MLB SHOWDOWN 2018 SET -- Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates were an 82 win team that, while exceeding most preseason expectations, disappointed down the stretch after making a big trade for Chris Archer.  As a Showdown team, they've got a lot of interesting cards that are certainly draft-able in the middle rounds.  Honestly, the only thing really holding them back from being at the Braves/Nationals/DBacks/Rockies type teams that we've rolled out is that top-notch, first or second round pick that everyone craves -- lots of solid guys to add pieces around, but no star.  I really wish I could add McCLUTCH back to this squad to give them that added bit of star power, but it's still a team that can win any single game vs any other team in the 2018 set.... just probably not enough to be a playoff squad!

Lineup:

Pittsburgh brings a very balanced, deep lineup with pop from some good on-base 7 hitters near the back-end of the lineup.  I was actually pleasantly surprised by how good the lineup is! Unfortunately, there are not many high on-base hitters and the two guys of OB 9 or better have weak charts.  While Bob will undoubtedly covet the OB 10, +7 arm of Cervelli, I think Gregory Polanco is easily the most draftable/best player on this team. I love his speed and power combo, and think he'll absolutely rake in this set. Corey Dickerson is also sneaky potent with that 2B at 10 pop, but his OB 7 is going to scare managers away.  The bench actually contains one of their best OB 7 hitters in Diaz and I'm excited to see what the Pirates do in my league, which features the DH in the NL too (aka giving Diaz a spot in the lineup).  On a sadder note, it's tough seeing Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison put out cards like this, just a few years removed from having versatile OB 8 cards. However, this does open the door for Adam Frazier to embrace his potential and perhaps become a star for the Pirates (who'd be really good with McClutch still in this lineup, subbing in for Marte or Dickerson).

Rotation: Pittsburgh runs out a great 1-2 punch in Tallion and Williams, giving them a shot to win every game those two appear on the mound.  Unfortunately, it goes downhill from there.  Nova had a solid "won't lose it for you card" coming, but gave up too many HR/9 and ended up with a homer off his own chart, sinking his value.  However, the bigger disappointment is trade deadline acquisition Chris Archer (who was nearly a Brewer instead).  Archer struggled to find his top-of-the-rotation stuff last year, and got knocked around to the tune of a (fortunate) 4.30 ERA and unseemly 1.357 WHIP in his 10 Pittsburgh starts. Hopefully he puts together a stronger card in 2017, because you've got to deal with a Control 2, Tier 5 starter in this set.

Bullpen:  The Pirates bring a deep bullpen to the table, although it's a step down from the 2017 set, where they unbelievably produced THREE tier 1 relievers.  The most disappointing card was Felipe Vazquez, who had another sub-3 ERA season in 2018 but did it while being saddled with a very mediocre 1.243 WHIP.  There are three stellar supporting relievers, but they unfortunately have lower controls than most managers would like to utilize.  Sadly, Michael Feliz had a rough season. 

Note: The Pirates have 19 players because the Dodgers took David Freese and thus have 21 players.