Pirates report card: Bullpen gets LOW mark? How to grade Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz and others?

Added: 2026-06-08

[00:00:01]What's up everyone and welcome back to another edition of the PG Pirates show presented by FanDuel. My name is Colin Beasley and I cover the Pirates for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

[00:00:11]And for this week's video, it's a little bit more of like a this month's video because I'm going to be taking a look at the Pirates so far and more specifically the Pirates in the month of May. This is the video version of a of a story that I had on the Post-Gazette website that dropped today.

[00:00:27]It's our monthly Pirates report card where we talk about the last month of the Pirates, give them grades, give them scores based upon how the team has performed throughout the month of May.

[00:00:39]Uh if you prefer to just read this article, you can get that on post-gazette.com.

[00:00:46]That has all of our coverage on the weekend series against the Minnesota Twins, a good series, the return of Derek Shelton, and of course everything that is going on with Carmen Mlodzinski.

[00:00:56]We will also talk to Carmen Mlodzinski later today. I'm not the one on the Houston-Atlanta road trip, Matt Press is, but he will have a story from Mlodzinski's availability later today.

[00:01:07]You can check that out on post-gazette.com.

[00:01:12]Anyways, we're not here to talk about Carmen Mlodzinski too too much, though it is certainly an interesting story and one that I'm sure we will be monitoring, one that Noah and I discussed on last week's edition of this show.

[00:01:25]We are here to talk about the Pirates month of May. And the Pirates went 16 and 12 overall. They started and finished the month on hot highs. They took all three from the Cincinnati Reds to start the month, took all three from the Minnesota Twins to end the month.

[00:01:38]There were certainly some good things there, but it it wasn't perfect. Uh they they were swept by the cross-state Philadelphia Phillies including a brutal Friday night bullpen meltdown.

[00:01:49]They lost the series in San Francisco and split four against the then reeling Chicago Cubs. Both of those feel like missed opportunities.

[00:01:56]And going into the month of June, there's a lot of things that were going to be answered. There's a lot of questions. Connor Griffin's on the injured list and while it's expected to be minor, you never know exactly how that will affect the team.

[00:02:08]There are concerns with Carmen Mlodzinski. We don't know how he's going to adapt to the new bullpen role. He's expected to be available today, but that's that's a headache that this team is dealing with right now. And the schedule is far more difficult in June.

[00:02:21]It starts off with the Houston Astros who haven't been playing too too well, but then it goes to the Atlanta Braves and then the Dodgers at home. Very very difficult nine games starting with tonight's game. Bubba Chandler versus Mike Burrows. FanDuel odds, Pirates are minus 104 on the money line and the over under is nine. A little bit higher than usual with Bubba Chandler and Mike Burrows on the mound.

[00:02:46]Without further ado, it's worth getting into the post into our grades. We set We set these up position by position. So, we will start as always with the starting pitchers and finish with the coaching.

[00:02:59]Starting pitchers, I gave the Pirates starters a B for the month of May. That follows a B in March and April because while starting pitching remains a strength for the Pirates, it it hasn't been the superpower that some, including myself, thought it could be for this team. Pirates starters combined for a 3.74 ERA.

[00:03:19]Fully respectable. That's the 11th best in baseball, but it's not quite dominant.

[00:03:25]Braxton Ashcraft was stellar. He had a 1.99 ERA with 42 strikeouts in May.

[00:03:29]It was very very good. Paul Skenes started the month with two of the best starts of his career before fading a little bit late. I'm not concerned about it, but it hasn't necessarily been Paul Skenes' finest month.

[00:03:42]And Mlodzinski, he had a 2.14 ERA in his last four starts before move out of the rotation.

[00:03:47]That's That's fully positive. That's That's something that's good, but what prevents the Pirates starters from getting a grade better than the B are the other question marks in the rotation. Bubba Chandler has continued to struggle to start this year. He's flashed dominance. That start against Toronto was really, really good, but we don't know exactly what we're going to get for him. He hasn't been the dominant pitcher he was in his 2025 debut.

[00:04:11]Mitch Keller had two particularly bad outings including one against the Minnesota Twins this weekend that still resulted in a win. They kind of overshadowed four more typical starts.

[00:04:20]Again, not concerned, but two uncharacteristic outings from Keller to say the least. And Jared Jones, he's made one start. Return was exciting, but it'll take time for him to get back to his 2024 form.

[00:04:32]Pirates starters did well. They covered 156 and 1/3 innings, a top five mark in baseball over the month. That's very, very good, but their best days are still ahead of them. So, I I believe a B is fair.

[00:04:44]As to the bullpen, I gave them a D.

[00:04:47]That's after they had a B in March and April because they they really took a step back after a strong April. Pirates relievers combined for a 4.55 ERA in May, 25th in baseball, and those numbers were a lot worse before a good few final games over the home stand helped those numbers rise to more respectable totals.

