Photo provided by Matt Lynch
The Pirates’ turnaround offensively this season has been well-documented.
Pittsburgh was at or near the bottom in most major categories a season ago, including a league-worst 583 runs scored (3.6 per game) and 117 home runs — 31 fewer than the next closest team (Cardinals, 148).
This year, the Pirates are tied with the National for the most runs in baseball at the All-Star break with 516, only 67 fewer than last year’s total. They’ve already eclipsed last year’s home run total with 125 (sixth in MLB) with 65 games to go.
While they expected the offense to be better, general manager Ben Cherington admitted the offense has been even better than anticipated.
“Just in terms of the run scoring, we’ve scored more runs than we anticipated scoring. We probably exceeded (expectations),” he said. “Some of that has happened in ways that we thought maybe would happen. Some of it’s different, too. It’s been a combination of things. But it’s been good. The outcomes have been good.”
How has it happened?
Little Spending Goes a Long Way
The Pirates made a real effort to add to the payroll this offseason. They swung a trade for Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe, a deal that also included outfielder Jake Mangum. They gave out their first multi-year free agent contract in nearly a decade to first baseman/right fielder Ryan O’Hearn. They signed designated hitter Marcell Ozuna for $12 million.
While the Ozuna signing is regrettable, two out of three sure isn’t bad.
Lowe has added some serious thump to the top of the lineup. The recently-turned 32-year-old has 21 home runs and 64 RBIs this year, and he leads all MLB second basemen in both categories.
O’Hearn, meanwhile, carries a healthy .288/.351/.487 batting line with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs. He’s also the owner of one of the best games in MLB history, a three-homer, 10-RBI performance against the Braves during the last homestand before the break.
“You don’t see a team go from bottom of the barrel to a top three offense in one year,” said O’Hearn. “But also being with these guys every day, starting in spring training and just seeing the talent and will to get better and learn, and then just go out there and let it fly.”
Bounce-Back Seasons
In addition to the external additions, the Pirates have received strong bounce-back efforts from a couple key players.
Like Lowe, Bryan Reynolds should’ve been an All-Star. After having the worst season of his career (excluding 2020) a year ago, Reynolds is batting .283/.400/.477 batting line with 22 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 59 RBIs while playing in an MLB-high 97 games. Reynolds ranks second in MLB with 69 runs scored, is fourth in the NL in on-base percentage and eighth with an .877 OPS.
Prior to getting hurt in June, Oneil Cruz looked to be starting to realize his full potential. The Pirates center fielder totaled 64 games prior to landing on the shelf and slashed .264/.350/.472 with 14 home runs, 44 RBIs and 21 steals, which led the league at the time.
Third baseman Nick Gonzales has also taken a step forward this season. He currently ranks fifth in MLB with a .308 batting average.
“We’re just getting a lot of contributions from different players,” said Cherington. “Pretty consistently throughout the season, we’ve had contributions up and down the lineup. I think that’s been the biggest difference from last year.”
Impact Rookies
The Pirates will be without shortstop Konnor Griffin until sometime in September, but the 20-year-old had found his groove offensively after a slow start to his career. Over his last 40 games since turning 20 on April 24, Griffin slashed .314/.368/.472 with eight doubles, a triple five home runs, 17 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.
The emergence of outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez has been one of the biggest reasons the Pirates have been able to weather the losses of several key injuries. The 22-year-old is batting .309/.371/.713 with 17 extra-base hits (10 home runs) and 27 RBIs… in only 28 games.
The Pirates haven’t had a right-handed slugger in quite some time. So far, Valdez looks the part, and his importance to the turnaround has been huge.
Matt Hague Deserves His Flowers
A lot of people saw last year’s struggles and pointed the finger at hitting coach Matt Hague. His job title is one that comes with criticism when things aren’t going well, but doesn’t always get praised when things are clicking.
Last year, the Pirates just didn’t have enough good players. This year, while there’s no doubt they have a much better and deeper lineup, Hague deserves at least some of the credit for things going as well as they are.
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