Arrival of top prospect puts pressure on Pirates management

If it was not already before, the clock is now officially ticking on general manager Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates front office. You do not have to look any further than this weekend's starting pitchers to see why. 

On Friday night, Jared Jones takes the hill and looks to continue his dominant rookie season, which has seen him instantly become one of the most electrifying pitchers in Major League Baseball. The former second-round pick owns a 2.63 ERA and has struck out 52 batters across 41 innings of work.

On Saturday afternoon, it will be the highly anticipated debut of 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes, the most hyped pitching prospect to reach the league since Stephen Strasburg debuted with the Washington Nationals 15 years ago.

If both pitchers can reach their potential, it is not a stretch to imagine that the Pirates — yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates — could eventually have one of the most dominant starting pitching duos. It is the type of one-two punch that could — and maybe should — be the foundation of a contending baseball team. 

Add in 2023 All-Star Mitch Keller and it's the type of front-end of the rotation that can change a franchise. That assumes the franchise knows what to do with it and how to build around it.

Given that the Pirates are unlikely to keep either pitcher when they enter their free-agent years, there is a very defined window for them to try to take advantage of these arms over the next five or six years. As things currently stand, they are not even close to that, especially regarding the offensive support they can give their pitchers. 

They are five years into Cherington's tenure as general manager and have one of the least impressive lineups in baseball. 

Shortstop Oneil Cruz is a potential game-changer, but is still working through some early career inconsistencies and also coming back from a devastating ankle injury that robbed him of a year of his development.

Outfielder Bryan Reynolds and third basemen Ke'Bryan Hayes are solid major leaguers but are not the kind you build a contending lineup around. They are complementary players. 

Beyond those three, the entire lineup contains short-term stop-gaps and long-term question marks. The result has been a lineup that enters the weekend 27th in runs scored and 28th in OPS while striking out at an alarming rate. 

At this point, there is probably not much that can be done to change things this season other than to hope Cruz breaks out and maybe prospects like Henry Davis — who was recently optioned to the minors — or Nick Gonzalez start to show something. 

But when it comes to the trade deadline and into next offseason, there has to be a serious push to add the type of bats that can complement these young pitchers. One-year stop-gaps like Connor Joe, Rowdy Tellez and Michael A. Taylor can not continue to be the norm. 

The Pirates have been blessed with the type of arms that are typically impossible to find. They must not waste them.