What we learned from Pirates' 2024 season

This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NEW YORK -- There are just two games remaining in the Pirates’ 2024 campaign. It was a year of highs, of terrific rookie debuts, of changes and inconsistencies -- all resulting in a season that fell short of the Bucs' goal of playing in the postseason, but one that also gives some optimism for the future.

Let’s take a look back at the year that was:

Defining moment: The August swoon
The Pirates came into this year with playoff aspirations, and for four months they were firmly in the National League Wild Card chase, to the point that Pittsburgh added at the Trade Deadline. A dreadful month of August (8-19 record) snuffed out those playoff dreams, with a 10-game losing streak being the lowlight of the season.

"The goal [in 2025] is to continue what we did well for half to three-quarters of the year,” said Bryan Reynolds. “Just play good baseball and make the playoffs, but we've just got to get over the hump of just hitting dry spells. Just be consistent."

What we learned: Oneil Cruz can play center field
The Pirates gave Cruz four and a half months to try to stick at his native shortstop before making the switch and moving him out to center in late August. Cruz was understandably disappointed, but he took it in stride and has shown some positive glances in his brief time at his new position.

This is on top of Cruz growing every month at the plate while becoming the 10th Pirate to record a 20-home run, 20-steal season and excelling against left-handed pitching (.984 OPS since the All-Star break). The feeling is that Cruz has still just scratched the surface of what he can do on the field, but he’s doing it at a position that could better suit him in the long run.

Best development: Joey Bart breaks out
The Pirates were in a tough spot when Yasmani Grandal, Jason Delay and Endy Rodríguez all went on the injured list in early April, but that led to them acquiring Joey Bart from the Giants out of necessity. Bart turned out to be one of the Bucs' top hitters this season (.799 OPS in 80 games with Pittsburgh). The Pirates need as many quality bats as possible, and Bart looks to be one moving forward.

Area for improvement: The bullpen
The Pirates came into the year projected to have one of the best bullpens in the Majors. That didn’t come to be, as Pittsburgh relievers finished with a 4.49 ERA (27th in the Majors) and 29 blown saves (tied for the third most). David Bednar wasn’t right for most of the season (5.77 ERA in 62 appearances), and he was removed from the closer role for the final month. Colin Holderman and Aroldis Chapman were both streaky as the setup men, while the impact of the injuries to Ryan Borucki (left triceps inflammation) and Dauri Moreta (right UCL surgery) -- two of the team’s best relievers in 2023 -- could be felt all year.

The Pirates have some arms, and they can bet that Bednar and Holderman will bounce back from their poor second half, but they’re going to need to add to their pool of depth options and probably mix in another leverage reliever or two this offseason.

On the rise: Young starting pitching
Paul Skenes and Jared Jones were the two headliners this year, but they were far from the only starters who took a step forward in 2024. Luis Ortiz worked his way from the bullpen to the rotation and was arguably the Pirates' second-best starter in the second half of the season. Bailey Falter (4.43 ERA, 28 starts) had his best season in the Majors. Mix in up-and-comers such as Bubba Chandler (the Pirates' No. 1 prospect, No. 38 overall), Thomas Harrington (No. 5, No. 95 overall) and Braxton Ashcraft (No. 4, No. 87 overall-- plus Mitch Keller and a healthy Johan Oviedo -- and this could be one of the best rotations in the Majors in the near future.

• Bucs love what they've seen from Jones -- but he's not satisfied

Team MVP: Paul Skenes
Open and shut case. Skenes has enjoyed one of the most dominant rookie seasons by a pitcher, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings over 23 starts. There were some concerns initially of how the Pirates would handle their star young pitcher in his first full professional season, but with the benefit of hindsight, it’s hard to argue with how the Pirates managed his workload while still giving him the opportunity to be great.

“I didn’t like starting in Triple-A, but the plan was -- I don’t know if there can be a perfect plan -- but it was just about perfectly put together,” Skenes said. “Next year, it’s hopefully just going to be, 'Take the ball and pitch,' so I’m looking forward to that.”