Pirates Power Rankings: Making Sense of the Wild Card Race
The Pittsburgh Pirates won both series they played last week, taking two of three games from both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins. The MLB standings are a logjam right now, with only ten of 30 teams possessing a record above .500: the National League Wild Card race isn’t any better, with four teams tied for the third and final spot… and Pittsburgh clocking in just half a game behind them.
In a wide open playoff field, dreams of October are beginning to creep into the picture for Pirates fans, but the team still has a ways to go to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, and the better part of four months of baseball left to play.
With hope on the upswing, here’s a look at how the various power rankings rate the Buccos after another week in the books.
The Pirates made Bleacher Report’s headline as one of several big climbers, rocketing from No. 24 to No. 17 thanks to their ability to pick up series wins over top competition like the Dodgers and Braves.
USA Today remained unimpressed by Pittsburgh’s hot streak, only bumping the Buccos up one spot despite heaping praise on Jared Jones and Paul Skenes.
theScore gave Pittsburgh a one spot promotion, up to No. 20, noting Mitch Keller’s success as the team’s de facto third option.
If only one thing was known for sure regarding Oneil Cruz heading into this season it’s that he was going to have to shake off some rust.
Cruz appeared in only nine games with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season after suffering an ankle fracture on Apr. 9. The end result was surgery and while preliminary reports were that he would return to the field late in the season, Cruz was sidelined for the entire year.
