Pirates and Steelers Summer Report and their paths to contention

It’s an interesting time to cheer for Pittsburgh sports. All three of Pittsburgh’s franchises stand at different junctures of championship contention and are looking to pull the city out of a slump that hasn’t happened in decades. It’s not all doom and gloom in the Steel City, even if the city hasn’t won a playoff game since 2018. 

The Steelers and Pirates find themselves at similar points of contention. Both slowly developed solid young cores that have shown flashes of brilliance, but need several things to fall into place to achieve championship aspirations. 

Pirates 

The Pirates are the closest to title contention and have several pieces in place to get there, if not this season, then soon. The obvious headliner of the Bucs’ future is starting pitcher Paul Skenes, whose rookie season has exceeded expectations, shattered records and earned himself the start for the National League in the All-Star game. In his first 13 starts, Skenes has tallied over 100 strikeouts, a 1.90 earned run average and allowed only 57 hits against 307 batters faced. The 2023 first-overall pick is cementing himself as the ace pitcher for the foreseeable future.

Joining Skenes is a solid starting rotation of Mitch Keller, Luis Ortiz, Bailey Falter and fellow rookie Jared Jones. The Pirates have five solid starters, which is more than enough to win a postseason series if Pittsburgh were to make it to October. 

Despite solid play from the starting rotation and bullpen, inconsistency from position players has held the Pirates from contention this season. Bryan Reynolds is the Pirates’ most reliable offensive player this season, with 19 home runs and a .289 batting average. The Vanderbilt product notched himself an All-Star game appearance along with Skenes. 

Other than Reynolds, the rest of the Buccos’ lineup has played inconsistently or downright badly, resulting in the Pirates having the sixth worst batting average and fourth worst on-base percentage in baseball. 

Pirates management noticed this flaw and added Bryan De La Cruz from the Miami Marlins and Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline, providing the Pirates with two solid hitters to add to their lineup. 

The Pirates currently find themselves in the thick of a competitive National League wild-card race, sitting 2.5 games back from the final playoff spot. The Pirates have the potential to make the playoffs, but lots of things need to go their way, internally and externally. Regardless, the Pirates have a solid pitching staff and batting core that can lead them to October glory, if management is willing to make the correct decisions. 

Steelers

The Steelers are the second closest team to championship contention in Pittsburgh. However, they are significantly further from the Pirates due to a dense AFC and always competitive AFC North. After the Steelers were dispatched in the wild card round by the Buffalo Bills, adding to a now seven-year playoff win drought, general manager Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin sought to address the issues that were holding the team back. 

The 2023 was marred by another season of poor offensive production, particularly subpar quarterback play.  Pitt legend and 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett failed to make the leap forward that the Steelers organization and fanbase expected of him. The offense was again at the bottom of the league, so management and fans were desperate for changes. 

The Steelers took an uncharacteristically bold approach to free agency, making big splashes instead of their usual quiet depth signings. The team brought Russell Wilson, former Denver Broncos quarterback and Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, into the Steel City to provide Pickett with some guidance and a year to further develop in the system. 

Pickett rebuffed the Wilson signing and was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles later that week. To replace Pickett, the Steelers traded for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields, seemingly to serve as Wilson’s backup for the 2024 season. Fields showed flashes of brilliance in Chicago but was held back by injuries and coaching turnover, meaning a more stable environment in Pittsburgh could help him. 

The Steelers made a big splash on the defensive side of the ball by adding former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen. The Steelers’ interior linebacking corps was decimated by injuries during the 2023 season, so management shored up their defenses by adding a key contributor from their hated rivals. 

In the draft, the six-time Super Bowl winners filled big needs on both sides of the ball. The Steelers added linemen Troy Fautanu from Washington and Zach Frazier from West Virginia on the offensive line in the first two rounds. In the later rounds, the Steelers hope to have found draft day steals with Michigan receiver Roman Wilson and NC State linebacker Peyton Wilson. 

With the defensive core reinforced with young talent, and a new offensive direction, the Steelers could find themselves back into championship contention sooner than later. A stacked AFC, however, could provide them with equally talented contemporaries. A lot needs to go their way, but don’t get caught off guard if the Steelers bring playoff success back to Pittsburgh.