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Spring camp opens in a month! Can you feel the warm Florida air?

Well, not if you¡¯re in Pittsburgh, where we¡¯re seeing highs in the 20s nearly all week. But regardless, the new season is already on the horizon.

With that in mind, let¡¯s revisit how last season ended and see which Pirates are carrying momentum and which could use a fresh start after tough finishes to 2023.

CARRYING MOMENTUM

Hitter: Jared Triolo

I could have easily put?Ke¡¯Bryan?Hayes?here, but how Triolo progressed offensively to produce a September to remember was amazing to witness.

Triolo didn¡¯t light the world on fire immediately after his debut on June 28. He hit .258 with two doubles in his first 25 games, which is solid for a rookie in his first month. Then he found another gear, going 10-for-32 with a homer in the next 11 games, but he was optioned to Triple-A when?Ji Hwan Bae?was activated from the injured list.

Triolo took it in stride and bided his time, then scorched the league when he returned. The 25-year-old hit .350/.458/.567 with seven doubles and two homers in his final 18 games of the season after he was recalled on Sept. 6. This is a guy who carries four gloves with him because of his defensive versatility. Add a consistent bat to that profile and you¡¯ve got an extremely valuable player for years to come.

Starting pitcher: Quinn Priester

I¡¯ll admit: The choices here were a little bit thin, but remember that the Pirates ended the year with only two full-time starting pitchers. One of them,?Johan Oviedo, would have been a great candidate, but since he will be out for the 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery, his inclusion would defeat the purpose of this exercise.

Even though Priester¡¯s September numbers weren¡¯t good (14 ER in 21 1/3 innings over four starts), they were definitely good steps. He was averaging more than one run allowed per inning over his first six career starts (29 ER in 28 2/3 innings), warranting a return trip to Triple-A on Aug. 15. One month later, he was back in the Majors and limiting opponents to a .259 batting average and a 1.41 WHIP in September -- much better numbers than in the shaky start.

Relief pitcher: Carmen Mlodzinski

Three things happened for Mlodzinski in 2023: He came, he saw, he conquered. OK, maybe a bit hyperbolic, but consider that Mlodzinski went from a starter to a reliever late in ¡®22 at Double-A. He made 24 Minor League relief appearances before his June callup, and his first stint cemented him as a leverage option in ¡®24.

Mlodzinski allowed more than one earned run in one outing last season, and it was his fourth career appearance. He was steady after that, especially in September, when he had a 2.19 ERA in 14 games -- and by that point he had earned some of the biggest spots with the game on the line.

READY FOR A FRESH START

Hitter: Alika Williams

Williams, who was acquired from the Rays for reliever?Robert Stephenson?in June, showed improvements at the Triple-A level after the trade, hitting .305 with a .915 OPS 128 at-bats for Indianapolis to earn his first promotion to the Majors. He hit .222 with a .600 OPS in his first 29 games, which isn¡¯t far from what contact-over-power hitters experience in their first taste of MLB. But then things slid.

In his final 17 games of the season, Williams collected only four hits -- all singles -- from Aug. 28 onward. He¡¯ll be in the mix for the second-base opening this spring, and he might have the most to prove of that group.

Starting pitcher: Mitch Keller

Keller undeniably had one of the best seasons by a Pirate in 2023, but many of the best results came in the first half. His second half was more than two ERA points worse than the first. He produced a decent run of results in August, but September was a rollercoaster of results.

In the final month, Keller had two starts in which he allowed seven runs or more, but sandwiched between those two results was an eight-inning, two-hit effort to spearhead a shutout of the Nationals. Am I worried about Keller bouncing back in 2024 from last September? Not really. But it¡¯s at least worth noting heading into Spring Training.

Relief pitcher: Jose Hernandez

Hernandez made it a full season in MLB after being selected in the?Rule 5 Draft?by the Pirates, which is reason enough to celebrate. Many times, Rule 5 selections can¡¯t clear that threshold. And he did extremely well for a rookie reliever in the first half, with a 2.63 ERA and .220 batting average against in 26 appearances.?

However, things turned in the second half. Hernandez had a 7.71 ERA in 24 games, and he gave up seven runs over the final five innings he pitched in a six-appearance stretch. He spent time on the injured list with a strained right calf, and it¡¯s hard to say how much that injury or the corresponding time off affected his performance. But if he could regain his first-half form in 2024, the Pirates could use his left-handed look in the bullpen.