Can hitters take next step up?
It’s possible for Pirates to score more runs, even with the same lineup
BRADENTON, Fla. — So much about these Pirates feels new, from the pace and purpose of workouts to how they’re preparing pitchers. With Grapefruit League games starting, there’s been a tangible and welcome difference with general manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton in charge.
But it hasn’t just been about the new guys or the radical adjustments to how the Pirates do things on the field. One of the better storylines in 2019 involved hitting coach Rick Eckstein, who breathed life into the offense and connected with Josh Bell, Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman in myriad ways, helping each take a huge step forward.
“I think the thing I appreciate the most is the trust the hitters have in him,” Shelton said of Eckstein. “It’s really evident when you sit down with returning players. One of the first things that comes out of their mouths is a conversation
they’ve had with Rick about what they’re doing.”
As good as Eckstein was with the Pirates offense a season ago, helping them average nearly a half-run more per game and raising their team OPS from .725 to .743, he faces more challenges in 2020, as Pittsburgh seeks to juice more power out of roughly the same lineup.
“The guys came into camp in great shape,” Eckstein said. “Now it’s about making sure we’re taking the initial steps toward owning what we do and packaging it together. For each guy preparing and putting our minds in the right space to execute what we know we’re capable of doing.
“Guys have gotten more experience. They’re physically stronger. There are several things that play into taking a step forward. We have to keep pushing and understanding that some good things happened and that we want to continue to push ourselves for great things.”
How can the Pirates push toward bigger things offensively in 2020? Here are five areas on which to focus:
1. While Bell and his Isolated Power (ISO) mark of .292 will anchor the batting order, he’ll definitely need more support and protection in 2020.
The Pirates added Jarrod Dyson for his speed and defense, but his ISO of .090 was well below league average (.140). Worse, Dyson has been below .100 each of the past three years and has a career ISO of .091.
Newman had a fine offensive season, but his ISO of .138 was a little low, as was Colin Moran’s .152. Both have more power. Gregory Polanco was at .183 and Bryan Reynolds produced an ISO of .189, those two numbers serving as the top end for Pirates starters.
“I don’t necessarily know that you’re going to teach more home runs,” Eckstein said. “But you can put them in a better position. Through experience, they’re going to understand a better hitting position.
“If you look at how everybody’s trending, they’re understanding their bodies better, being more efficient and understanding their hitting area better, understanding how to make the ball perform better. That’s really what we’re going after.”
2. It’s hard to talk about what the Pirates did offensively last season and not mention Bell, the good and the bad. And, if we’re going to focus on ways Pittsburgh can improve, there was a large valley for the club’s first baseman coming out of the All-Star break.
In his first 24 games after the Home Run Derby, Bell hit zero home runs, had a slash line of .188/.316/.263 and a .578 OPS. Meanwhile, the Pirates went 4-20 in those games.
What happened? Well, a couple things, but the simple explanation was that Bell’s timing got out of whack. It started with a back heel tap, which Bell uses as a timing mechanism, and he never really found the right rhythm after that initial slump.
“Guys were attacking him a little differently, and he started to change the way he was thinking when it came to game-planning,” Eckstein said. “That affects timing. Timing affects your swing.”
It’s fascinating to hear Bell describe his swing and the complicated chain of events that occur. Bat in position, then slam the heel. That starts the leg kick and Bell engaging his glutes.
“I’m trying to make sure everything is activated,” Bell said, demonstrating with a couple of dry swings. “If I’m up on my toes, I spin off and can’t hit the ball where I want to. I need to be refined in my movements, and it starts with the heel.”
3. Sort of a simple thing here: The Pirates need to do a better job against lefthanded pitchers. Their Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) mark of 77 against southpaws was dead last in the majors, while their .681 OPS against them was 29th.
Granted, lefties accounted for only 27 percent of the Pirates’ at-bats in 2019, but there’s still plenty of room there to improve.
4. Another factor to watch involves Polanco’s strikeout rate. The Pirates right fielder fanned in 29.3 percent of his 167 plate appearances in 2019, the worst mark of his career.
Polanco’s chase rate ticked upward from 28.5 percent in 2018 to 33.8 last season, while his swinging strike percentage (9.7 to 14.7) became downright awful, the result of his swing growing long and loopy and also Polanco’s lingering left shoulder issues.
So far this spring, however, Eckstein has liked what he’s seen from Polanco.
“He looks very strong,” Eckstein said. “He looks healthy. He looks like he’s putting himself back into a great hitting position.
“Gregory can be such a huge force in our lineup. We’re looking forward to taking that next step with him.”
5. Reynolds and Newman had tremendous rookie seasons in 2019, but the Pirates need for them to fare better than Bell did after he finished third in the National League’s Rookie of the Year voting in 2017.
A year after hitting 26 home runs and accumulating 90 RBIs, Bell saw those numbers plummet to 12 and 62 in 2018. His Isolated Power, meanwhile, went from .211 to .150.
And perhaps the biggest indicator that timing is everything for Bell, his pull percentage dipped from 41.5 in 2017 to 33.8 during what amounted to his sophomore slump season.
For the Pirates offense to thrive, it’ll need Reynolds and Newman to avoid what Bell experienced two seasons ago, as Pittsburgh really doesn’t have the supporting cast to make up for any potential lack of production out of those two.
“Their heads are in the right place,” Eckstein said. “They understand how they went about last year and what allowed them to take that next step in their careers. … There’s a hunger inside of them just like Day 1 of last year. Those indicators are exciting to see.”