Pirates' surprise success has them favored to make the postseason

At 21-17, the Pittsburgh Pirates sit third in the National League Central standings, which is surprising. Sitting five games behind the Chicago Cubs (26-12) for the lead in the division, the Pirates are showing that they might be able to make the playoffs as a wild-card team. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates' surprise success has them positioned to make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade

The Pirates have not made the postseason since 2015, when they lost in the Wild Card round (1-0) to the Cubs. However, that appears to be changing, as MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan ranked the Pirates second, behind the Tampa Bay Rays, as the biggest surprise team with a chance to make the playoffs. 

"The Pirates (20-17) may be in fourth place in the surprising National League Central right now, but they’ve outscored their opponents by 23 runs and are mere percentage points behind the Brewers (19-16) in the race for the third NL Wild Card spot," wrote Harrigan. "Pittsburgh’s revamped offense is legit, especially with rookie phenom Konnor Griffin starting to find his form, and its rotation has MLB’s lowest FIP (3.30). Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes had a rough Opening Day start against the Mets, but he’s looked like his typical self over his past seven starts (1.31 ERA), and the Bucs have also gotten strong performances from Mitch Keller (2.85 ERA) and Braxton Ashcraft (3.02 ERA).

The Pirates actually have a strong case to be No. 1 on this list, but it looks like it’s going to be tougher to make the playoffs in the NL than the AL this season, so we’ll slot them behind the Rays."

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The Pirates have one of the better starting staffs in Major League Baseball (fifth in ERA, 3.51) and have received great performances from the top three in the rotation: right-handers Paul Skenes (2.36 ERA), Mitch Keller (2.87 ERA), and Braxton Ashcraft (3.02 ERA).

The Pirates also have the 10th-best offense in baseball (.719 OPS and .246 batting average). These successes are, and should help, the Pirates maintain relevance in the Central, but adding at the trade deadline will show whether the Pirates are for real. 

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