Current Pirates Team Best Derek Shelton Has Had
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Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton is feeling optimistic about his team heading into the 2025 season.
Heading into his sixth season as the Pirates manager, Shelton believes this team could be the best he has in his tenure in Pittsburgh, both because of its depth and talent.
"I think this is the deepest group we've had since I've been here," Shelton said. "It's the most talented group we've had from top to bottom. Even the guys we brought in [and the] free agents we brought in have Major League experience and significant Major League experience and I think that's important."
Firepower. pic.twitter.com/jMp83wunVI
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 12, 2025
The pitching staff is what grabs the eyes of everyone around baseball. Paul Skenes leads the way after winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year and finishing third in the NL CY Young Vote on the heels of a historic first season. He wasn't the only rookie to impress, though, as fellow right-handed pitcher Jared Jones also had a strong first season before a strained right late caused him to miss nearly two months.
The arrival of Skenes and Jones may just be a sign of things to come for Pittsburgh, too. Right-handed pitching prospects Bubba Chandler (15) and Thomas Harrington (80) are ranked in MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects and on the cusp of reaching the big leagues after getting to Triple-A Indianapolis last season. Left-handed pitching prospects Hunter Barco and Anthony Solometo are also ranked inside the Pirates' top 10 prospects by MLB Pipeline.
20 seconds of Bubba Chandler and Paul Skenes for yinz pic.twitter.com/24yFOofFnq
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) February 12, 2025
"You look at the kids in our system, you named Bubba [Chandler], [Thomas] Harrington, [Hunter] Barco [and Anthony] Solometo," Shelton said. "You name those guys, I think it's the deepest group we have."
With the batch of arms of arms that the Pirates have, their pitching could be enough to keep them in games on a night-to-night basis. If Pittsburgh's bats can make progress from last season, the Pirates could become the team Shelton envisions.
