Pittsburgh

Pirates

Skenes projects as a future top-of-the-rotation anchor, and central component of the Pirates’ rebuilding effort, after putting the finishing touches on one of the most incredible collegiate seasons ever. Universally-regarded as the top pitching prospect in this year’s draft, Skenes ostensibly re-wrote the SEC’s record books, while also leading LSU to a national championship, in his first season after transferring from Air Force. The 21-year-old right-hander possesses an almost unexplainable magnetism, and also boasts the most potent fastball/slider combination of any pitching prospect in recent memory. He led the nation in strikeouts per-nine this year, thanks to a triple-digit fastball, and a ridiculous double-plus upper-80’s slider, both of which he also commands at an elite level. He also mixes in the occasional 90-mph changeup, just for good measure. There’s a realistic possibility he’s pitching in the majors at some point during the 2024 campaign. He possesses the immense talent and moxie to back up the stratospheric hype.

Bednar took over with the Pirates leading 4-2 in the ninth inning. He did allow a leadoff walk to Christian Walker to bring the tying run to the plate, but battled back to get Lourdes Gurriel to pop out before striking out Emmanuel Rivera and Jake McCarthy to end it. He heads into the break with a tremendous 1.31 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and a 42/3 K/BB ratio over 35 1/3 innings.

The 32-year-old slugger got the Pirates on the board with his 427-foot (104.6 mph EV) two-run shot off of Diamondbacks’ right-hander Zach Davies in the second inning. He also doubled in the ninth inning, finishing the day 2-for-4. He wraps up the first half hitting a disappointing .159/.159/.409 with three homers and four RBI in his first 44 at-bats on the season.

Triolo delivered a valuable insurance run with an RBI single in the ninth inning that extended the Pirates’ lead to 4-2. The 25-year-old is now hitting .300/.364/.350 with no homers, six runs scored and five RBI in his first 40 at-bats at the big league level.

Keller left with a 1-0 lead, but it was blown in the eighth and the Pirates went on to lose in 10. It’s the third time this year that Keller has gone without allowing a run. The All-Star finishes out the first half 9-4 with a 3.31 ERA.

Bednar pitched a scoreless ninth in a tie game, but he then completely botched the 10th. He misfired on an inning-opening sac bunt, giving the Diamondbacks two on with none out. Alek Thomas then hit a grounder to the right side and Bednar didn’t even attempt to get to first base, which was going to be Carlos Santana’s only play. That went as a game-tying infield single. If Bednar had hustled to cover, he might have at least preserved the tie from there and sent the game to the 11th. Instead, he went on to allow another single and took the loss.

Santana attempted to get Pittsburgh back into the contest with a two-run single in the eighth inning off hard-throwing reliever Justin Martinez, but it wasn’t enough to dig out of an early deficit. The 37-year-old first baseman has shown some signs of life at the dish this season, batting .238/.315/.399 with non homers, 45 RBI and six stolen bases across 336 plate appearances over 80 games in his Pirates debut.

Hill wrapped up the first half on a bit of a sour note, giving up seven hits, including a three-run homer to Lourdes Gurriel Jr., to drop to 7-9 overall this season. He finished with three strikeouts and also issued four walks. The 43-year-old southpaw enters the All-Star break with an underwhelming 4.78 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 91/39 K/BB ratio across 98 innings (18 starts). He remains a viable matchup-dependent streaming option in deeper mixed leagues.

The 25-year-old right-hander has made six unimpressive appearances out of the Pirates’ bullpen this season, compiling an 11.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP and an 8/10 K/BB ratio over nine innings. He’ll function in a middle relief role in manager Derek Shelton’s bullpen.

The Pirates needed to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for Ji-Man Choi’s return from the 60-day injured list and unfortunately, Zastryzny was the odd-man out this time around. It’s possible that oft-injured southpaw could pass through waivers unclaimed.