The Pittsburgh Pirates had some hopes that they can make it to the playoffs in 2024, with rising star Paul Skenes playing a starring role in their rise to being a competitive team. However, come the middle of the season, the Pirates ran into a brick wall and lost a ton of ground in the NL Central standings. In the end, they finished the 2024 campaign with a 76-86 record, once again falling flat even though they had the services of one of the best starters in the MLB.

Nonetheless, while the Pirates may not have had the most impressive 2024 season, better things are yet to come for them in 2025. Manager Derek Shelton talked about the increasing talent in the Pittsburgh roster, which should then hype up a very jaded fanbase that is tired of the team's low-spending ways.

“Our pitching, I think, is our strength. We've really built on it and we're continuing to add to it so really excited about the group. We're only three days into camp but the energy that we have in camp and the thought process within the pitching group has been really solid,” Shelton told MLB Network.

The Pirates have indeed been assembling of the best young pitching corps in the MLB, even though some of those prospects have not yet graduated from the minors.

“We're excited about our young group of pitchers. [Anthony] Solometo, [Thomas] Harrington, [Bubba] Chandler, [Braxton] Ashcraft, that group, [Hunter] Barco. The fact that we're building a young stable of pitchers, whether they're in the big leagues, whether they're not. We have [Mitch] Keller, we have Skenes, we have [Jared] Jones, we have [Bailey] Falter, we have [Johan] Oviedo coming back off of injury. That's really important for us. As long we build as much depth there as possible, we're in a good spot,” Shelton added.

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Will Paul Skenes, Pirates be dark horse for a playoff spot in 2025?

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the New York Yankees during the second inning at Yankee Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The crown jewel of the Pirates roster continues to be Paul Skenes, the man who wowed every fan in the MLB in 2024 with his elite performances on the mound. Skenes, despite being just a rookie at 22 years of age, proved himself worthy of being the first overall pick in 2023 rather quickly — garnering NL Cy Young award consideration on his way to winning the NL Rookie of the Year award.

If the Pirates can put up some consistent pitching performances behind Skenes, then there's no reason to expect them not to improve off of their 76-win 2024 campaign.