Pirates’ Midseason Grade Leaves Plenty Of Room For Improvement, MLB Insider Says

Aside from Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates don’t have much to brag about this season. They sit in last place in the National League Central, and at 38-56, own the second-worst record in the league. As a result, the Pirates are expected to be active sellers ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline.

With the All-Star break approaching, ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield graded all 30 MLB clubs based on their first half of the season. He gave the Pirates a “D+.”

“Overall, it’s been yet another bad season, despite Paul Skenes‘ brilliance. Really, do we talk enough about him? Yes, we do talk about him, but he has a 1.95 ERA through his first 42 career starts. Incredible,” Schoenfield wrote Wednesday.

“Here’s an amazing thing about baseball. The Pirates are not a good team, but they recently put together one of the best six-game stretches in history. That’s not stretching the description,” Schoenfield continued.

“First, they swept the Mets — a good team — by scores of 9-1, 9-2 and 12-1. Then they swept the Cardinals — a good team — with three shutouts, 7-0, 1-0 and 5-0. They became the first team since at least 1901 to score 43 runs or more and allow four runs or fewer in a six-game stretch.

“And then they promptly got shut out three games in a row, making them the first to win three straight shutouts and then lose three straight shutouts,” Schoenfield wrote in conclusion.

The Pirates return to action Friday when they visit the Minnesota Twins for a three-game series before Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Skenes is slated to get the ball for the series opener in Minneapolis.

With another strong performance, he could be named the National League’s starting pitcher for the Midsummer Classic next week at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga.

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