Blog : Pirates Starting Pitching : An Amazing Feat

3 years ago, if I would have told you that the Pittsburgh Pirates would have as much starting pitching depth as any team in Major League baseball, you would have looked at me like I was a chicken running around with its head cut off. That's probably because, in 2010, these were the Pirates starters.
* Number of 2010 Starts on right
Paul Maholm 32
Zack Duke 29
Ross Ohlendorf 21
Jeff Karstens 19
Charlie Morton 17
Brian Burres 13
James McDonald 11
Daniel McCutchen 9
Brad Lincoln 9
Dana Eveland 1
Chris Jakubauskas 1
At the end of the 2010 season, the pitcher from that list with the best ERA was James McDonald. His ERA that year was 3.52. Mediocre for a starting pitcher. Mediocre, was the best the Pirates had. In 2010, I'll bet you Pirates fans never had to have the conversation about who the odd man out would be in the rotation. Who would need to be sent down? What successful player still wasn't successful enough. I don't think they had that conversation. I was just having that conversation today. Today is 2013, and it's a completely different ballgame.
The 2013 Pirates have had 11 starters as well. They have had injuries, but never worried about depth. The Pirates have too much talent. Not that that is a problem. Of the Pirates 11 starters, Jeff Locke holds the teams best ERA. 2.12. That is good for second best in the entire National League. It doesn't stop there. 2 more Pirate starters have an ERA under 3. Every person that has had a spot in the rotation this year for a solid amount of time, holds an ERA in the two's or three's. What if I told you that would be the case 3 years ago. What if I would have told you two of the Pirates best pitchers would be injured, and they would still have more than enough starting pitching? What if I told you with all that said, the Pirates have even more pitching brewing in the minor leagues. It's pretty amazing to think about.
I just wanted to write this blog to applaud the Pittsburgh Pirates. To applaud their efforts to find depth for this team. Fans across the nation, especially here in Pittsburgh, struggled, and were let down for 20 years. But while the Pirates were playing awful baseball, they were gaining great talent for the future. And let me tell you, the future is now. This team, this rotation could be a force to be reckoned with for a long time to come. I didn't write this blog to put a bunch of stats together, to analyze how much better this pitching staff is. I'm not going to do that because it's so obvious. You guys see it every day. I'm just writing this out of sheer amazement. I'm excited for the future of our team. Let's Go Bucs!