James McDonald and Paul Maholm are among the pitchers who have posted good fantasy numbers on a bad Pirates team in the past few years.

Last year, it was Charlie Morton and Jeff Karstens who rewarded those fantasy owners who likely took them in the final rounds of a draft or picked them up from the free-agent pile.

Karstens may be the ace of Pittsburgh’s shaky staff this season after posting a career-low 3.38 ERA in 30 games, including 26 starts last season. That came after two seasons of ERAs close to 5.00.

He’ll continue to be an innings-eater for Pittsburgh, but I see his ERA flying back up north of 4.00 this season while struggling to match even his nine wins from last season.

Morton is another guy that surprised early last season before injuries wore him down late.

There was some pre-draft hype last year that Morton was trying to model the mechanics of Roy Halladay and he did make a big improvement with 10 wins and a 3.83 after never having an ERA under 4.50 in his first three seasons.

Since there seemed to be a cause to his improvement, a change in his mechanics, I tend to trust that he can continue to post numbers similar to last season and maybe even better, since his numbers got worse late due to a hip injury.

That injury remains a question as Morton is questionable to be back for Opening Day, but if he gets a good medical report, I’d keep an eye on him as a cheap starter who could pay big dividends.

McDonald was a disappointment last year in his first full season with the Pirates with a 4.21 ERA. His biggest problem was consistency as he would give up one run in seven innings and then get rocked the next time out.

He’s got big-time potential and at 27, it is time to show it. He’s another guy I will take a shot on late in the draft, but if somebody wants to take a chance on him higher, they can have him.

Pittsburgh’s big addition this offseason was Eric Bedard, who becomes available for the first time in National League-only leagues.

He continues to be a risk or reward guy as he’s good when healthy, but never seems to be healthy for a full season. However, he made 24 starts last year, his most since 2007, and had a 3.62 ERA. He hasn’t had an ERA above 4.00 since 2004 and moving to the National League should only help him.

He will be the Pirates’ best pitcher if he stays healthy, but that is too big of a question mark for me to treat him in drafts like the stud he can be.

The back end of Pittsburgh's rotation can be ignored in fantasy drafts including Kevin Correia, who got off to a fast start last year but finished with  an ERA over 4.70 for the second straight season. Former top prospect Brad Lincoln is expected to contend for a spot in the rotation, but he's had his chances before and 5.74 ERA in the past two seasons.

Jeff Locke is another prospect who struggled in a short major-league stint but could contend for a rotation spot. Jo-Jo Reyes signed with the Pirates in the offseason, but I want no part of his 6.05 career ERA in 70 big-league games.