Jonah Keri previews the Pirates
Jonah Keri, writing for Grantland, previews the 2012 Pirates. He's not terribly hard on the Bucs (he notes, as I have, that there's a lot of talent in the rotation but a huge bust potential as well), and he's got a very positive outlook for Andrew McCutchen.
But in his three big league seasons, McCutchen has now posted impressive power (23 homers, .198 ISO last year), a solid contact rate (84.6 percent), and big walk totals (89) … just not all in the same season. He's still just 25, and you can feel a consolidation season coming, where all of McCutchen's offensive skills come together and he challenges for league MVP honors, his team's record be damned.
Yes, sign me up for that, please.
it was definitely a good read. i can't wait for the season to start, just to see what happens with pedro, morton, jmac, karstens, cutch, presley, tabata. so many wildcards that you don't know exactly what to expect. i have a nervous excitement about it. should probably start conditioning myself to expect the worst.
...and speaking of seasons I'd sign up for, I'll gladly take that Alex Presley projection in a heartbeat--not that I'm expecting it, mind you. I can't help but see Presley as Chris Duffy without the Weltschmerz.
