Welcome back to our 2020 team-by-team previews. Today we will be checking on one of the least interesting teams in fantasy this year, the Pittsburgh Pirates.
You can find all of our 2020 fantasy baseball MLB team previews here.
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Starting Lineup
| # | NAME | POS |
| 1 | Kevin Newman | SS |
| 2 | Adam Frazier | 2B |
| 3 | Bryan Reynolds | OF |
| 4 | Josh Bell | 1B |
| 5 | Gregory Polanco | OF |
| 6 | Colin Moran | 3B |
| 7 | Jacob Stallings | C |
| 8 | Jarrod Dyson | OF |
- Better in OBP formats: Josh Bell
- Worse in OBP formats: Bryan Reynolds, Kevin Newman, Adam Frazier
- Better than his ADP: Kevin Newman (220), Adam Frazier (394)
- Worse than his ADP: Bryan Reynolds (182)
- Bench bat(s) worth rostering: None
- Player(s) most likely to lose a starting spot: Colin Moran
Quick notes: Josh Bell is the lone top-100 bat in this lineup, and he’s one of the tougher players in the league to predict, given his inconsistent 2019 season. Newman and Frazier are very cheap on draft day, and they could help your team in steals (in Newman’s case) and batting average.
Pitching Rotation
| # | NAME | R/L |
| 1 | Chris Archer | R |
| 2 | Joe Musgrove | R |
| 3 | Trevor Williams | R |
| 4 | Mitch Keller | R |
| 5 | Derek Holland | L |
- Better than his ADP: Chris Archer (272), Joe Musgrove (218), Mitch Keller (259)
- Worse than his ADP: None
- Starter least likely to stick in the rotation: Derek Holland
- Non-starter most likely to enter the rotation: Chad Kuhl
Quick notes: There are some talented arms in this rotation that are going very late. Archer and Musgrove have the skills to be legitimate fantasy starters this year, and Mitch Keller has some huge upside with how good his stuff is.
Bullpen
- Projected closer: Keone Kela (Job Security: MEDIUM)
- Top backup: Kyle Crick
- Premier holds option: None
- Sneaky holds option: None
Quick notes: Kela was awarded the closer job early in camp, but Crick will be biting at his heels if he pitches poorly. There should not be a ton of holds and saves coming out of this team however, as the Pirates are one of the worst projected teams in the league.
Prospects
- Relevant in 2020: Ke’Bryan Hayes
- Worth a look for 2021 and beyond: Oneil Cruz
- Don’t believe the hype: Ke’Bryan Hayes (hit just .261 in 113 minor league games last year with just 10 homers)
Other Helpful Fantasy Info
- Park Factor: 94.7 for runs, 87.1 for homers, 100.5 for singles, 115 for doubles, 77.5 for triples
- Green Light Rating: Unknown (new manager)
- Likeliest 2020 roster moves: Trading pieces away at the deadline to progress the rebuild.
- Bold Fantasy Prediction: Gregory Polanco finally stays healthy and hits 30 homers with a .270+ batting average.
- Bland Fantasy Prediction: The real Josh Bell proves to be more of the guy we saw in the second half (not that good).
Check out all of our 2020 Fantasy Baseball MLB Team Previews.
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Jon Anderson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jon, check out his archive and follow him @JonPgh.