I don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves, but I’m looking forward to 2023 Spring Training.
So much so I just booked my stay in Bradenton (I just found out the schedule had been released, and no one told me).
One of the key pieces in the Pittsburgh Pirates future going into 2023 will be Friday’s starter Roansy Contreras, and he has been doing rather well lately.
Going back to his July 7th start against the Cincinnati Reds, he has completed at least five innings in each of his last five starts. More impressively is the last three have come against playoff contenders where he’s looked the part.
Contreras has combined to pitch 18.0 innings while only allowing three earned runs. The walks have remained an issue with seven over that time, but he’s also struck out 17 batters.
He is on the cusp of doubling his entire 2021 innings total which is a big step after running into health issues in 2021. With a healthy off-season of rest and recovery he could potentially take the next step to headlining the Pirates rotation.
Now, this may not be in the true “ace” fashion, as that term seems to be overused nowadays. He could in fact become the “ace” of the Pirates staff in 2023 though.
What are your thoughts and who else are you interested in seeing if they can take that next step? Bonus points if it’s someone not named Roansy Contreras or Oneil Cruz.
Cardinals @ Pirates
Time: 6:35 PM EST
Pirates Starter: Roansy Contreras (4-4, 3.41)
Cardinals Starter: Miles Mikolas (11-10, 3.32)
It’s Negro League Tribute Night at PNC Park, which explains the look of their lineup picture here…
LINEUPS:
Pirates
Your Pittsburgh Crawfords lineup.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/0YOkE59IkO
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 9, 2022
Cardinals
1. Brendan Donovan (L) 2B
2. Tommy Edman (S) SS
3. Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
4. Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
5. Corey Dickerson (L) LF
6. Tyler O’Neill (R) CF
7. Alec Burleson (L) DH
8. Andrew Knizner (R) C
9. Lars Nootbaar (L) RF
