Pittsburgh Pirates Rebuild - 2028 Midway Check-In
- IamCogs
- 2 days ago
- 11 min read
The blistering hot start the the season has seen no slowdown for the 2028 Pittsburgh Pirates. Posting a 66-15 record through their first 81 games, they broke a record previous held by te1885 Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), who opened their campaign with an astounding 64–17 record.
Carried by elite pitching in both the starting rotation (2.39 starter ERA) and the bullpen (2.27 ERA) the Pirates also bolster an elite offense, one that ranks 1st in nearly every category in the league outside batting average (2nd) and on base percentage (3rd).
They have opened up an astounding 23 game lead in the NL Central, and have lost back-to-back games just once all season.
But some road bumps at the end of the 1st half of the season may flip the season upside down and the Pittsburgh Pirates hope to somehow return to the World Series and avenger their loss handed to them by the Boston Red Sox in 2027.
Let's take a look at what has happened in the 1st half of the 2028 season, and see where things may be heading!
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 system
Here's the Team Report for the halfway point of the 2028 season.
Basics
As mentioned earlier, the Pirates are barreling towards a cakewalk division title, and baring a historical meltdown they should be able to wrap up their 4th NL Central division title.
As predicted the Cubs slow start has steadied, putting the team 2 games over .500 and 3rd in the division. The teams' offense has definitely helped, as the Cubs are 2nd in batting WAR.
The Brewers faded a bit for the 1st Quarter of the season, as they sit 5 games under .500 and last in the division. While they are 4th in the league in homeruns, their pitching, specifically the bullpen has been awful. Ranking last in the NL in Bullpen ERA, FIP, pitching WAR, and strikeouts.
The Reds suffer a similar issue, with an offense that has hit the second most homeruns in the NL with 103, but the pitching has been shaky at best. They still are playing good enough baseball to be second in the NL Central.
The Cardinals have had a rough stretch after a 1st Quarter start that saw them 11 games over. They posted just a 16-25 record in the 2nd Quarter, leaving them at .500 midway through the season. While they are 3rd in the NL with 96 homeruns, they are no better than 10th in any other offensive category.
Since our last check in the NL Central teams have gone:
Pirates: 32-8
Cubs: 23-18
Brewers: 18-21
Reds: 18-22
Cardinals: 16-25
Here's the team stat rankings through the first half:
Changes:
Batting AVG 7th -> 2nd
On-Base PCT 10th -> 3rd
OPS 3rd -> 1st
wOBA 3rd -> 1st
Strikeouts 1st -> 2nd
Defensive Eff. 3rd -> 1st
Zone Rating 6th -> 3rd
League News
Milestones
Starting with some milestones achieved:
06/10/28: New York Mets 1B Juan Soto (72/72) recorded his 300th career homerun against the Toronto Blue Jays.
0/31/28: Cleveland Guardians 3B Jose Ramirez (50/50) recorded his 2000th career hit against the Toronto Blue Jays.
05/17/2028 Colorado Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado (49/49) recorded his 400th career homerun against the San Diego Padres
And some milestones creeping close:
Chicago White Sox 1B Freddie Freeman (56/56) is 181 hits away from 3000.
New York Mets SS Francisco Lindor (53/53) is 32 hits away from 2000.
Kansas City Royals DH Giancarlo Stanton (42/42) is 12 homeruns away from 500.
Arizona Diamondbacks 1B Joc Pederson (49/49) is 2 homeruns away from 300.
Texas Rangers 1B Marcus Semien (44/44) is 2 homeruns away from 300.
New York Mets SS Francisco Lindor (53/53) is 2 RBI's away from 1000.
Philadelphia Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber (54/54) is 21 RBI's away from 1000.
Cleveland Guardians 3B Jose Ramirez (50/50) is 1 steal away from 300.
Detroit Tigers SP Chris Sale (50/50) is 28 strikeouts from 3000.
Toronto Blue Jays SP Carlos Rodon (48/48) is 43 strikeouts from 2000.
Houston Astros LHP Aroldis Chapman (43/43) is 3 saves away from 400.
All-Star Voting
NL Leaders:
C ARI Gabriel Moreno (78/78), 2,369,614 votes.
1B MIA Deyvison De Los Santos (51/60), 2,178,045 votes.
2B PIT Termarr Johnson (62/62), 2,554,269 votes.
3B PIT Coby Mayo (59/61, 2,129,400 votes.
SS PIT Bo Bichette (53/53), 2,023,266 votes.