[00:05:05]Isaac Mattson and Justin Lawrence saw themselves fall out of the bullpen entirely with the Pirates designating Lawrence for assignment on Friday and trading him to the Minnesota Twins for cash late on Monday night. Dennis Santana had a 7.45 ERA. Johan Ramirez had a 9.24 ERA. Very, very forgettable months from them. And no one's exactly been immune to a bad outing as even though Mason Montgomery and Evan Sisk and Gregory Soto have on a whole been really, really good, they did still have a they still did lose a game or two for the Pirates during the month.

[00:05:40]There are still some real positives, namely the three guys that I just mentioned. Evan Sisk had an 0.61 ERA in May. That is very, very good, especially for someone who is one of the Pirates lower leverage relievers.

[00:05:53]Gregory Soto, as I've mentioned a couple of times so far in this video, he picked a bad time for his worst outing of the year in that Phillies loss, but he's still at a 2.08 ERA in May and went six for seven on save opportunities. And Wil Crowe Dotelus, he's been fantastic. Been a revelation since being recalled mid-month, twice throwing three scoreless innings on the home stand.

[00:06:14]Bad month for the bullpen, but they did finish strong and with Mlodzinski and Dotel in the improvement or in the fold, improvement seems likely. However, the Pirates bullpen may have lost as many as four games for the team in the month of May.

[00:06:29]This could have been a very, very different video if they had gone 20 and eight in the month, but a few blown leads from the bullpen and it ended up being just a positive and just a solid month instead of one that could have really been a difference-maker.

[00:06:44]Catchers were one of the more interesting, um, positions to grade this month. I gave them a C+, but would you believe me if I said that Pirates catchers combined for a 110 WRC+ in May, the third best in baseball?

[00:06:57]That comes after a 73 WRC+ in March and April and ranking 27th. And as a refresher, WRC+, that's wins wins weighted runs created plus, excuse me. I was getting it confused with war there for a second. 100 is average, so 110 is is very, very good for catchers. We'll talk about them a lot more in infielders and outfielders.

[00:07:20]I will say that the 110 WRC+ is misleading pretty much entirely. Joey Bart had the best road trip of his of the season before he was placed on the injured list with that list with a left foot infection.

[00:07:33]He was seven for 17 with a four-hit game in five games in May. That gives good for a 183 WRC+, which is, of course, well above average. And Endy Rodriguez came in and he's had a 486 on-base percentage, not OPS, on-base percentage in 10 games. He's drawn 11 walks in 37 plate appearances. That's a 148 WRC Plus.

[00:07:55]Now, you may say, "Well, these guys have been fantastic. Why do they get a C plus?" And that would be because of Henry Davis, who while he did homer four times, he went six for 50 in May for a 63 WRC Plus. Six for 50, that is a 120 batting average. Wasn't a good month for him.

[00:08:13]Somehow he did still rank 46th out of 79 catchers in May in WRC Plus. Bart was third, Rodriguez was ninth. That kind of shows that virtually any offensive production from catchers is is a bonus, but I don't think anyone would say that 120 a 120 batting average is anywhere near good enough for Davis. He needs to be better. I think that I'm not saying anything too controversial there. Hasn't been good enough. Um need more production out of him, and that's why the catchers didn't get a better grade.

[00:08:45]Infield, the highest grade of the month, they I gave them an A minus because they had a collectively stellar month.

[00:08:51]Spencer Horwitz batted 326 when May with more walks than strikeouts.

[00:08:56]He He in WRC Plus, he was fourth among primary first baseman with a 168 mark, only trailing Nick Pratto, Jonathan Aranda, and Andrew Vaughn. Those top two were among the best players in baseball.

[00:09:08]So, that shows that Horwitz is in very, very good company.

[00:09:12]Both Brandon Lowe and Connor Griffin ranked fifth in their respective um positions in WRC Plus. And even Nick Gonzales was above league average, barely. His 101 WRC Plus, aided by the last-day homer, moved him up to 10th.

[00:09:26]Collectively, the Pirates had the fourth-highest WRC Plus of all teams in May.

[00:09:31]The infield and huge months from Horwitz and Lowe in particular are a big reason why. Also worth that Connor Griffin batted 303 in May. That's something that is very, very positive and something that shows just how good that that kid is.

[00:09:48]Outfield, I give them a B. They also had a productive month at the plate, though some defensive concerns move them down just a little bit. Pirates outfielders combined for a 112 WRC+ in May. That's ninth in the majors.

[00:10:00]Combined for 1.4 uh FWAR, 11th in baseball.

[00:10:04]Defense is still struggling a little bit, as I mentioned, but still overall solid. Bryan Reynolds really, really heated up late in his last nine games.

[00:10:12]He's batting 483, 14 for 29 with a 1417 OPS.

[00:10:18]Wasn't a great defensive month for him, but he batted 313 overall and had as many strikeouts as walks. He's been really, really solid. Oneil Cruz wasn't as hot in May and slumped for much of the month before a better final week.

