, things are adding up that could cause the Pirates to get off to yet another slow start in 2016.

For one, the team seems to have lost key pieces this off-season and not added much to replace them. Overall, on the surface, the team seems weaker, which could lead to an worse season than in years past. This, of course, will ultimately be seen once the season starts.

Second, the injury to Jung Ho Kang is still a bit of a mystery. Neal Huntington seems confident that Kang will be ready by Opening Day, but many still think that his debut might be delayed and Huntington might be too optimistic. If Kang does miss time to start the year, Harrison will likely play third, with second being manned by Sean Rodriguez or Alen Hanson. This combination is obviously a drop off from Kang and Harrison in the infield. Rodriguez is nothing more than a bench player at this point, and Hanson is unproven. That’s not ideal.

Another issue to keep an eye on is how John Jaso adjusts to first base. Jaso has a grand total of five innings played in the majors at first, and while he might not be as poor defensively as Pedro Alvarez was, there still may be some growing pains. Jaso and Morse are a big drop off from Pedro in the run production department, which could also contribute to a slow start.

And lastly, the Pirates schedule isn’t too favorable in April. They play the Cardinals to start the year, and also play four games against Detroit, which spent a lot this off-season to improve their team. The Reds and Brewers obviously seem like easy teams to play on the surface, but we know how much the Pirates struggled against both of them last season. Combine that with a series against Arizona, which has become a sexy playoff pick this season, and the Pirates will have to battle against all odds to come out of April unscathed.

Hopefully Kang is healthy, and the Pirates beat the teams they should beat. April doesn’t have to be a bad month, but it’s certainly looking that way at the moment.

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