Bell Looking to Go From Pittsburgh Star to Household Name in 2020
If you asked people in Pittsburgh to name a "face of the Pittsburgh Pirates," many would probably say Josh Bell. Bell had the best season of his professional career in 2019 and earned his first ever MLB National League All-Star team. As we get ready for the 2020 season, Bell is looking to take that next step and become a household name across the country. Entering 2019, one scout said "Josh Bell can't play. He's not a good defender. He is a big lump. Supposedly he is a big power threat, but he hit 12 home runs at first base."
Bell ended up giving his critics a big I told you so hitting .277 with 37 home runs and 116 RBI. He finished ninth in the MLB in RBI and 15th in home runs as he settled into his role as the clean-up hitter he was brought up to be. He was off to a historic start to the season hitting .302 with 27 home runs and 84 RBI at the all-star break. He led the MLB in RBI and Doubles (30) and was on pace to have the most RBI in a season since Manny Ramirez had 165 during the 1999 season with the Cleveland Indians.
However, he cooled off during the second half of the season only hitting 10 home runs and driving in 32 RBI over the last month and a half of the season. He was shut down halfway through September after suffering an oblique strain earlier in the year so he could rest and recover for the off-season. Even with the decline in production, Bell managed to put up strong numbers and separated himself from a one hit wonder to a perennial star in the MLB. Now in order for Bell to keep that status, he is going to have to continue to produce in the clean-up spot in 2020.
Bell enters 2020 as the Bucs lone guaranteed power threat after the departure of Starling Marte and his 23 home runs from 2019. Bell has hit 25+ home runs and driven in 90+ runs in two of his three professional seasons and doubled 25 or more times in each of those three years. Each year that he accomplished those feats he led the Pirates in those respective categories, and has been the biggest run producer for the Bucs since Jason Bay hit 35 home runs and drove in 109 in 2006.
One of the things that made Bell so successful was his 47.1 hard hit percentage in 2019. It was the highest mark of his career by almost 8% and, when you hit the ball hard enough, it is bound to find a gap or exit the park. He played pepper with the short porch in right pulling the ball 35.7% of the time while hitting it straight 35.7%. When you hit the ball to right with power, your bound to hit a few home runs. Bell hit the ninth longest home run in the MLB in 2019 at 474 feet over the batter's eye in center field.
Not only was Bell hammering the ball in 2019, but he showed new plate discipline that he didn't have in the previous two seasons. He only chased 24 percent of pitches he saw outside the zone last season, down three percent from the year before. Even when he did chase, he got lucky hitting 63.7% of the pitches he chased. He was laying off the junk and in turn got to see better pitches to hit. This helped him look for the pitch he wanted rather than forcing him to swing at a pitcher's pitch.
Bell made it hard to pitch to him last season as he was able to handle most of what was thrown at him. He hit .305 with 21 home runs against the fastball and added a .271 average with 10 home runs against breaking balls. That is a good sign for Bell to be able to continue his success for years to come because he is not just looking for one pitch. It shows he has the ability to handle whatever is being thrown at him.
The one major question throughout Bell's career is his ability to handle first base defensively. With all of his offensive success, his defense has been trending downward as he posted a .988 fielding percentage last season, the worst of his Major League career. He committed a career-high 13 errors in 2019 but helped turn 91 double plays, the second highest of his professional career. However, he has been working on his defensive abilities over the off-season, developing new throwing mechanics to help him get a better release.
He worked with Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman from the Oakland Athletics to perfect a new 3/4 release point rather than the short quick throw he had been doing in the past. He debuted the new arm angle in Spring Training this year and it has seemed to catch the attention of his teammates and reporters surrounding the team. If Bell can improve on his defense and continue his strong offensive production, the Pirates will have a star for the next couple seasons.
Prediction: .298 35 HR 110 RBI
I see Josh Bell continuing his production from 2019 into the 2020 season as he develops into one of the games top power hitters. With the shortened season, I gave him a little less home runs and RBI from last season just because of the shortened schedule. I think his defense will improve slightly but not enough to make a significant change. When the National League does get the Designated Hitter, which is unfortunately looking like more of a reality, Bell will probably slip into the DH role in the future.
As of now, the season is expected to begin somewhere around May 25th. Until then, we will continue to look at the men who make up this year's team and their contributions in 2020.
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