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4-Star QB Wonderful 'Champ' Monds announces college commitment live!
The Pittsburgh Pirates are currently at .500 with a 16-16 record but ended April on a five-game losing streak, placing them last in the National League Central. Despite this, their offense has improved and the bullpen ranks eighth in MLB with a 3.74 ERA.
Photo provided by Matt Lynch
Let’s start with the good news: The Pittsburgh Pirates are at .500 with a 16-16 through the March/April portion of the schedule.
The bad news: The Pirates ended April on a five-game losing streak and are in last place in what has so far been a tough National League Central.
Overall, the Pirates have largely looked pretty good. The offense is much better than it was last season, not that it could have gotten much worse. The starting pitching, despite a recent rough patch, has been strong. The bullpen ranks eighth in baseball and fifth in the National League with a 3.74 ERA.
Here’s a check-in as the calendar flips to May.
Gonzales was in a tough spot for the Pirates after they acquired Brandon Lowe, who immediately became the starting second baseman.
Soon after the season started, Konnor Griffin was called up to be the everyday shortstop, leaving a crowded mix of Gonzales, Jared Triolo and Nick Yorke to man third base.
Well, Triolo landed on the injured list a day after Griffin made his debut. Initially, Yorke was the hot hand and received the majority of the playing time. But Gonzales has since taken control and is running with it.
The 26-year-old is sixth in the league with a robust .317 batting average. His career-long 10-game hitting streak came to an end in Thursday’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals after going 0 for 2 but reaching base safely twice. He’s also posted a 0.9 bWAR which is tied for fourth on the team.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a current record of 16-16.
The Pirates are in last place due to ending April on a five-game losing streak.
The Pirates' bullpen ranks eighth in baseball and fifth in the National League with a 3.74 ERA.
The Pirates' offense has improved significantly compared to last season, and their starting pitching has been strong despite some recent struggles.
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Although he’s not hitting for much power (five doubles, no home runs, a .365 slugging percentage), Gonzales is hitting the ball to all fields and is only striking out in 19% of his plate appearances.
Even when Triolo comes back from the injured list, which should be in the near future, Gonzales should not be taken out of the lineup.
The Pirates signed Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $12 million deal that includes a $16 million mutual option for next season. Ozuna has had a notable career in the big leagues but he has been dreadful for the Pirates through the first month of the season.
Among qualified major league hitters, Ozuna has the third-worst on-base percentage (.224), the third-worst OPS (.466), the fifth-worst batting average (.162) and the sixth-worst slug (.242).
Ozuna was added to add thump to the lineup and to serve as a run producer but the 35-year-old has only two home runs and eight RBI in 26 games played. The metrics don’t indicate a turnaround is necessarily likely, either.
The Pirates have benched Ozuna in two of their last three games, a trend that could continue unless more drastic measures are taken. Pittsburgh has plenty of other players who could split time at designated hitter.
In addition to getting more production from their designated hitter, the Pirates need to get more offense from their catchers.
Henry Davis has stooped to Austin Hedges levels in that he’s a trusted defensive catcher but has offered next to nothing with the bat. So far this season, Davis has a .154/.247/.200 batting line with three extra-base hits (all doubles), three RBI and a career-worst 26 OPS+.
Joey Bart, meanwhile, is supposed to be an offense-first catcher but his numbers are only marginally better. Bart is batting .195 with a .537 OPS, one double, one home run and three RBI.
Pirates catchers this season are tied for last with one home run, 29th in slugging percentage (.238), 29th in OPS (.488), 27th in batting average (.171) and 27th in OBP (.250).
Switching to the other side of the ball, the Pirates must play better defense in the outfield. Oneil Cruz already has minus-six defensive runs saved, although he has looked more comfortable out there in recent weeks. Ryan O’Hearn has minus-three DRS in his first year being primarily an outfielder. Bryan Reynolds has minus-two DRS.
A more immediate fix, overall, will be for the Pirates to put an end to their five-game skid and give everyone a collective sigh of relief. They’ll have a chance to do so on Friday night at PNC Park against the division-leading Cincinnati Reds.
The post Pirates One Month Check-in: Biggest Surprise, Biggest Disappointment, What Must Improve appeared first on Pittsburgh Baseball Now.