The Pomp And Joe Show
11AM - What our and the Pirates' 2026 Pirates lineup looks like; What would constitute a good start to the season?
23 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What does the 2026 Pirates lineup look like?
All right, the Pirates lineup is out for today, correct, Limits? That is correct. And obviously it could look a lot like it's going to look on Thursday against good old Freddy Peralta. He's a righty. So, Bob?
And a very good righty. I think he's a two-time All-Star, 17 wins last year, really good pitcher. Really good.
So let's go through what our lineups would be and then hear about their lineup. Who would your leadoff batter be, Limits? I mean, Bob? I'm going to go with O'Neal Cruz. Wow.
Whoa.
Mine would be Spencer Horwitz. I'm going high on base and high OPS, but mostly on base. Plus, I'm thinking about what's going to happen later in the game. Here's why I don't have Cruz, and a lot of people do as their leadoff guy. He strikes out too much, and you bring in a lefty, he's going to be retired summarily.
He also gets on base. He had 38 stolen bases, and I think he can improve that to over 40, maybe 50 if he's better, and that's what you're counting on. By now, my expectation this year is he's going to be better hitting, not just for power, but I'm talking about just hitting and reducing the amount of strikeouts.
Your number two hitter is who? Brandon Lau. Me too, Bob.
Who was your first?
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Chapter 2: Who are the top leadoff candidates for the Pirates?
Horowitz.
On base. Number three for me is Ryan O'Hearn. Me too, Bob. Great minds think alike. Last year, O'Hearn hit 281 against righties with 14 homers. Lau crushes righties, although he's vulnerable late in the game to lefties too. Did you see his bad numbers against lefties last year?
I mean, everybody has their problems. Who's your cleanup? It's Marcelo Zuna. He'll be there pretty much all year for me, unless he struggles.
Me too, Bob. Great minds think alike. 931 OPS versus righties two years ago. And we both have it where we're going lefty, righty, lefty, righty so far. Don't you like that, Bob?
I'm going lefty, lefty, lefty, righty.
Yeah, why are you doing that, Bob? Because there's a right-hand pitcher on the mound. Yeah, but he won't be there long, even if he pitches well. I don't care. Probably five innings. Reynolds is my fifth hitter.
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Chapter 3: How do the Pirates' hitters match up against lefties?
Me too.
Great minds think alike, Bob. We're going to have a difference on six because I have Horwitz. At six, you have him leading off. So I'm going to go 4-5-6, Ozuna, Reynolds, Horwitz.
I'm going Cruz at six. I want to take the pressure off him early in the season. I don't want to have a guy getting my extra at bat high in my lineup late in a game where he's an automatic out versus lefties, although someone could say, why do you have Brandon Lau batting second again or batting second? And I could say, good point. I don't even know. What did Horwitz do against lefties last year?
Not as good as righties. He was horrible too. So it's totally defeating my point here. Anyway, it really doesn't matter 7, 8, and 9, does it? I have Gonzalez, Triolo, Davis.
I have Gonzalez, Davis, Triolo. There you go. But it's the same thing. At that part of the order now, you better hope you get something out of that. Those are three places that on good teams you can come up with run production down there. It doesn't have to be a lot, but it has to be something.
I'm concerned now about their ability to face lefty relievers late in the game with this lineup, Bob.
But I think you would have the same concern no matter what team you're on. There are a lot of guys who just can't hit lefties as well, and that's why their bullpen, I think Mason Montgomery is going to be one of their keys.
You know what neither one of us did is start Jake Mangum, and he hit .304 against righties last year, Bob. Yeah, but he's not going to be on my opening day. I know. I'm just not doing it. I know. I'm just saying he had good numbers. All right, you have our lineups. What is the Pirates lineup today, Limits? Let's do it very dramatically, one through nine.
For your Pittsburgh Pirates. Batting first and playing in center field. Number 15, O'Neal Cruz. Ding, ding, ding. Just like you, Bob. Second. Batting second and playing at second base. Number five, Brandon Lau.
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Chapter 4: What constitutes a good start to the Pirates' season?
Yeah.
He's an above-average player.
I think you get a lot of bang for the bucks you've given him. It wasn't all that big of a contract.
Actually, I don't think he's lived up to that contract at all.
But it's not a contract that'll kill you. In other words, when you see his numbers, if he was makingā Well, it won't kill you, but you expect more. Yeah, exactly.
What is Dan Orlovsky saying? Ty Simpson is the best quarterback in the draft?
He said he's the best quarterback in the draft this year. Now, I dispute that. Only because I haven't seen enough of Ty Simpson. At least Mendoza had started prior to Indiana.
Yeah, we'll talk about that in a while, Bob. I'm sorry, I just saw that up on the screen and it surprised me.
I told you that before we began the show and you don't even remember I told you that.
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Chapter 5: How many games should the Pirates aim to win in April?
Is Andrew McCutcheon making the Texas Rangers starting lineup?
I don't know. Seems like it, yeah. Is he their DH?
Yeah. Is he going to make the starting lineup?
I don't know. I haven't seen enough of their lineup to know what they're doing. He's going to be on their team, and I just wonder about if he's the everyday DH. Yeah. I don't know. They have a DH here. And honestly, if you're going to look at numbers, you've got to look at his versus Ozuna.
Limits, that's where you're supposed to jump in. You're in on the McCutcheon thing. I'm not saying anything, and you're just sitting there in the dugout.
From what I know, McCutcheon is going to make the team, and he's likely going to be playing sparingly in the outfield and also being their designated hitter against left-handed pitching.
Who is their other designated hitter?
They have Jock Peterson.
Okay, they're going to use him just because he can hit the long ball.
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Chapter 6: What are the expectations for the Pirates' rotation?
They sent Clevenger down. So...
Big lead ranked the top 10 bullpens and doesn't even have the pirates or top 10 rotations and doesn't even have the pirates in their top 10. Everyone has an opinion. It's different. I don't know that you could reasonably say this is top 10 in the majors right now until you see two of the guys pitch. A lot of this is based on potential. Limits, what do you think about that?
Yeah, because you're banking on a lot of upside. What Braxton Ashcraft showed last year was great, but it was just one year. Chandler has had a history of walk issues. If they reach that potential, parlayed with, I think, Barco, I agree with you, Bob, eventually supplanting Majinski, who I think is better in a seventh inning role.
I don't know why they keep messing around with this, but I do agree that their rotation can be top 10 in baseball. Talent-wise, they can even be like fifth best. I mean, Chandler's a number two overall pitching prospect in baseball. We see what Ashcraft is, and I think he wasn't on a lot of the rankings because of just the injury history that he battled. Plus, Skeen speaks for itself.
When's Jared Jones getting here? I'd say end of May, beginning of June is what a lot of the reporters have said.
I don't know how much you can expect from him, though, in his first time back from that injury.
I'd make him a reliever. I would make him a dynamic reliever that can come in and get six outs.
That's how it'll probably start.
That's what he should be in the playoffs if they get there.
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Chapter 7: Is the Pirates' rotation considered top 10 in baseball?
Details at 937thefan.com. Top of the hour, we have a Limitless Express, Bob. Are you excited about that?
And I'm sure it'll have some March Madness in there or some very interesting developments there.
I love some of the coaching matchups coming up here.
And how about the fact that some of these guys like Patino at age 73, Izzo at age 71. I think there's four 70 and above. Those old dogs, they still know how to get it done. They do. Yeah, they do. I love some of these matchups.