Pittsburgh Pirates

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Hope springs eternal in Pittsburgh, at least until the Steelers start Training Camp in August. Will this be the year everything is different? Well, it seems to be right now. Nobody in Pittsburgh is that enthusiastic about the team for the first time in their 15-year streak of misery and woe. I'm not here to say there's reason to be excited, but... fantasy-wise... there might be a reason to get excited.

Lineup:

• CF Nate McLouth (Nyjer Morgan)
• SS Jack Wilson
• 2B Freddy Sanchez
• 1B Adam LaRoche
• LF Jason Bay
• RF Xavier Nady
• 3B Jose Bautista
• C Ronny Paulino

Rotation: 

• Tom Gorzelanny
• Ian Snell
• Paul Maholm
• Matt Morris
• Zach Duke

Closer: Matt Capps

Thoughts...

This outfield provides some intriguing players. The winner of the Morgan/McLouth battle for center field (probably McLouth as of today) will definitely provide some speed on the basepaths. Neither of these two is being drafted, so you can afford to wait for them. My thoughts on Bay have already been documented; he has five-tool potential and is a good pickup if his ADP falls a bit. Nady can give you 20-25 HR power also. Finally, Ryan Doumit will start in the outfield if (when) Bay or Nady is traded. He has no relevance there but maintains catcher eligibility in most leagues - think of Josh Willingham of Florida two years ago. Mediocre outfield numbers look great if you don't have Russell Martin behind the plate.

Here are some numbers from 2005: 8-2, 1.81 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 6.2 K/9 innings. If you know your baseball history, you'll recognize that this is Zach Duke's stat line after a midseason call up. Check out this blast from the past from the archives of RotoAuthority. Why has Duke struggled so much since his rookie year? Many theories exist, but former pitching coach Jim Colborn "tweaked" his mechanics and he's been terrible ever since. He's been reunited with his coach from '05, Jeff Andrews, and I'm not saying you should draft him in the first round or at all, but I do think he's got some potential and is worth watching this year.

There are three pitchers worth owning right now: Capps, Snell, and Gorzelanny, in that order. Capps has a stranglehold on the closer's job, and while he won't get you 40 saves, he should give what Mike Gonzalez did two years ago: near perfection in the ninth with very good peripherals. Snell's ERA and WHIP both fell substantially last year, while his strikeout numbers went up slightly. Gorzo needs to lower the WHIP a little to be truly worth owning, but I don't mind having him to round out my rotation. He's young and definitely could improve this season.

The team added nothing to a roster that went 68-94; they traded Salomon Torres from the bullpen and allowed Josh Phelps, who had a strong showing off the bench, to leave in free agency. Still, there might be some reason for excitement. Keep an eye on the outfield, as there are many guys there who could provide different types of value there. The Pirates as my hometown team, and as pathetic as they have been, I can't help but say it: Let's Go Bucs!