3 Pirates Players Must Lock In to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a terrible month in August. Their odds of making the playoffs on July 22 were about 50/50, coming in at 47.2%. A month later, on August 22 , their playoff odds had fallen to just 2%. However, the Pirates are making one last push to put themselves back into playoff contention. At the time of this writing, they've won five of their last six series and have put themselves 4 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot. It's still a long shot, but the Pirates' playoff hopes are not completely dead, even if they are on life support. If they want to keep them alive and make a late-season push for the last Wild Card spot, they need a few players to lock in.

3 Players Who Need to Lock In to Keep Pirates' Playoff Hopes Alive

Jared Jones was one of the many Pirates players who went into a massive slump in August . Going into the month, he owned a quality 3.81 ERA, 3.43 FIP, and 1.02 WHIP over his first 11 starts and 52 innings coming off the injured list. In that time, he struck out 27.9% of batters, with just a 7.2% walk rate. Opposing hitters also batted below the Mendoza Line against him at .197.

Then, in five starts during August, Jones allowed 17 earned runs over just 20 2/3 innings of work. His K% fell to 24%, and his walk rate rose to 11.5%. Sure, a .383 batting average on balls in play didn't do him any favors, but opponents owned a 91.3 MPH exit velocity, 9.2% barrel rate, and 2.18 HR/9 ratio against him.

If his first start of September says anything, Jones is starting to lock back in again . He pitched six scoreless frames against the Los Angeles Angels. He allowed just three hits, with nine strikeouts, and just one walk allowed. While it was against a team with a combined OPS of .677, it is a step in the right direction for Jones. Returning to his July form, where he had a 2.00 ERA, 33.7% K%, and 6.1% BB%, would give the Pirates' rotation a much-needed boost of energy, giving them just enough to be playoff-ready.

Bryan Reynolds was a deserving All-Star . At the end of July, the veteran switch-hitter was slashing .268/.381/.453 with a .365 wOBA and 129 wRC+. Although Reynolds struck out at a 24% rate through his first 483 plate appearances, he also walked at a healthy 13.9% rate and had an above-average .189 isolated slugging percentage.

August did not go in Reynolds' favor. It was only 118 plate appearances, but he hit just .238/.322/.295 with a .285 wOBA and 74 wRC+. Reynolds still struck out at a similar 23.7% rate, but his walk rate fell to 10.2%, and he didn't hit a single home run during the month. A .323 xwOBA suggested some bad luck played a role, but it was not a month for Reynolds to be proud of overall.

Reynolds is looking like he is finding his groove again. Over his last 10 games at the time of this writing, he has 15 hits, including a home run, five walks, and only seven strikeouts over 45 plate appearances. His exit velocity in this stretch is over 94 MPH, and his xwOBA is over .400. It's a small sample size, but hitting the ball consistently hard, while drawing walks, and avoiding strikeouts at an above-average rate is a good sign. The Pirates will need him to figure it out down the stretch to keep their playoff hopes alive. Plus, it would be nice to get the Pirates' longest-tenured player into the playoffs for once.

Esmerlyn Valdez put on a historic show of power throughout his first few months of the major leagues. By the end of July, he was hitting .271/.366/.650, with a whopping 14 home runs and a .379 isolated slugging percentage over 164 plate appearances. While the young outfielder struck out over a third of the time (33.8%), he also drew a walk at a 12.8% pace. On top of that, Valdez was a shockingly good defender in the outfield.

However, like many Pirates players, Valdez did not have a memorable August, slashing .195/.337/.325 with an 88 wRC+. Opponents did not like pitching to him, as his free-pass percentage came in at 17.9%. However, his already high K% rose to 42.1%. He also only hit two home runs over 95 plate appearances in August.

Valdez has been one of the most pitched-around batters since the All-Star break. His 34.3% out-of-zone pitch rate is the highest among batters who have seen at least 1,000 pitches since the break. However, the lack of seeing any good strikes has seemingly thrown off his timing. Valdez isn't doing anything uncommon for a 22-year-old rookie, but for the Pirates' playoff hopes to stay alive, they need him to find something akin to his hot start in the late stages of the regular season.

Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images