Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed reliever David Bednar had another scoreless outing and picked up his third hold in his appearance with Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday night, tossing a shutout inning with one hit allowed, no walks and two strikeouts. After allowing four runs (three earned) and four hits in just one inning of work for the Pirates to start the year before being demoted to the minors, the 30-year-old veteran has now posted five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and no walks for Indy. Bednar had a rough 2024 campaign, too, posting a bloated 5.77 ERA (4.80 FIP), a 1.42 WHIP, 23 saves, 58 strikeouts and 28 walks in 57 2/3 innings pitched. He appears to be regaining confidence in the minors, but it remains to be seen if he'll be able to regain the closer's role in Pittsburgh from Dennis Santana whenever he rejoins the big-league roster.

The Atlanta Braves have recalled outfielder Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Gwinnett. In a corresponding move, the Braves have optioned outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to Triple-A. The Braves inked Verdugo to a minor-league contract earlier in the spring, and he will now make his Atlanta debut. During the first nine games of the Triple-A regular season, Verdugo held a .207/.303/.448 slash line with two long balls. Verdugo had a disappointing campaign in the Bronx last season as he held a .233/.291/.356 line with 13 long balls, which was a stark decline from the .264/.323/.431 line he held during the 2023 campaign. De La Cruz tallied just one extra-base hit during the first 16 games of the MLB season and will look to turn the corner at Triple-A. Verdugo should see ample opportunities in the starting nine with Ronald Acuna Jr. (knee) still sidelined.

After starting the 2025 season as the regular designated hitter due to right-triceps soreness, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds is making his first start in right field and will hit second in Thursday's series finale against the Washington Nationals and right-hander Trevor Williams. With Reynolds feeling good enough to return to the field, it should open up more at-bats for veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen at DH moving forward. Fantasy managers will certainly be hoping that the Reynolds returning to the outfield means that he's getting healthier. His sore triceps might have played a big part in his underwhelming start to the season, as he enters Thursday's contest with a .203/.268/.338 slash line, two home runs, eight RBI and seven runs scored in his first 74 at-bats. The 30-year-old switch-hitter has hit .250 in eight career at-bats against Williams.

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Joey Bart (back) is back behind the plate and catching left-hander Andrew Heaney and will bat cleanup in Thursday's series finale against the visiting Washington Nationals and right-hander Trevor Williams at PNC Park. Bart will return to action after missing the last five games due to lower-back soreness. With the 28-year-old backstop returning, Henry Davis will head to the bench. As long as his back injury doesn't bother him again, Bart will move forward as the Bucs' primary catcher, especially after starting the season strong at the plate. Before tweaking his back, Bart had gone 11-for-40 (.275) with a home run, five RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base. The former first-rounder has gone hitless in just two career at-bats against Williams.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Bailey Falter was excellent on Wednesday, pitching seven shutout innings and picking up his first win of the season in a 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals. Falter allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out two. While it was a good start, the advanced metrics don't really back it up. The 27-year-old lefty hasn't been awful this year, but he hasn't been good either. He has a 4.91 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts in 22 IP. This start is likely just an aberration, and Falter doesn't need to be added anywhere outside the deepest leagues.