The Pittsburgh Pirates have been a notoriously bad team in the 21st century.

They’ve only made the playoffs three times (2013-15) during the 2000s, and their last World Series appearance and win was in 1979. They’ve finished either last or second-to-last in the NL Central every season following 2016, and haven’t finished in the top two since 2015.

Needless to say, the expectations for the Pirates’ success are very low. This spring training, however, is showing that they may be singing a different tune come the regular season.

While spring training isn’t always an indicator of how a team will do, as many players from the farm system are mixed into each game, it can indicate whether a team has potential or not and how good their depth is.

This spring training, the Pirates have beat a number of good teams, such as:

• Philadelphia Phillies
• Toronto Blue Jays
• New York Yankees
• Boston Red Sox

While they’re far from seamless, this is at least evidence of potential in their farm system. However, they had certain players stand out last season as well, which could prove they may be coming close to moving their way up the ranks.

The Pirates could be a Decent Team This Season

The chances of the Pirates making the playoffs are, admittedly, pretty slim. Last season, they tied the Cincinnati Reds for the third-worst regular season finish in the entire league. They have a lot of cleaning up around the edges to do, and they haven’t made any major changes that suggest they’ll be high rollers this season.

The Pirates are, however, showing signs of improvement. As of right now, Pittsburgh has the eighth-best farm system, per MLB.

For the past five seasons, they’ve ranked in the top 10 for farm systems, and their talent is starting to emerge into the majors. They currently have four players in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects: 2B Termarr Johnson (No. 26), C/2B/OF Endy Rodriguez (No. 55), C Henry Davis (No. 57) and RHP Quinn Priester (No. 60).

Directly from the farm system over the past five years came Ke’Bryan Hayes, who is still considered one of the best players in Pittsburgh. While the Pirates didn’t draft Bryan Reynolds themselves, they managed to land him and he’s been another star player. He made his MLB debut with the Pirates, which gives them a ton of credit toward his career.

In the minors waiting to come up strong, they have Tahnaj Thomas alongside the top prospects and several others. They also made some additions to the majors roster, such as adding Ji-Man Choi.

This won’t make them the best team in the league or championship contenders, but over the next few seasons, the Pirates could become a team to keep an eye on as they’re consistently showing signs of an upward swing.

-Rylie Smith

@RylieS_14

*Photo courtesy of Bucs Dugout*