Pittsburgh Pirates Rebuild - 2027 Midway Check-In
- IamCogs
- 17 hours ago
- 9 min read
In the blink of an eye we've made it to the halfway mark of the 2027 season, an the Pirates continue to be one of the best teams in the MLB. The organizational turnaround that was started in the 2025 season has suddenly turned the Pirates into one of the class organizations in the league. Pitching has continued to be fantastic for the Pirates, and while the offense was consistently good in 2026, it always lacked one thing: homerun power.
But midway through the year the Pirates are leading the NL in homeruns smacking a combined 113, a whole 8 homeruns more than the second place New York Mets.
The power has come from across the lineup, while no one has distinguished themselves as the premier power bat in the lineup, six total players have hit at least 10 homeruns, and 3 additional players within at least two homeruns of joining them.
But, before I spoil everything, lets take a look at the usual.
Some things we will be covering this check-in:
NL Central check-in
League update including stats, standing, milestones, and All-Star voting
Team stats, milestones and transactions
A check-in on the farm
Here's the Team Report for the halfway point of the 2027 season.
Basics
After a blistering start of to the season, the Pirates have only gotten hotter. Jumping out to a 26-15 first quarter of the season, they followed that up with a 29-11 second quarter, earning them a 6.5 game lead over the Northsiders, who also had a blistering second quarter, where they won 30 games.
The Brewers have played .500 ball essentially all season, which is a welcome change of pace for them after losing 91 games in 2025 and 95 games in 2026.
The Reds and Cardinals are very bad baseball teams, with the Cardinals owning the worst record in the NL, and tied for worst in the league, while the Reds own the third worst record in the NL.
Since our last check in the NL Central teams have gone:
Cubs: 30-11
Pirates: 29-11
Brewers: 20-20
Reds: 18-23
Cardinals: 10-25
Here's the team stat rankings through the first half:
Changes:
Runs Scored 9th -> 1st
Batting AVG 14th -> 6th
On-Base PCT 11th -> 5th
OPS 11th -> 2nd
Batting WAR 9th -> 1st
Home Runs 6th -> 1st
Stolen Bases 2nd -> 1st
Base Running 5th -> 1st
League News
Milestones
Starting with some milestones achieved:
5/20/2027: New York Mets SS Francisco Lindor (57/57) recorded his 300th career homerun against the Philadelphia Phillies.
6/17/2027: Philadelphia Phillies 1B Bryce Harper (58/58) recorded his 400th Homerun against the Miami Marlins.
And some milestones creeping close:
San Diego Padres 1B Xander Bogaerts (45/45) is 4 hits away from 2000.
Milwaukee Brewers DH Christian Yelich (54/54) is 35 hits away from 2000.
Los Angeles Dodgers SS Mookie Betts (62/62) is 42 hits away from 2000.
New York Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton (44/44) is 16 homeruns away from 500.
New York Yankees RF Aaron Judge (70/70) is 35 RBI's away from 1000.
Toronto Blue Jays RF Nick Castellanos (44/44) is 36 RBI's away from 1000.
Atlanta Braves SP Jose Quintana (41/41) is 12 K away from 2000.
All-Star Voting
NL Leaders:
C ARI Gabriel Moreno (76/77), 1,745,056 votes. (PIT Henry Davis is 3rd in voting)
1B NYM Juan Soto (78/78), 2,493,942 votes.
2B SF Tyler Fitzgerald (47/47), 1,539,996 votes. (Termarr Johnson is 3rd in voting)
3B CIN Elly De La Cruz (65/80), 1,971,484 votes.
SS PIT Bo Bichette (55/55), 2,180,172 votes.
LF WAS James Woods (80/80), 2,549,934 votes.
CF ATL Michael Harris II (80/80), 2,330,363 votes.
RF SD Fernando Tatis Jr. (71/71), 2,313,858 votes.
DH LAD Shohei Ohtani (80/80), 2,264,236 votes.
SP PIT Paul Skenes (80/80), 1,034,021 votes. (Jared Jones is 5th in voting)
RP ATL Aaron Bummer (64/64), 723,072 votes.
AL Leaders:
C BAL Adley Rutschman (68/68), 1,828,190 votes.
1B TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (67/68), 2,197,457 votes.
2B BAL Jackson Holliday (61/71), 1,636,543 votes.
3B CLE Jose Ramirez (58/58), 1,671,826 votes.
SS KC Bobby Witt Jr. (73/73), 2,343,817 votes.
LF DET Riley Greene (62/63), 2,228,137 votes.
CF SEA Julio Rodriguez (74/76), 2,117,349 votes.
