Pittsburgh Pirates: How James McDonald Could Be the Wild Card in Bucs Playoff Push

by Matt Shetler

With Pedro Alvarez’s return to the big leagues and the trade deadline upcoming, much attention is being paid to what the Pirates will do to improve the team by Sunday.

While adding Alvarez back to the middle of the lineup is as good as likely any deadline trade Pirates’ general manager Neal Huntington may make, there is a wild card currently on this Pirates team that can make or break the Bucs down the stretch.

That wild card is Pirates’ starting pitcher James McDonald.

While the need for a big bat in the middle of the Bucs’ lineup is evident, it’s also unlikely. If acquiring a big bat were as simple as putting a quarter in a machine and turning the knob, then the Pirates would have a legit run producer by now.

While that would be nice, the facts are that a middle-of-the-lineup hitter simply isn’t on the market at the moment.

While it may be hard to improve a struggling offense a great deal, a guy like McDonald can make a difference down the stretch.

The McDonald that took the hill for the Bucs the last two weeks of July has been a much different pitcher than the guy that took the mound in April and May.

What we have seen is that electric swing-and-miss stuff that McDonald showed after being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers at last season’s trade deadline.

In his last two outings, he made two of the better hitting teams in the National League (Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves)look foolish. McDonald has made a habit of getting ahead in the count and has kept hitters off balance, showing the ability to throw any pitch in any count for a strike.

In those past two outings, McDonald has struck out 16 opposing hitters without allowing an earned run.

The Bucs starting rotation has been tremendous of late and with Kevin Correia spotty and Charlie Morton possibly wearing down, McDonald’s emergence could be a blessing down the stretch.

McDonald hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in an outing since May 13^th when he allowed five in a four inning outing against the Milwaukee Brewers.

One concern is that McDonald has yet to pitch into the seventh inning this season, or since the Pirates acquired him for that matter. That will come. With the way the Pirates bullpen has performed all season long, that’s not as big of a deal as many people make it out to be.

Based on raw talent and stuff alone, McDonald is possibly the most talented man currently in the Bucs rotation.

Assuming that runs could be very difficult to come by the rest of the season, McDonald could wind up playing a very big role in determining if the Pirates will still be playing in October.

If they are, I’d be giving him the ball early in a playoff series.