[00:10:31]Ended up resulting in a respectable 255 batting average and 748 OPS, which is something the Pirates will take. I I I wrote about him more in-depth for a weekend story in our Sunday print edition.

[00:10:43]And he's on pace to strike out more than any player in baseball history. There's certainly concerns there, but when he's batting 250, when he shows off the power, when is when he's leading the the National League in stolen bases like he did in May with nine, it's all worth it.

[00:11:01]Certainly cons You don't love the strikeouts, but overall positive.

[00:11:06]And the third spot, third outfield spot was a little bit tougher to evaluate considering it was divided up by a whole bunch of players. Ryan O'Hearn was his typical solid self in the before his injury and in the one game following it.

[00:11:20]Jake Marisnick has been strong, as well as Miguel Vargas and Justin Olson Garcia have both been capable in their Pirates debuts. I'm encouraged by what I've seen there, even if neither exactly lit the world on fire.

[00:11:30]Valdez, of course, being two for 16 with two homers before um um he was sent down again.

[00:11:37]Stars performed well at the plate, and I think the biggest takeaway there is that there is some real depth in the outfield for the Pirates this year, which is encouraging.

[00:11:45]Designated hitter, I gave the DH an F in March and April. In May, I moved it up to a D plus, and part of that is because Marcell Ozuna has been a little bit better.

[00:11:56]Hit 219 with a 713 OPS in May. That's not good enough. It is a slight improvement. He also walked a little bit more.

[00:12:04]I'm not saying that that's good enough and that the Pirates need to keep sticking with him, but there was a little bit of improvement there from his majors worst um March and April.

[00:12:14]But really the bigger part of the grade is that the Pirates are using some more guys at DH. There were productive cameos from Cruz, Reynolds, and Connor Griffin this month that helped uh the Pirates DH's move up to a 81 WRC plus in the in season, a major improvement from what they were in March and April. I'm interested to see how this continues um because if Ozuna doesn't heat up, which it's becoming a possibility now, um I do wonder if he'll use him less at DH, if he will start to be relegated more to a bench bench role. He didn't end up playing at all in the weekend series against the Twins, which went well. Obviously, big part of that was Connor Griffin's injury, which he's now on the injured list, but it is it shows that there is uh it's something they're at least monitoring.

[00:13:01]I'm very interested to see how the playing time continues to stack up over the next few days and few weeks, especially if injuries to Griffin and Ryan O'Hearn returning from his injury, if they remain a factor.

[00:13:15]Final grade for I The final grade we ended with coaching, and I used the exact same methodology as last month. I gave the same grade as last month. I I Don Kelly a B minus for May. Few months are going to be perfect, especially one with a struggling bullpen and considering the bullpen had no reliable right-hander for most of the month, I understand why there weren't why there were bullpen issues and why um it it seemed like there were a lot of wrong decisions there because there was really no one to turn to.

[00:13:46]Often Kelly would turn to a reliable left-hander for a good match-up and sometimes those even went wrong. I mean we saw with Kyle Schwarber and Mason Montgomery where Braxton Ashcraft gets pulled instead of facing Schwarber for a fourth time. May Montgomery leaves a fastball right down the middle and it's an immediate home run. Same thing with Evan Sisk. Of course, his first extra base hit given up to a lefty is the one time the Pirates need him to not give up an extra base hits.

[00:14:12]However, that said, the the Pirates also had a number of times where a spiral seemed likely and it didn't end up happening. The Philly series seemed like it could be one. The end of the Cubs series seemed like another. Both times they responded well. That's a credit to the clubhouse, of course, number one, but also to Don Kelly a little bit.

[00:14:30]That said, it's going to be an interesting week with the Pirates. Kelly's going to be tested again to start June. Griffin's on the IL.

[00:14:39]The Mlodzinski situation, which could have been handled in-house, has been has spilled into public view. Though, of course, all sides deserve blame for that. Cherington some, Mlodzinski some, Kelly a little bit.

[00:14:51]That's something that maybe maybe that wouldn't make headlines if it had been handled different ways. So, I I can't call Don Kelly entirely blameless for that. Schedule's tough. The NL Central remains the best division in baseball with every team over.500. Kelly's done well to steer the ship, but smooth waters aren't expected anytime soon.

[00:15:11]I feel like we're going to learn a lot about this team in June and I think that we'll learn a fair bit about Don Kelly as well.

[00:15:18]That'll do it for this week's edition of uh the PG Pirates Show. We'll be back to you again on Friday with a mailbag. So, if you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments or email me or reach out to me on Twitter.

[00:15:31]Going to be an interesting week in Houston. Going to be an interesting series in Atlanta to follow. Matt Press will have you covered on all those.

[00:15:38]We will be back, hopefully soon, to talk about all of it. Thank you guys for watching. We will talk to you in soon.

[00:15:49]>> Thank you for checking out this content from Post-Gazette Sports. If you watch this video on YouTube, please like the video and subscribe to our channel. For all of the sports coverage the Post-Gazette has to offer, visit post-gazette.com.

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