Pittsburgh Pirates 2017 Team Preview
2017 Outlook
With a few weeks until the start of the season, a number of websites have projected standings available. Let’s see how the Pirates fare in the NL Central:
FanGraphs Depth Charts
NL Central
95-67 Chicago Cubs
84-78 St. Louis Cardinals
82-80 Pittsburgh Pirates*
70-92 Milwaukee Brewers
70-92 Cincinnati Reds
NL Wild Card
87-75 San Francisco Giants
85-77 New York Mets
84-78 St. Louis Cardinals
82-80 Pittsburgh Pirates*
78-84 Miami Marlins
78-84 Colorado Rockies
77-85 Arizona Diamondbacks
73-89 Atlanta Braves
72-90 Philadelphia Phillies
70-92 Milwaukee Brewers
70-92 Cincinnati Reds
66-96 San Diego Padres
Baseball Prospectus
NL Central
93-69 Chicago Cubs
81-81 Pittsburgh Pirates*
78-84 St. Louis Cardinals
78-84 Milwaukee Brewers
74-88 Cincinnati Reds
NL Wild Card
88-74 Washington Nationals
88-74 San Francisco Giants
81-81 Pittsburgh Pirates*
78-84 St. Louis Cardinals
78-84 Arizona Diamondbacks
77-85 Miami Marlins
76-86 Colorado Rockies
78-84 Milwaukee Brewers
76-86 Atlanta Braves
74-88 Cincinnati Reds
73-89 Philadelphia Phillies
70-92 San Diego Padres
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Clay Davenport
NL Central
95-67 Chicago Cubs
82-80 Pittsburgh Pirates*
81-81 St. Louis Cardinals
74-88 Cincinnati Reds
73-89 Milwaukee Brewers
NL Wild Card
86-76 San Francisco Giants
85-77 New York Mets
82-80 Pittsburgh Pirates*
81-81 St. Louis Cardinals
79-83 Miami Marlins
77-85 Arizona Diamondbacks
75-87 Atlanta Braves
74-88 Colorado Rockies
74-88 Milwaukee Brewers
73-89 Cincinnati Reds
71-91 Philadelphia Phillies
66-96 San Diego Padres
The Pirates don’t look to be in the same tier as the Cubs in the NL Central. The projections have the Bucs finishing roughly 12 games behind the Cubs in the division, and just a game or two ahead of the Cardinals. They are in the hunt for a Wild Card spot behind the Giants and Mets and ahead of the Cardinals, Marlins and Diamondbacks.
Next: Phillies 2017 Team Preview
Of course, projections are just projections. They are more of a point to start from with error bars around them. The Pirates are projected to win 81 to 83 games. They could stay healthy and get production from unexpected places and finish near 90 wins or they could be hit with injuries and underperformance from key players and fall below .500 again. The fact that they are projected to be within a few games of a wild card spot should be hopeful for Pirates fans who suffered through last year’s disappointing 78-win season.