This story was excerpted from the Pirates Beat newsletter written by Jake Crouse. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and no one got a lump of coal in their stocking. If you did, I suggest taking it out into the yard and smashing it with a baseball bat. I may or may not be speaking from experience.

The new year is now on the doorstep, and the Pirates’ plans for it have become a little clearer in 2023’s final month. They’ve made a number of free-agent signings and trades to bolster their starting-pitching and position-player depth. They re-signed Andrew McCutchen, their face of the franchise. They are even adding a new assistant GM in Sarah Gelles, who has a strong background in analytics and who will help the organization in the short and long term.

But there are still a lot of things to be curious about, especially when it comes to how general manager Ben Cherington will balance these player additions with opportunities for top prospects -- and there are a few very notable ones that could reach MLB next season.

So in the spirit of the new year, let’s look ahead to 2024. 

Biggest question to answer before Spring Training
How does the starting rotation line up? Even with the pieces falling into place after the trade for Marco Gonzales and the reported agreement reached with Martín Pérez, which has not been confirmed by the club, there are still two rotation spots up for grabs outside of Mitch Keller. When asked last week about which areas he still sees needing potential additions, Cherington’s first response was the rotation. But could young internal options like Quinn Priester or Jared Jones make their case in Spring Training?

One player poised to have a breakout season
Oneil Cruz. Given the already high praise he’s garnered, it’s hard to believe that Cruz has yet to reach 100 games in MLB. A fractured tibia in April last season ended his year in heartbreaking fashion. He’s at a career .751 OPS so far, and anyone who has seen his raw tools knows he’s capable of more than that.

“I’m going to set my bar high from last year and do things I can’t even imagine right now,” Cruz said in September. “I’m going to be in a good spot mentally and physically, and it’s going to be a special year.”

Prospect to watch in 2024
Paul Skenes. Here’s how high the level of belief is that Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Draft, will reach MLB next season: He was named a 2024 All-MLB Team sleeper pick by MLB.com despite the fact that he has pitched only 2 2/3 innings at Double-A. There are no guarantees that he will reach MLB next season, but he’s been called the best college pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg, who was drafted No. 1 in 2009, then debuted in ‘10 for the Nationals.

One prediction for the new year
Ke’Bryan Hayes will win his first Platinum Glove. Fernando Tatis Jr. won it this past year in the NL in his first season as a full-time outfielder, and part of his success was because runners kept testing his arm. Professional baseball players will adjust to that and learn not to get greedy trying to take an extra base, but there’s no adjustment to be made against Hayes’ defense. You can’t just not run to first base. He’s going to continue making those unbelievable plays -- and continue making them look ridiculously easy.