LF WAS James Woods (80/80), 2,213,487 votes.
CF ATL Michael Harris II (80/80), 2,427,261 votes.
RF STL Jordan Walker (64/67), 2,606,970 votes.
DH LAD Shohei Ohtani (80/80), 3,249,176 votes.
SP PIT Paul Skenes (80/80), 1,260,464 votes.
RP ATL Mason Miller 70/70), 718,123 votes.
AL Leaders:
C TEX Bo Naylor (55/56, 1,863,281 votes.
1B DET Colt Keith (79/80), 2,944,031 votes.
2B TB Theo Gillen (54/73), 1,672,182 votes.
3B MIN Royce Lewis (63/64), 1,927,042 votes.
SS BAL Gunnar Henderson (79/80), 2,167,406 votes.
LF BAL Colton Cowser (65/65), 2,610,227 votes.
CF SEA Julio Rodriguez (74/76), 1,813,561 votes.
RF TEX Evan Carter (69/72), 2,344,945 votes.
DH MIN Bryan Reynolds (50/50), 1,604,136 votes.
SP BOS Garrett Crochet (76/78), 1,584,061 votes.
RP TEX Ivan Moreno (68/68), 1,283,218 votes.
Standings
All division races remain fairly close, outside of the NL East and the NL Central. The Braves have a health 8.5 game lead over the Nations, who are remaining competitive being 4 games over .500 themselves.
2 divisions have just 1 team over .500, the AL Central and the NL West, with the NL West surprisingly seeing the Dodgers in 3rd, 8 games under .500.
The AL East continues to be a bloodbath with 4 teams within 6 games of 1st. Is this the year the Yankees finally miss the playoffs? An aging roster seems to be showing cracks as the rest at 2 games under .500.
League Leaders
Offense
Pitching
Team Stats
Batting Notes
Milestone Games:
CF Kevin Alcantara (54/63) had himself a pretty notable 2nd Quarter, along with some notable games.
On 5/15 He went 4-5 with 3 homeruns, including a grand slam, driving in 9 runs in a 10-3 win over the Mets. He was a solo homerun shy of a homerun cycle, hitting a 2-run, 3-run and a grand slam homerun in the game.
He also went 4-4 on 5/22 with 1 homerun, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBI in a 12-2 win over those same Mets.
2B Termarr Johnson (62/62) recorded a 2 homerun game, including a grand slam, driving in 5 in a 11-3 win against the Mets. (Man did we do a number on the Mets this year.)
On 5/31 2B Wyatt Sanford (43/50) makes his MLB debut.
He records his first hit, a double, on 6/2.
On 6/26 1B Carlos Caro (42/45) makes his MLB debut and records his first hit, a homerun in a 4-3 win in Cincinnati.
Batting Notes:
Absolutely crushed by losing 3B Coby Mayo (59/61) for the year to injury. He was on pace for 24 homeruns, over 100 RBI and a 5.2 WAR. He took another step in solidifying his game before injury. A large hole in his game in 2027was his hitting against RHP. But in 2028 he posted a 159 wRC+ vs. lefties and a 134 wRC+ against righties. Devasting loss.
In good news 2B Termarr Johnson (62/62) is budding into a superstar, slashing .300/.397/.506 with a .902 OPS and a 151 wRC+ while being on pace for 7.5 WAR. His may very well be in the works.
CF Kevin Alcantara (54/63) is lading the MLB in RBI's, knocking in 75 already. He is absolutely murdering left handed pitching, slashing .346/.407/.731 with a 1.138 OPS and a 202 wRC+. He is averaging a homerun every 9.8 at bats against lefties.
SS Bo Bichette (53/53) has had a fairly down year comparatively to his Pirate standards slashing .236/.304/.436 but he was still on pace for a 4 WAR season before getting injured, while projecting to hit over 20 homeruns for the first time since 2023.
LF Jack Suwinski (52/52) is having a great bounce back season. slashing .264/.334/.457 thus far with a .792 OPS and a 121 wRC+. He's sitting at 3.0 WAR already on the year, nearly doubling his season total of WAR from 2027 (1.6).
Suwinski also moved into 10th all time in steals (210) stealing a base against the Reds in a 9-0 win.
7 position players from AAA Indianapolis have made starts for the major league club due to various injuries.
LF Shalin Polanco (48/50) remains the most successful from the class in 2028, slashing .245/.320/.480 with a .799 OPS and a 121 wRC+. He is tied for 3rd in rookie homeruns (12), 4th in rookie RBI's (35) and 5th in rookie WAR (1.0).
