3 Things To Improve All 30 Teams — The Pittsburgh Pirates
The 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates finished the season with a record of 61–101, good enough for 5th in the NL Central. Having last made the playoffs in 2015, the Pirates now seem to be on the upswing of their rebuilding phase. 2022 can be better for the Pirates than 2021 was and today we will find out how.
1. Have Yoshi Tsutsugo DH
Debuting just 2 years ago on July 24, 2020 for the Tampa Bay Rays, 30 year old Yoshi Tsutsugo had his share of struggles before coming to the Pirates late last year. He has a Major League career line of .209/.309/.388 with 16 homeruns and a 93 OPS+ over 447 plate appearances and 132 games. Once he came to the Pirates, however, he hit to the tune of .268/.347/.535 with 8 homeruns and a 136 OPS+ over 144 plate appearances and 43 games. He found his stroke in Pittsburgh.
Not only has Tsutsugo had his share of struggles at the plate, he has also been a below average defender at all of the positions he’s manned. Over 330.1 innings in the outfield between left and right, he has a range per 9 innings of 1.69 compared to league average of 2.09 or .4 more outs per 9 innings. At first base over 188.2 innings, his range is 8.2 compared to league average of 8.28. And finally, at third base over 89 innings, his range is 2.22 compared to league average of 2.57. If you add all of that up, he has cost his teams 56.1 outs over 608 innings in the field compared to league average. It’s time to put the glove away.
Having Tsutsugo DH and not play the field will give him the opportunity to be in the lineup everyday. If he can continue the same pace he was on as a Pirate this year and play 150+ games, he would add 3 wins to the Pirates total.
2. Give Bryse Wilson A Spot In The Rotation
As part of the return the Pirates received for sending reliever Richard Rodriguez to the Braves, Bryse Wilson is coming into his age 24 season and 5th in the Majors. Having a career ERA of 5.55 over 116.2 innings, he has not had much success to this point in his career, but he also has not been given much of a chance. The Pirates will not be contenders this year, so he should be given the chance in 2022.
Nothing really stands out when you take a look at Wilson’s stats. He did pitch better after coming to Pittsburgh as he had a 4.91 post trade ERA, but again, he has been called up and sent down countless times throughout his career and hasn’t had the opportunity to get comfortable in a role. In 2022, the Pirates need to have him in the rotation from Opening Day on. Should he be succesful, he could add another 2 wins to their total. If he falters, they could always trade him at the deadline to Houston or Tampa where pitchers go to figure out their craft.
3. Keep Daniel Vogelbach On The Field For 150+
The Pirates signed free agent 1B Daniel Vogelbach to a 1 year, $1 million deal this offseason. Coming into his age 29 season, the 3 true outcome hitter has played 100+ games in a season only once in his career. He showed everyone what he could do as an everyday starter in 2019 as he hit 30 homeruns and was voted to his first and so far only All Star game. The Pirates need him to be their everyday 1B and to stay healthy for the entirety of the season. Should that happen, he would add 2 wins to their total.
Having Tsutsugo DH, Bryse Wilson figuring it out on the mound, and Vogelbach playing everyday would add 7 wins to the Pirates total. This would give them a record of 68–94, still nowhere close to contending, but getting out of the triple digit loss column category.
This has been the 22nd entry in our series in which we take a look at all 30 teams and see what 3 things we can do to improve them year to year. Previous entries include the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Atlanta Braves, the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Guardians, the Colorado Rockies, the Detroit Tigers, the Houston Astros, the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles, the Miami Marlins, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Minnesota Twins, the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Oakland A’s, and the Philadelphia Phillies. Follow me on Twitter @TroyBrock1993 for updates and other sports musings. Next up will be the San Diego Padres!
