Lack of power not Bucs’ main problem
For much of the early part of the 2016 season, most of the attention focused on the Pittsburgh Pirates has centered around a perceived lack of offense.
The biggest reason for this mostly inaccurate perception has been the obvious power drought experienced by the entirety of the team’s roster.
Even with a five-home run outburst by the team, including Andrew McCutchen’s memorable three-bomb display, Pittsburgh went into Wednesday night’s matchup with the Rockies ranked 24th out of 30 major league teams with 17 long balls.
Black and Gold fans can take some solace, however. The Atlanta Braves have totaled… wait for it… three home runs this year. That’s right; McCutchen matched the entire homer total for the Braves in around three hours.
But, let’s put all of this nonsense about power leading to success aside for a bit. Despite being in the bottom fifth of Major League Baseball in home runs, Pittsburgh ranks first amongst all 30 clubs in batting average (.293) and fourth in runs scored (110). Unfortunately, you can probably guess two of the three names ahead of the Pirates in the rankings: the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals.
I think one of the big reasons that Bucco fans are so salty with the team when it comes to the bats is that one former Pirate star is swinging for the fences with regularity in the Big Apple. Neil Walker has already blasted six home runs for the New York Mets. Once again, however, first impressions are not always accurate ones.
While the Pittsburgh Kid has gone yard half a dozen times already, he has only racked up 11 RBI. That total would tie for fourth with the Pirates if he was still wearing black and gold. His replacement, Josh Harrison, has driven in 12 runs while batting .325 with four stolen bases, five doubles and 12 runs scored.
Walker is currently hitting .293 with no stolen bases, no doubles and nine runs scored. He has also struck out 14 times in 58 at-bats.
Harrison has been punched out 12 times in 80 trips to the plate.
The real problem that has kept Pittsburgh from doing even better than its 12-9 record, which has the Bucs in second place in the N.L. Central, is an uncharacteristically poor effort from the pitching staff. Along with the highly publicized stumbles of Jeff Locke in the starting rotation, usual bullpen stalwarts like Tony Watson (4.00 ERA) and Mark Melancon (3.12) still appear to be trying to round into midseason form.
Just one of the team’s starting pitchers currently boasts an ERA of under three (Gerritt Cole, 2.78). Alluding back to Neil Walker, guess which starter leads the team in wins? That’s right, Jonathon Niese is 3-0 after four starts. While his 4.24 ERA is far from impressive, he has pitched well enough to keep Pittsburgh in position to win each of his starts.
When it comes to Pirate pitching in 2016, most are looking forward to the future. More specifically, supporters of the team are hoping the future is now. After around a month of competition, two of the franchise’s most hyped arms may finally be ready to join the rotation.
Righties Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon look to be healthy and thriving in Indianapolis.
Glasnow is 1-1 in four starts with a 2.57 ERA and an impressive 30 strikeouts in 21 innings.
Taillon is 2-0 in three starts with a miniscule 1.65 ERA. He’s racked up 16 strikeouts and no walks in 16.1 innings on the mound. His 0.80 WHIP fills out an impressive early resume.
With the Cubs and Cardinals still making life miserable in the N.L. Central, 2016 will likely be another marathon battle to the end for the Pirates. With a new-look offense and the potential for multiple high-profile call-ups coming as spring turns into summer, it should be another great season at the ballpark.