In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
With pitchers and catchers for the Pittsburgh Pirates reporting in about a month, our wake up calls will focus on something a little different this week.
Every day, we will take a look at how the Pirates rotation, bullpen and position players compare to each of last year’s five postseason teams from the National League. We will also determine which team has the advantage in each area.
This morning, we take a look at how the Bucs compare to the Chicago Cubs, the defending NL Central and World Series Champions.
Rotation
Even after winning their first world championship in 108 years this past season, the Cubs may enter the 2017 season as the favorite to do it all over again. Their starting rotation is a big reason for this. In particular, the Cubs arguably have the best top three in all of baseball with Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks. Arrieta and Lester have proven to be consistent aces and Hendricks established himself as a legitimate top starter last season. Throw in veteran John Lackey and a fifth starter like Mike Montgomery, and the Cubs will have themselves quite a starting unit.
Even if the Pirates didn’t have so many questions surrounding their fourth and fifth starter spots, I would still say the Cubs rotation would take the advantage in this category.
Bullpen
The Cubs acquired a huge piece on their quest to a world title during last year’s trade deadline when they traded for Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees. Chapman signed with the Yankees once again this offseason, which left an temporary void within the Cubs closing role. That was until the Cubs acquired Wade Davis from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Jorge Soler.
In 2017, Davis, who is coming off of a year in which he experienced injury issues, will likely fill the void left by Chapman. He will also likely be joined by the likes of Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop, Justin Grimm and newly signed Koji Uehara.
Though the Cubs have a loaded bullpen, I really expect the Pirates bullpen, with the addition of Daniel Hudson, to bounce back after a rough 2016 season. I’ll give the Bucs the advantage in this category as Felipe Rivero and Tony Watson in setup and closer roles could lead the pen to some better success in 2017.
Position Players
Before I even start with this category, I’m just going to cut to the chase and say that the Cubs get the nod here. Their position players consistently showed their dominance in 2016 and since they’re all returning in 2017, they may continue that this season.
The Cubbies outfield has a ton of depth. With the likes of Ben Zobrist, Albert Almora Jr. and Jason Heyward as potential starters, the Cubs also have Kyle Schwarber and Jon Jay who could potentially make impacts as starters.
Chicago also has an above average infield with NL MVP Kris Bryant at third base, Addison Russell at shortstop, Javier Baez at second, Anthony Rizzo at first and Willson Contreras at catcher.
Not much has changed since the Cubs broke the curse this past fall. The Cubs still have a majority of their players returning and could be poised to be even better in 2017.
Baseball Talk on the Web
- Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports writes about the MLB deal that scouts despised.
- MLB players raise funds for charity at Las Vegas Golf Tournament.
- Fenway Park to host three college football games in 2017.
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