Pittsburgh Pirates: Predicting the Opening Day lineup and bench version 3.0

How might the Opening Day lineup and bench look like for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Photo Credit: WTM

Another week of spring training games has come and gone as we continue to work toward the regular season.

While some players are starting to stand out more than others, there is still plenty of time for things to change.

For the third time, I'm looking at what the Opening Day roster might look like, at least on the position player side.

Locks

Henry Davis - C

Oneil Cruz - SS

Ke’Bryan Hayes - 3B

Rowdy Tellez - 1B

Bryan Reynolds - OF

Jack Suwinski - OF

Andrew McCutchen - OF

While Tellez and Suwinski haven’t had the best springs, their jobs aren’t really in doubt. Suwinski was the everyday center fielder last year, and Tellez got $3.5 million in free agent this off-season, they aren’t going anywhere.

Davis continues to tear the cover off the ball, and he seems to be playing solid defensively behind the plate.

Hayes, Reynolds, and Cruz have been tearing the cover off the ball lately and have already had their roster position locked in, the same as McCutchen.

Near Locks

Yasmani Grandal - C

Liover Peguero - INF

Jared Triolo - INF

Edward Olivares - OF

Connor Joe - 1B/OF

An injury is what drops Grandal down a section. The team doesn’t appear to be worried about it, but he slides down to the ‘near lock’ section in the meantime.

At this point, Peguero and Triolo are starting to separate themselves from their competition, and what it would come down to is how best to utilize them in the starting lineup on a day-to-day basis.

Olivares and Joe getting time in center field helps their case, and there aren’t many scenarios where they don’t make the team. For Joe, that scenario is likely to involve him getting traded.

Fighting for spot

Canaan Smith-Njigba vs Joshua Palacios

This positional battle is interesting as one has been injured and limited to four at-bats (Palacios), and the other has three home runs but just a .200 batting average (CSN).

Average means a lot less than it already does in a spring setting, but they combine for fewer hits than NRI Billy McKinney (seven) in more at-bats. I am not sure either has done enough to warrant being DFA yet, but McKinney has been one of the more consistent hitters in the spring.

Alika Williams vs Nick Gonzales vs Ji-Hwan Bae

They haven’t played horribly, especially Williams of late, but are still falling behind Peguero and Triolo. There still could be an open roster spot for one of them to sneak in, but right now, they all could be odd men out.

Jason Delay

Last week, I mentioned that his best chance of making the roster is if they decide to keep three catchers at the beginning of the season. Now, it looks like it will depend on Grandal's health.

He does have just two hits in 15 at-bats, so he hasn’t done much offensively to help his case.

Non-Rosters

McKinney and Gilberto Celestino have been the standouts from an NRI standpoint. The more Joe and Olivares see play in center field, the less likely it seems Celestino may sneak onto the roster. He currently leads all Pirates with 10 hits.

They both seem more likely to open up in Indianapolis as depth options.

Jake Lamb trails only Celestino and Ke’Bryan Hayes when it comes to hits. He does have some positional flexibility but won’t beat out the likes of Joe or Tellez onto the roster.

Updated Roster

Henry Davis - C

Yasmani Grandal - C

Ke’Bryan Hayes - 3B

Oneil Cruz - SS

Rowdy Tellez - 1B

Bryan Reynolds - OF

Jack Suwinski - OF

Andrew McCutchen - DH

Liover Peguero - MIF

Jared Triolo - INF

Edward Olivares - OF

Connor Joe - 1B/OF

Canaan Smith-Njigba - OF

The final roster stays the same as last week. CSN and Palacios will have to start hitting more consistently at some point, especially if McKinney and Celestino hang around and continue to perform.