My 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates Predictions

Well, the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates season is almost upon us.  The team finished with the worst record in the Grapefruit League during spring training, and not a lot of people are feeling too optimistic about this upcoming season.  The team didn't bring in much outside help over the offseason, so a lot of fans are questioning how the team will improve from last year.  But, let's remember that the team will have a full season of Wandy Rodriguez and Starling Marte, along with improved play from the catching position, Neil Walker will hopefully be healthy for the full season, and top prospect Gerrit Cole should be up sometime in June.  So even though the team did not add much from outside, there is a lot internal talent that definitely has the chance to push the team over .500 in 2013.  That being said, who will perform this year?  Will anyone fall below expectations?  Will anyone exceed expectations?  Here are my personal predictions for the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pitchers: (Record--ERA--Innings--Strike outs--WHIP--Saves)

A.J. Burnett:  13-9--3.88 ERA--203 IP--171 K's--1.29 WHIP--0 Saves
Jeanmar Gomez:  0-2--6.43 ERA--14 IP--6 K's--1.71 WHIP--0 saves
Jason Grilli:  2-6--3.26 ERA--61 IP--74 K's--1.21 WHIP--38 saves
Jared Hughes:  2-3--3.13 ERA--63 IP--44 K's--1.18 WHIP--2 saves
Phil Irwin:  1-1--4.47 ERA--21 IP--12 K's--1.41 WHIP--0 saves
Jeff Karstens:  5-5--4.01 ERA--87 IP--62 K's--1.23 WHIP--0 saves
Chris Leroux:  2-1--4.26 ERA--26 IP--24 K's--1.27 WHIP--0 saves
Francisco Liriano:  6-7--4.32 ERA--101 IP--92 K's--1.32 WHIP--0 saves
Jeff Locke:  8-7--4.12 ERA--146 IP--123 K's--1.22 WHIP--0 saves
James McDonald:  12-10--3.69 ERA--181 IP--165 K's--0 saves
Kyle McPherson:  4-5--4.24 ERA--48 IP--32 K's--1.18 WHIP--0 saves
Mark Melancon:  1-3--2.79 ERA--58 IP--60 K's--1.21 WHIP--4 saves
Bryan Morris: 1-1--3.37 ERA--34 IP--26 K's--1.18 WHIP--0 saves
Charlie Morton:  5-3--4.35 ERA--42 IP--32 K's--1.25 WHIP--0 saves
Wandy Rodriguez:  12-7--3.76 ERA--202 IP--139 K's--1.24 WHIP--0 saves
Jonathan Sanchez:  5-8--4.36 ERA--83 IP--68 K's--1.39 WHIP--0 saves
Tony Watson:  4-2--3.44 ERA--55 IP--50 K's--1.16 WHIP--0 saves
Justin Wilson:  4-2--3.02 ERA--65 IP--59 K's--1.11 WHIP--1 save
Gerrit Cole:  8-4--3.35 ERA--126 IP--124 K's--1.18 WHIP--0 saves

PITCHER OF THE YEAR:  James McDonald
BREAKOUT PITCHER OF THE YEAR:  Gerrit Cole
RELIEVER OF THE YEAR:  Jason Grilli

Hitters: (At bats--Average--Home Runs--RBI--SB--OPS)

Russell Martin:  411 AB--.237 avg--17 HR--54 RBI--1 SB--.724 OPS
Michael McKenry:  254 AB--.265 avg--11 HR--42 RBI--1 SB--.772 OPS
Tony Sanchez:  64 AB--.236 avg--1 HR--5 RBI--0 SB--.652 OPS
Pedro Alvarez:  558 AB--.268 avg--35 HR--96 RBI--1 SB--.852 OPS
Clint Barmes:  452 AB--.235 avg--12 HR--41 RBI--1 SB--.638 OPS
Josh Harrison:  183 AB--.264 avg--1 HR--18 RBI--5 SB--.655 OPS
Brandon Inge:  201 AB--.220 avg--3 HR--22 RBI--0 SB--.660 OPS
Garrett Jones:  475 AB--.270 avg--22 HR--73 RBI--3 SB--.769 OPS
John McDonald:  140 AB--.227 avg--2 HR--17 RBI--0 SB--.627 OPS
Jordy Mercer:  156 AB--.267 avg--5 HR--23 RBI--3 SB--.738 OPS
Gaby Sanchez:  342 AB--.274 avg--12 HR--46 RBI--1 SB--.745 OPS
Neil Walker:  568 AB--.287 avg--18 HR--82 RBI--7 SB--.808 OPS
Starling Marte:  586 AB--.302 avg--15 HR--76 RBI--28 SB--.827 OPS
Andrew McCutchen:  592 AB--.310 avg--30 HR--91 RBI--.911 OPS
Alex Presley:  136 AB--.270 avg--4 HR--20 RBI--.755 OPS
Jerry Sands:  140 AB--.252 avg--7 HR--22 RBI--.748 OPS
Travis Snider: 493 AB--.275 avg--19 HR--64 RBI--.762 OPS
Jose Tabata;  204 AB--.277 avg--3 HR--28 RBI--.737 OPS
Ivan De Jesus:  119 AB--.282 avg--1 HR--11 RBI--.709 OPS

HITTER OF THE YEAR:  Andrew McCutchen
BREAKOUT HITTER OF THE YEAR:  Pedro Alvarez
MOST VALUABLE BENCH PLAYER:  Gaby Sanchez

Whole team awards:

TEAM MVP:  Andrew McCutchen
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:  Gerrit Cole

Minor League Awards:

AAA
BEST HITTER:  Jerry Sands
BEST PITCHER:  Gerrit Cole
BREAKOUT PLAYER:  Tony Sanchez

AA
BEST HITTER:  Alex Dickerson
BEST PITCHER:  Jameson Taillon
BREAKOUT PLAYER:  Stolmy Pimentel

A+
BEST HITTER:  Gregory Polanco
BEST PITCHER:  Nick Kingham
BREAKOUT PLAYER:  Jose Osuna

A
BEST HITTER:  Josh Bell
BEST PITCHER:  Luis Heredia
BREAKOUT PLAYER:  Max Moroff

Whole system awards:
HITTER OF THE YEAR:  Gregory Polanco
PITCHER OF THE YEAR:  Jameson Taillon
BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jose Osuna


I'd love to hear all of your predictions!  Any predictions, questions, or comments can be sent to me on twitter @mikemaw45 or in the comment section below.