RF LAA Mike Trout (61/61), 1,594,851 votes.
DH NYY Aaron Judge (70/70), 2,388,500 votes.
SP BOS Garrett Crochet (71/73), 1,563,712 votes.
RP DET Jason Foley (57/57), 937,658 votes.
Standings
The AL East has two very good teams in the Orioles and Yankees, the Orioles investment in the farm system has seen those young guys comes up, develop and contribute, leading to a AL leading 52 wins, but the Yankees, not to be outdone are just 2.5 behind.
The NL West continues to be the class of the NL, with 4 teams over .500 and the Rockies playing respectable ball, being just 7 games under.
League Leaders
Offense
Pitching
Team Stats
Batting Notes
Milestone Games:
On 5/19 SS Jack Brannigan (42/44) slugged his first career homerun, a 3 run shot that went 401 feet in a game that the Pirates ultimately lost, 6-8 in Atlanta.
Just a few days later on 5/22, LF Kevin Alcantara (47/65) hit his first homerun with the Pirates, 2 run shot in a 3-4 loss against the White Sox on the road.
Alcantara had a few noteworthy games in this split.
On 6/4 against the Angels he would go 2/4 with 1 HR and 4 RBI's, driving in all the Pirates runs in a 4-2 win, all four RBI came in the 2nd and 3rd inning for Alcantara.
Then just a few day later on 6/9 he had the best game of his career so far, going 2/5 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. He hit a 2 run shot in the bottom of the 6th, and his first career grand slam in the bottom of the 1st.
LF Josh Palacios (49/49) has had a down season thus far after a 2026 season that saw him lead the league in doubles (46). But he returned to form on 5/24. Palacios went 4/5 with one 2B, and one grand slam, driving in 4 in a 7-3 win against the visiting Guardians.
1B Tyler Locklear (47/47) who came over from the Mariners in a 2025 trade had himself a big day at the plate on 5/31. In a 8-4 win against the Yankees in New York, Locklear hit 2 HR and drove in 4 going 2/4 on the day, and being the difference in the ball game.
And finally, the most consistent bat in the line up since coming to Pittsburgh during free agency in 2026, SS Bo Bichette (53/53) went off against the Angels on 6/5. Bichette went 4/6 with one 2B, 2 HR's, and 6 RBI in a 14-3 thrashing of the home team.
Batting Notes:
Let's start with LF Kevin Alcantara, after being called up on 5/17, Alcantara had a fairly slow start to his 2027 season. In his first 10 games with the Pirates he was slashing just .138/.219/.379, but then caught fire over his next 19 games, raising that to .244/.309/.593 for a very healthy .902 OPS and a 43 wRC+. He's hitting a homerun once every 9.6 plate appearances. He's making a healthy push to be in the running for rookie of the year if these numbers continue.
RF Jo Adell (53/53) has bounced back from a first quarter slash line of .198/.265/.396 to post a much healthier .248/.329/.436 and is 3rd on the team in homeruns with 12.
The surprising pop in 2B Termarr Johnson (55/55) has been a nice development, who is leading the team in homeruns with 14 out of the leadoff spot. He is 2nd on the team in WAR, sitting at 2.4.
Can't say enough about SS Bo Bichette (53/53) who has done nothing but be the face of the franchise since joining the Buccos in 2026. He is slashing an insane .331/.396/.520 with a .906 OPS, 152 wRC+, and 4.2 WAR. He is slugging nearly .100 points higher than he did in 2026, and is well on his way of topping his career high in WAR, 6.5 which he set last year.
Kyle Manzardo (55/57) has taken over the primary DH'ing duties and has responded rather well, after a 1 quarter split that saw him hit just .212 with 1 homerun and 5 doubles for a parlty .283 SLG, he's found the power stroke in the 2nd quarter, hitting 6 home runs and 7 doubles, giving him a more respectable .241/.344/.391 slash line.
Taking over majority 1B duties is Tyler Locklear (47/47), who in his first major starting time in the MLB has slashed .242/.304/.470 in 63 games this year, hitting 11 homeruns and driving in 33 so far. With a respectable .774 OPS and 108 wRC+, I'm hoping he is a long term answer, though his numbers against lefties have been dreadful, with just 3 hits in 40 AB's.
Luckily 3B Coby Mayo (51/57) can play both corners in the infield and has been murdering lefties to the tune of .333/.450/.587 with a 1.037 OPS. So when a leftie takes the mound Mayo will be at 1B.
