How Pittsburgh Pirates Built MLB Contender Overnight

The season doesn’t end in mid-April, but I’m willing to take a way-too-early victory lap on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Before the season, commenters called me crazy for believing that this iteration of the Pirates was ready to contend in a difficult NL Central, but through the beginning of this season, they’ve exceeded every expectation put in front of them.

It’s all finally clicking in Pittsburgh, and the blueprint to their success seems quite simple. They’ve continued to build upon their elite rotation, and they’ve taken what was the worst offense in baseball, and produced a top 10 lineup in the sport in 2026.

Last season, the Pirates were dead last in OPS, runs, and home runs in all of baseball, while this year they’re 7th in OPS and runs, and 8th in home runs. The craziest part was that the fix was simple: they spent money.

Bob Nutting has been one of the cheapest owners in the sport since he took over the Pirates, but it looks like the organization got sick and tired of losing. Outside of Marcell Ozuna, who has struggled mightily since joining the Pirates, each of their offseason additions has provided an immediate spark to their offense.

Tampa Bay was looking to move off Brandon Lowe’s $11M contract as he entered his age-31 season, and he’s been a massive spark to the Pirates' lineup, providing 7 home runs in his first 17 games. Lowe would have finished 6th on the Pirates in home runs last year with 7 home runs last season.

Ryan O’Hearn is following up his All-Star 2025 campaign by starting 2026 with a 163 OPS+ and providing amazing protection at cleanup for the Pirates. And that’s been the biggest change for the Pirates. I believe that since they added some serious bats to the lineup, it’s helped take the pressure off Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz to produce in order to have any chance of winning. Both Reynolds and Cruz had sub-100 OPS+’s in 2025, and they look like entirely new people this season.

However, at the end of the day, the starting rotation is what makes Pittsburgh a genuine playoff threat right now. Their starters currently have a 2.66 ERA, and there aren’t many weaknesses in this rotation. Obviously, Paul Skenes is the ace, but it’s more than just him. Actually, he currently has the highest ERA in the rotation.

Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, Carmen Mlodzinski, and Bubba Chandler make a young core of pitchers the Pirates should be able to ride for the next few years.

It’s going to be a fun summer for the Pirates, and it’s great to see good baseball back in Pittsburgh once again.