Pirates Roster Projection: Who Will (And Won’t) Make Opening Day Squad?

The Pirates are preparing for a new season and almost have their Opening Day roster completed.

Pittsburgh suffered a disappointing blow when it was announced that Spencer Horwitz would undergo wrist surgery. The first baseman was expected to miss six to eight weeks, so he’ll have a chance to play Opening Day. However, manager Derek Shelton will take a closer look at the younger players and prospects to get a better idea of how to round out the lineup.

Before the full team workouts at Pirate City, we took our first crack at who will make the Opening Day roster. We’ll start with the lineup.

1. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, RF
3. Oneil Cruz, CF
4. Joey Bart, C
5. Nick Gonzales, 2B
6. Jared Triolo, 1B
7. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B
8. Tommy Pham, LF
9. Andrew McCutchen, DH

Triolo is the logical choice to fill in for Horwitz at first base. The Gold Glove utility man is one of the Pirates’ most reliable fielders and his offensive production should get better heading into his third major league season. One of the big questions for Pittsburgh is who leads off. Kiner-Falefa seems like a safe choice, but there’s merit to Pham or even moving McCutchen up to set up Reynolds and Cruz. Adam Frazier, Endy Rodríguez, Joshua Palacios and Jason Delay round out the bench.

Let’s go to the rotation.

1. Paul Skenes, RHP
2. Mitch Keller, RHP
3. Jared Jones, RHP
4. Johan Oviedo, RHP
5. Bailey Falter, LHP

The starting rotation is the strength of Pittsburgh’s roster. Skenes, Keller and Jones might be the best 1-2-3 punch in baseball. How things play out after that will be interesting to watch. Top prospect Bubba Chandler will get his chance to crack the rotation, but we project him to make an impact later in the season. Also, Falter needs to be in to provide a southpaw option, and Oviedo will be given a chance to show how he’s recovered from Tommy John surgery.

Finally, here’s the projection for the Pirates bullpen:

1. David Bednar
2. Colin Holderman
3. Dennis Santana
4. Caleb Ferguson
5. Kyle Nicolas
6. Carmen Mlodzinski
7. Peter Strzelecki
8. Tim Mayza

This is the hardest projection outside of Bednar, Holderman and Santana. Ryan Borucki, Carson Fulmer and No. 15 prospect Mike Burrows will get their chance to make the bullpen, but we played it safe assuming veterans Strzelecki and Mayza show they’re capable of helping out right away.

What do you think about our first Pirates projection? Sound off on your Opening Day roster!