Chicago Cubs can’t look past Pittsburgh Pirates – or they could pay a price

Young pitching is everything

Let me begin by saying ‘no’. The Pirates are not going to win the division in 2018. But they’ve got enough talent on the roster to cause problems for the teams hoping for such an outcome. Namely, the Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers.

How? It all starts with their young pitching staff. Most importantly, right-handers Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow. Neither performed particularly well last season. Taillon, of course, missed a good chunk of the season after a brief battle with cancer. Glasnow, meanwhile, simply struggled. He pitched to a 7.69 ERA across 13 starts and a pair of relief appearances.

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For the Pirates to cause trouble in the division – and the league, at large, these two need to perform. Without them, Pittsburgh will be barreling toward its first 100-loss campaign since 2010. Behind Glasnow and Taillon, the Pirates feature the likes of Trevor Williams, Ivan Nova and perhaps Mitch Keller – ranked as the seventh-best right-handed prospect in the game by MLB.com.

Looking for a quick rebound

Just hours after trading McCutchen, Pittsburgh signed their young closer, Felipe Rivero, to a contract extension. The southpaw inked the four-year, $22 million extension with a pair of options after he broke out in 2017.

Rivero, just 25 years old, finished 40 games and notched 21 saves last year for the Bucs. He averaged 10.5 punchouts per nine and a 1.67 ERA across 73 appearances, giving manager Clint Hurdle a lethal weapon in the late innings.

What I’m saying is this: on pitching alone, this team has the pieces to wreak havoc in a division that will likely come down to the wire again in 2018. And that’s before factoring in the Pirates’ position talent, as well.