Pittsburgh Pirates: 10 Reasons NL Central Is Within Reach

The Pittsburgh Pirates are nearly synonymous with losing.  The team's last winning season came eight years before the new millennium.

Last season, the Bucs showed a lot of promise, led the NL Central at the end of July and had an above .500 record at the All-Star break for the first time in nearly two decades.

The Pirates improved their pitching staff by bringing in former New York Yankees starter A.J. Burnett this offseason and finally committed some money, going against the usual practice of letting players go and bringing in more prospects, by signing All-Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen to a long-term deal.

It seems as though the Pirates are finally ready to start winning.

The Buccos have played better than their 16-18 record may indicate and have the potential to play a lot better.

If Pittsburgh can develop more consistency on offense and on the mound, they have a legitimate chance, for the first time in a long time, to challenge for the NL Central title.

Andrew McCutchen

Andrew McCutchen solidified his status as the Pittsburgh Pirates' best player after hitting 23 home runs and driving in 89 runs and generating countless highlight-reel worthy catches in the outfield.

The Buccos' leadoff hitter played in the 2011 MLB All-Star Game and signed a six-year extension with the team before the start of the 2012 regular season.

McCutchen's 2012 seasons started slow, but he now leads the team with a .339 batting average and six stolen bases in 31 games.

The 25-year-old is quickly becoming one of the league's stars and a fan favorite in the Steel City and throughout the entire league.

The organization is focused on building the team around Andrew McCutchen, and he's done nothing short of proving his worth this year.

Pedro Alvarez

Third baseman Pedro Alvarez entered the 2012 MLB season under a fair amount of pressure to start living up to his second overall selection in the 2008 MLB draft.

Scrutiny of the 25-year-old grew after a subpar start, but his hitting has improved dramatically as of late.

The former Vanderbilt star hit five home runs in April and already has two in May, leading the team with seven and improving his batting average to .214.

Alvarez powered the Commodores and the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis but has failed to maintain consistency at the professional level.

With continued improvement and higher confidence, Alvarez may turn into the power hitter they had hoped for when they selected him in 2008.

Team Batting Heating Up

The rest of the Buccos' order has played better as the season has progressed.

Second baseman Neil Walker, first baseman Garrett Jones and outfielder José Tabata are all averaging .241 or above.

Walker, a Pittsburgh native, is a little off pace from previous seasons but has the ability to be an offensive threat.

Similarly, Tabata, who spent parts of last season battling lingering injuries, recently started producing more offense, bringing his average up to .241 in May.

The Pirates knew they weren't going to be an offensive juggernaut before the 2012 season started, but the batting has been enough to get by and could pick up even more as we approach summer.

James McDonald

James McDonald leads the Pirates' pitching staff in almost every statistical category.

The 27-year-old has played much better than his 2-2 record indicates, being the pitcher of record in several low-scoring losses.

His 2.42 ERA, 44.2 and 1.03 WHIP lead all the pitchers in the starting rotation.

Known for his four seam fastball in the low to mid 90s, McDonald is on pace to eclipse his career high 142 strikeouts from last season and walk fewer batters than he did in 2011.

With continued support from the Pirates' bats, McDonald's record might quickly start to reflect his efforts.

Joel Hanrahan

PNC Park explodes with the booming announcement of "It's 'Hammer' time!" every time closing pitcher Joel Hanrahan takes the mound.

Last season, Hanrahan finished near the top of the leaders' list for saves with 40 in 44 tries.

So far, the "Hammer" has bailed out the Bucs in six of seven tries, allowing only six hits in 10.2 innings pitched.

He's a little off pace to match his lofty numbers set in 2010, but there's still plenty of baseball to be played.

Recently the rumor of some trade speculation, the Pirates might shop around the 30-year-old pitcher but aren't likely to part with their star fireman without a substantial return.

Strong Team Pitching

The Pirates' 3.215 team ERA is the second lowest in entire league behind only the stingy Washington Nationals.

The Buccos' are also in the top 10 league-wide for hits allowed, runs allowed, home runs allowed and saves.

Three of the team's starting pitchers, James McDonald, Erik Bedard and Kevin Correia, have ERA's under 3.50, and relief pitchers Brad Lincoln, Juan Cruz and Jared Hughes have been phenomenal out of the bullpen, all with an ERA at or below 1.53.

A.J. Burnett, acquired through an offseason trade with the New York Yankees looked strong in his first start with the Bucs but slipped up in a game against the division leading St. Louis Cardinals in which he gave up 12 runs in only 2.2 innings.

The Pirates' pitching staff has been the difference in several games this season and will be looked on to continue keeping the team in games as the season progresses.

Team Chemistry

The Pirates made minimal changes to their lineup that ended the 2011 season. They hope the familiarity with each other starts to lead to more production on the field.

The team's starting rotation and bullpen have been able to shut down opponents at key times, while the positional players have stepped up at different points in the season.

Players like outfielders José Tabata and Alex Presley responded well to increased playing time last season and will be looked on to improve and provide more at the plate and in the field down the stretch.

With more time spent together, team chemistry will only improve among the younger players, making them a difficult team to play against.

Last Season's Run

The Pirates proved they can win in bunches last season, especially in June and July in which Pittsburgh won 29 games and held the NL Central lead before a horrendous August.

Manager Clint Hurdle has seen success with both the Colorado Rockies' and the Texas Rangers' organizations and has had a successful stint so far (at least under Pirates' fans terms) in the Steel City.

If he can find a way to have his team replicate last season's run and prevent another late-season collapse, his Pirates may be able to contend for a NL Central title.

The St. Louis Cardinals

The only team that's far and above the Pirates in the NL Central is the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals are only 20-13 and have been fairly streaky all year. If the Pirates catch up to the Cardinals and hit a hot streak while St. Louis suffers a drought, then Pittsburgh could jump into the division lead.

The season is still relatively fresh, and the Cardinals aren't the youngest team in the MLB. The Pirates' youth might be a determining factor in the season's outcome.

They're Due

Surely the higher power who oversees the happenings of professional baseball will show some mercy towards to the Pirates' organization sometime soon.

Defying virtually every law of basic statistics, the team hasn't had a winning season since 1992. That's three United States Presidents ago!

However, things are starting to come together for the Pirates' organization, and with a little more fine tuning, some luck and a little bit of help from the baseball gods, they should be considered a legitimate threat in the NL Central.