Pitching Notes
Pitching Notes:
Starting pitching has been so good for the Pirates in 2027, with 4 of the 5 pitchers in the rotation hovering near an ERA below 3, with Paul Skenes (80/80) once again leading the charge with a ridiculous 1.56 ERA in 103.2 IP. His WHIP is currently resting a 0.82 which would top his career low set in 2026 of 0.84. He is on pace to allow just 8 homeruns on the season, and has allowed more than 2 earned runs in a start just twice all year.
SP Reid Detmers (59/60) is interestingly leading the staff in K/9, sitting at 11.82. He's been the top end leftie we have been looking for since we started this, sitting at 8-2 with a 3.07 ERA.
RP Danny Young (47/47) has been an anchor of the bullpen, primarily pitching as a setup guy, he sports a 1.59 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.
Taking it one step further, CL Caleb Furguson (46/46) has continued to be lights out in the closer role, saving 21 of 22 opportunities while sporting a sparking 0.64 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. Slamming the door closed on the opponents.
And finally we've seen some early positive returns from RP Yoldin De La Paz (45/45), who made his MLB debut on 6/12 against the Rockies. In 6.0 IP, he has yet to allow an earned run, nor issue a walk. He initially was called up to help the staff after rough stretch of 13 games without a day off, included a double-header, but has thus far earned a stay on the MLB roster.
Transactions
A couple in organization moves to talk about.
6/21 LF Chris Newell (46/46) was called back up to the big league roster after hitting 15 HR in 100 AB in AAA Indianapolis.
RP Ryan Harbin, who was called up due to injury to RP Jesus Tinoco (45/45), and posted a 0.00 ERA in 2.1 IP, was sent back down to AAA in a corresponding move.
C Omar Alfonzo (43/45) was optioned back down to AAA after struggling in 7 games at the plate in the MLB, recording just 1 hit in 25 PA.
C Endy Rodriguez (44/44) was called back up to replace Alfonzo.
Assistant GM Ben Cherington, Hitting Coach Travis Denker, and Scouting Director Drew Toussaint all had their contracts extended by 4 years, as the brain trust helped win the Pirates their first World Series since 1979.
Minor League Check-In
Finally a look at the farm system, Here's the current records of each level
AAA Indianapolis Indians (45-33, 2nd)
AA Altoona Curve (43-28, 1st)
A+ Greensboro Grasshoppers (44-25, 1st)
A Bradenton Marauders (56-13, 1st)
FCL Pirates (25-18, 1st)
DSL Pirates Black (19-4, 1st)
DSL Pirates Gold (15-8, 5th)
And a look at the top prospects of the system.
AAA LHP Magdiel Cotto (41/49) 362.2 IP, 4-7, 4.31 ERA, 61 K, 31 BB, 1.39 WHIP
AAA 3B Orelvis Martinez (46/53) 74 G, .253/.323/.579 27 HR, 61 RBI, .902 OPS, 113 wRC+
AAA RHP Jose Rodriguez (43/44) 70.2 IP, 7-2, 4.33 ERA, 79 K, 36 BB, 1.22 WHIP
AAA SS Jhonny Severino (42/47) 31 G, .339/.417/.551 6 HR, 11 RBI, .968 OPS, 147 wRC+
Jhonny was promoted from AA to AAA on 5/24.
AA LHP Jamie Arnold (40/53) 86.0 IP, 5-6, 5.36 ERA, 101 K, 31 BB, 1.31 WHIP
A RHP Levi Sterling (35/48) 70.2 IP, 6-2, 3.31 ERA, 95 K, 21 BB, 1.00 WHIP
A RF Bralyn Brazoban (35/49) 64 G, .295/.406/.500, 11 HR, 61 RBI, .906 OPS, 131 wRC+
DSL LF Edward Florentino (33/48) 16 G, .458/.636/.712 2 HR, 18 RBI, 1.348 OPS, 217 wRC+
Florentino promoted to A Brampton, but has yet to play a game.
DSL C Julio Mendoza (23/43) 17 G, .357/.500/.657 6 HR, 22 RBI, 1.157 OPS, 152 wRC+
FCL SP Brett Crossland (36/59) 44.2 IP, 4-1, 3.22 ERA, 60 K, 26 BB, 1.34 WHIP
FCL LHP Ronaldys Jimenez (33/42) 33.2 IP 4-3, 5.88 ERA, 40 K, 22 BB, 1.66 WHIP
FCL LHP Christian Lim (33/57) 50.0 IP, 2-1, 3.06 ERA, 69 K, 31 BB, 1.36 WHIP
That about wraps things up for our 2nd half check in, we will see you in 40 games for the for the 3rd quarter check in, where we will cover the All-Star game, amateur draft, and trade deadline. Thanks for reading!
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