The past week was a fun week to be a fan of the Pirates. They played well and had a winning week. Below are 3 things that stood out as bright spots and 3 things that need some work.
Ups
Bryan Reynolds finished last week on an upswing and really didn’t come down as this week went on. He finished the week by going 5 for 8 over the last 3 games with a mammoth home run and 3 walks. Reynolds is looking like the 2019 version and that is exactly what the Pirates need. Reynolds could hit his way into a contract extension if he keeps up his current production.
Colin Moran continues to come through in big spots. Yesterday, Moran hit a go-ahead 3 run homer. Then he drove in the game winning run in the 10th inning. Moran has been the Pirates most consistent player this year and leads the team with 4 home runs.
JT Brubaker continues to pitch well for the Pirates. He capped of his week with a stellar performance on Friday by going 6 innings, giving up 1 run, and picking up 8 Ks. He also didn’t issue a walk, but did hit 2 batters. Brubaker ends the week with an ERA of 1.76 over 15.1 innings this season.
Downs
Centerfield continues to be an offensive blackhole for the Pirates. Anthony Alford and Dustin Fowler haven’t done anything to secure the position for either of them. Fowler has been slightly better with a .194 average compared to Alford’s .083. One of them has to step up and step up soon, but it may be too late. With Hayes coming back, Reynolds could very well switch to center so Evans can play on left.
Mitch Keller struggled mightily in his lone start this week. Over 3.1 innings, he gave up 9 hits and 7 earned runs. He also had 3 walks. I think what made it even more disappointing is that his previous start was so good. It is sad to see a step backwards.
Kevin Newman hasn’t been able to get his hot spring to translate over the regular season. This week was no exception. He went 4 for 24 this week. That has his season average at .179. It has been quite the drop from his .606 average in Spring Training.
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