SS Jack Brannigan (45/46) has quietly put in a solid year so far in spot starts around the infield due to injuries and scheduled rest for regular starters. In 43 games (23 starts) Brannigan is slashing a .278/.313/.519 line, with a .832 OPS, and 127 wRC+, while driving in 15 runs and hitting 5 homeruns.
Pitching Notes
Pitching Notes:
On 5/24 SP Paul Skenes (80/80) carried a perfect game into the 8th inning, ultimately going 7.1 IP allowing 3 ER and striking out 10. He would get the win against who else but the Mets.
Skenes was named Mays pitcher of the month, where he would post a 5-0 mark, working 39.1 innings. He allowed a .212 BAA while striking out 48 and posting a 2.52 ERA.
What more can be said about Paul? He just somehow gets better and better every season. in 18 starts he is 16-0 with a 1.59 ERA and 0.81 WHIP, striking out 159 while walking just 27. While his new contract will cost me nearly $40m AAV, he's making sure he's worth every penny.
LHP Reid Detmers (58/58) continues to be a lethal 1-2 punch combined with Paul Skenes. Detmers has posted a 12-1 record with a 2.21 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.
RHP Will Warren (53/53) has been fantastic at the backend of the rotation. In 14 starts he's gone 7-3 with a 1.87 in 81.2 IP, bolstered by a sparking 0.99 WHIP.
The backend of the bullpen continues to be absolutely lights out. LHP Yoldin De La Paz (47/47) is still sporting a 0.00 ERA through 26.2 IP, striking out 26 and walking just 2. RHP Abner Uribe has a 1.38 ERA through 26.2 IP while averaging 11.4 K/9 and CL Danny Young has a 0.79 ERA in 22.2 IP and is a perfect 19 for 19 in save chances.
Leftie specialist LHP Caleb Ferguson also has a sub 1.00 ERA (0.98) with a 0.79 WHIP and a OAVG of .156, second only to Danny Young.
21 year old rookie RHP Brett Crossland (44/60) has seen some extended time in the majors as he begins to ramp up towards potential starting rotation work, appearing in 13 games with 2 starts. He has posted a 2.89 ERA with a 1.39 WHIP in 18.2 IP as a reliever.
Down in the minors, LHP Ronaldys Jimenez (35/41) was named the FSL pitcher of the month down in A+ ball, posting 4 wins with a 2.08 ERA, pitching 30.1 innings and striking out 44.
Transactions
A couple in organization moves to talk about, including some pretty key injuries:
May 29th saw a lot of movement trade-wise in the organization.
Sent LHP Connor Oliver (42/43), RHP Braxton Ashcraft (41/41), RHP Ryan Harbin (43/44) and LHP Magdiel Cotto (41/46) to the Cleveland Guardians for LHP Jackson Humphries (41/48), RHP Matt Scott (38/46), RHP Andrew Walters (40/41), RHP Yoryi Simarra (38/43), and RHP Michael Forrett (37/42).
Traded LHP Jamie Arnold (41/48) to the San Franciso Giants for LF Drew Burress (38/53) and SS Walker Martin (34/46).
Sent CF Lonnie White Jr. (44/44), 2B Keiner Delgado (43/43), 2B Tsung-Che Cheng (42/42), LHP Christian Lim (34/49) and $500,000 to the San Francisco Giants for CF Kane Kepley (37/41), 2B Josuar Gonzalez (34/44), 2B Yulian Barreto (34/41), and LHP Bull Gomez (24/39).
On 05/27/2028 1B Jhonny Severino (48/53) suffered a sports hermia in a 7-1 win @ Milwaukee outting him out for 5-6 weeks. He still has about 1 week left of injury, then a rehab assignment in AAA Indianapolis.
In a corresponding move, the contract for 2B Wyatt Sanford (43/52) was purchased.
After signing a 3 year $51,800,000 contract in the off-season with the Pirates, RF Jo Adell (51/51) was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with LHP Victor Paz (30/62). In return we added C Harry Ford (50/58), RF Yorger Bautista (33/54), and SS Manny Meza (22/68).
Adell just never found his swing in year two with the Pirates, slashing just .186/.271/.328 with a .599 OPS while hitting 7 homeruns and driving in 27.
The trade addresses a potential need at C with Henry Davis (58/58)growing more expensive and a direct replacement in RF who could be ready as early as next year.
RF Matt Gorksi (46/46) was subsequently called up to fill out the MLB roster.
