2013 Pirates - Year of the What If's

The 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates could be successful this year...or not. That's my prediction and I'm sticking to it.

Kidding aside, the Pirates have a realistic shot at making the playoff's if more of their "What if's" are successful than not. Regardless, the team will be beginning the season with the most polished starting pitching staff they've had in a very long time.

Let's take a look at some of the "What if's" in the starting rotation.

What if AJ Burnett can repeat last year's success?

What if Wandy Rodriguez can pitch like the Wandy we grew to hate over the course of his career in Houston?

What if Francisco Liriano can stay healthy and the switch to the NL has the AJ Burnett effect for him?

What if James McDonald returns to form and regains confidence???

You get the idea. The starting rotation could has the potential to be above average this year. There is less certainty, however, for the position players. The position players, for the most part, are young players with a wealth of upside.

Pedro Alvarez - What if Pedro can reduce his number of strikeouts, become less streaky, and improve his batting average a little bit? He would quickly become on of the best 3rd basemen in the NL.

Clint Barmes - What if Clint woke up and was 27 and in his prime again? Nevermind...Forget I brought up Barmes.

Neil Walker - What if Neil returns at full strength from his nagging back injury and picks up where he left off? Neil is already a top 10 MLB 2B and is said to be in terrific shape.

Garrett Jones - What if Garrett Jones can repeat the career year he had last season?

Starling Marte - What if Marte plays to his potential and becomes one of the most exciting and dynamic young players in baseball?

Andrew McCutchen - What if Cutch can build on last year's success and post even better numbers?

Travis Snider - What if Snider can play to his first round draft pick potentiail and be a staple in right field?

Russell Martin - Russell Martin began his career in the NL and played 5 seasons for the Dodgers. Martin's 5 year batting average in the NL was .272. In 2 seasons in the AL with the Yankees, Martin's batting average dipped to .224. What if the switch back to the NL makes Martin more productive at the plate?

When you look through the list of Pirates starters, there are certainly more questions than answers. However, the club is just a few answers away from shocking the baseball community with a broken 20 year losing streak...and maybe even a shot at the playoffs.