PITTSBURGH — The 2021 Major League Baseball season kicks off with Opening Day.
Thursday, April 1 will serve as the start of the season for the league.
For the Pittsburgh Pirates, that means opening the season at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs at 2:20 p.m.
Of course, with the end of Spring Training comes the naming of the 26-man roster.
Here's how the Pirates will line up to begin the season:
Hitters
Michael Perez - C
Jacob Stallings - C
Phillip Evans - IF
Adam Frazier - IF/OF
Erik Gonzalez - IF
Ke'Bryan Hayes - IF
Colin Moran - 1B/3B
Kevin Newman - IF
Anthony Alford - OF
Dustin Fowler - OF
Gregory Polanco - OF
Bryan Reynolds - OF
Pitchers
Tyler Anderson - LHP
David Bednar - RHP
Steven Brault - LHP
JT Brubaker - RHP
Trevor Cahill - RHP
Kyle Crick - RHP
Wil Crowe - RHP
Michael Feliz - RHP
Sam Howard - LHP
Mitch Keller - RHP
Chad Kuhl - RHP
Luis Oviedo - RHP
Cody Ponce - RHP
Richard Rodriguez - RHP
Chris Stratton - RHP
Duane Underwood Jr. - RHP
The Pirates finished the abbreviated 2020 season with a 19-41 record, the worst in MLB.
Of course, that means the team owns the top pick in the 2021 MLB Draft with a number of pitching prospects available and projected to go at the top of the draft.
Pittsburgh will look to continue to develop its own players like pitchers Mitch Keller and Wil Crowe, along with third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes.
For now, it may be a struggle for the Pirates to get back to relevancy in the National League Central.