Another large loss to the lineup hit us on 06/22/2028. While sliding into 2nd base after a double, SS Bo Bichette (53/53) separated his shoulder, putting him out for 5 weeks. He is due to return in 4 weeks and a rehab assignment.
LF Billy Cook (42/43) was called up to take up the open roster spot with the injury.
Just two days later on 06/26/2028 3B Coby Mayo (59/61) was hit by a pitch, fracturing his ankle, ending what was a very promising season.
In 73 games, Mayo slashed .306/.368/.525 with a .893 OPS, a 144 wRC+ with 12 homeruns and 53 RBI's, which was second on the team.
1B Carlos Caro (42/45) was promoted to the MLB roster as a resulting move.
On June 28th we signed veteran 2B Zach McKinstry (44/44) to provide some infield stability while we try to get healthier
1B Carlos Caro was optioned as a result.
Minor League Check-In
Finally a look at the farm system, Here's the current records of each level:
AAA Indianapolis Indians (29-49, 10th)
The AAA team is struggling most due to so much of the talent there has been called up to the MLB to fill in roster spots due to injury.
AA Altoona Curve (43-28, 1st)
A+ Greensboro Grasshoppers (45-24, 1st)
A Bradenton Marauders (52-17, 1st)
FCL Pirates (26-17, 1st)
DSL Pirates Black (15-1, 1st)
DSL Pirates Gold (14-2, 2nd)
And a look at the top 20 prospects of the system:
MLB RHP Brett Crossland (44/60) 29.2 IP, 2-0, 3.03 ERA, 30 K, 17 BB, 1.42 WHIP
MLB 1B Wyatt Sanford (43/55) 18 G, .226/.336/.377 0 HR, 3 RBI, .614 OPS, 61 wRC+
AAA RF Bralyn Brazoban (41/56) 5 G, .222/.304/.278 0 HR, 4 RBI, .582 OPS, 46 wRC+
AAA LF Slade Caldwell (44/53) 66 G, .273/.366/.407 8 HR, 32 RBI, .773 OPS, 98 wRC+
AAA RHP Wilber Dotel (44/48) 42.1 IP, 0-3, 4.68 ERA, 44 K, 21 BB, 1.42 WHIP
AA LF Edward Florentino (37/44) 17 G, .357/.419/.964 4 HR, 12 RBI, 1.384 OPS, 249
wRC+
On 6/11 Florentino slugged 3 homeruns in a game, fueling the A+ affiliate Grasshoppers to a 6-1 win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
AA RHP Alex Kranzler (37/57) 24.1 IP, 2-2, 0.74 ERA, 32 K, 10 BB, 1.03 WHIP
AA RHP Yoryi Simarra (38/43) 27.2 IP, 3-1, 3.58 ERA, 32 K, 17 BB, 1.23 WHIP
A+ LHP Ronaldys Jimenez (35/41) 22.0 IP 0-0, 6.55 ERA, 26 K, 12 BB, 1.32 WHIP
A+ RHP Levi Sterling (37/49) 15.1 IP 0-0, 2.35 ERA, 18 K, 11 BB, 1.24 WHIP
A C Corey Arnold (29/43) 18 G, .300/.488/.400 0 HR, 7 RBI, .888 OPS, 146 wRC+
A RHP Hector Gasca (34/59) 45.1 IP, 3-2, 3.38 ERA, 55 K, 20 BB, 1.41 WHIP
A RHP Joshua Jannicelli (32/43) 16.1 IP, 1-1, 2.76 ERA, 21 K, 6 BB, 1.47 WHIP
FCL CF Trevor Bolton (27/48) 29 G, .293/.401/.512 5 HR, 27 RBI, .914 OPS, 119 wRC+
FCL C Art Gonsalez (27/43) 30 G, .280/.448/.449 5 HR, 27 RBI, .897 OPS, 128 wRC+
FCL LHP Steve Stainbrook (32/43) 40.1 IP, 2-3, 5.58 ERA, 45 K, 23 BB, 1.81 WHIP
DSL SS Manny Meza (22/68) 4 G, .438/.571/.688 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1.259 OPS, 191 wRC+
DSL LHP Reinold Navarro (30/39) 15.2 IP, 2-0, 2.87 ERA, 22 K, 7 BB, 1.81 WHIP
INT 3B Glen Bullock (23/51) 18 y/o signed 01/21/2026
INT CF Willie Cantu (23/52) 18 y/o signed 01/20/2027
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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