For the first time since the 1992 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have started the 2023 season 15-7, which is second-best in the MLB.

Among all of the surprises during the exciting beginning of the season, the Pirates have been the biggest winners, which is unlike the past few seasons for Pittsburgh. While the Buccos may not be winning games against top-tier teams, they are winning the games they should be winning, which has not been seen in years. 

The team’s pitching staff – highlighted by young ace Mitch Keller and rising star Johan Oviedo –  has been better than it has been for the last four seasons.

Keller, who has a 3.64 ERA and a team-leading 30 strikeouts, has finally started to show off his full potential as an ace for the Pirates. Oviedo, who has a team-leading 2.22 ERA, has been nearly impossible to score a run off of since his shaky start against the Red Sox.

In addition to the aces, veterans Rich Hill and Vince Velasquez have been able to overcome their horrid starts to the season and put up consistent quality starts. 

Velasquez, who pitched seven innings and allowed no runs with 10 strikeouts against the Reds on Sunday, has found a slider that hitters have not been able to challenge.

The team has had exceptional pitching so far, with a combined team ERA of 3.63, which is eighth in all of MLB, and a record 11 consecutive quality starts, the most for the Bucs at this point in the season since June 2015.

By comparison, in 2022, the Pirates had 38 total quality starts in 162 games. 

In addition to the pitching, the hitting has shown improvement since last season due to good play from new veterans and improvements from young players, even with star shortstop Oneil Cruz out with an injury.

Outfielder Bryan Reynolds has started off the season red-hot, hitting five home runs and posting a .294 batting average with a team-leading 18 RBIs. Veteran additions Carlos Santana and Andrew McCutchen have looked like they’re back in the glory days and have both posted a batting average above .250.

Free agent addition Connor Joe has been an under-the-radar star for the Buccos, posting a team-leading .357 batting average with a 1.098 OPS and .455 OBP.

Another underrated player for the Pirates has been infielder/outfielder Ji-Hwan-Bae, who has played fantastic defense and hit a three-run walk-off home run against the Astros earlier in the season. 

The team has also taken advantage of new rule changes and has the second most stolen bases in the MLB with 25.