Dyson Brings Speed and Experience to the Pirates Outfield
After the departure of Starling Marte over the off-season, many were wondering who was going to man center field for the Pirates in 2020. There were no experienced starting center fielders on the roster, and it was looking like a utility man was going to take the role. That's when the Pirates signed veteran outfielder, and World Series champion, Jarrod Dyson to a one year, two million dollar contract. Dyson comes to the Pirates from the Arizona Diamomdbacks, where he played for the last two seasons.
However, when Dyson reported to Pirates camp, he sounded optimistic but not particularly excited. When he reported to camp he said "there ain't too much out there right now. I had to take the good with the bad and roll with it." However, guys who played with Dyson say he is an infectious personality in the clubhouse and can light up a room when he walks in. This is something the Pirates need, especially after a season that involved so many different tensions flarring inside the clubhouse.
On the field, Dyson is known for his speed and ability to play defense and make all the plays. His defensive numbers rank better than both Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen giving the Pirates a reliable option patrolling their deep center field. In 103 games played for thr Diamondbacks last season, Dyson put together a .994 fielding percentage making just one error in 103 innings played. He added six putouts and one assist while playing in 646.2 innings at the position.
Dyson was in the top 10% of the league in terms of defense last season with six outs above average. He ranked in the top 25 among major League outfielders in that category and finished with four more outs above average than any outfielder on the Pirates roster. He had a 90% success rate in centerfield, finishing 3% better than his expected success rate, playing one of the biggest center fields in the Major Leagues. One thing that allows Dyson to be so effective is his speed and ability to get to any ball.
Dyson has one of the best reaction times (0.2 sec) and burst times (1.5 sec.) in the league, which helps him cover a lot of ground in a quick amount of time. On average, Dyson covers about 35.3 feet per play in the outfield ranking 1.5 feet higher than League average. With PNC Park's deep gaps in right and left-centerfield, Dyson will once again be called on to cover a lot of ground in 2020. However, he will have some help with Gregory Polanco and Brian Reynolds both having good speed flanking Dyson.
Another area that Dyson will be showing off that speed is on the base paths. He has stolen 30 or more bases five times in his ten year major league career and has had 20 or more stolen bases seven times. Stealing bases is a part of the game that Dyson loves saying "I love that cat and mouse game. I'm one of them guys where there is an extra gear down there." He proved that he still has some spark left in those legs when he stole 30 bases last season getting caught just four times. The Pirates did not have a true stolen base threat last season and Dyson offers that ability this year.
In order to use that speed, Dyson is going to have to work his way on base more often in 2020. He had a bounce back year of sorts in 2019 hitting .230 with seven home runs and 27 RBI. Dyson was on the mend last season after suffering a groin strain that forced him to miss half of the 2018 season. He is back and fully healthy in 2020 and looking to get his numbers back to his mid 2010's numbers where he was hitting between .260 - .250. Entering his age 35 season, he probably won't get back to a top notch caliber player, but his speed gives him the chance to get hits that normal people wouldn't.
His hard hit percentage ranked in the bottom 10% of the league at just 21.8% and an exit velocity of 82 miles per hour. He hits the ball on the ground 53.7% of the time, but uses his legs to beat out many should be outs. He makes contact 88.7% of the time allowing him to use those legs and at least give himself a chance to get on base. His strikeout percentage is good at just 18.8% of the time while he walks just 10.4% of the time.
Dyson will likely see time in the top third of the Pirates batting order more than likely hitting behind Kevin Newman. While Newman gets on base at a consistent basis, he is not the speedster that Dyson is. Dyson can provide that burst at the top of the lineup that can help guys like Josh Bell and Colin Moran drive in more runs and get the Pirates on the board. However, if his average starts to dip, look for him to be dropped to the bottom third of the order where he can try and help provide a spark from the bottom of the lineup.
Prediction: .247, 8 HR, 34 RBI
I see Dyson raising his average in 2020 and finding a place in the #2 spot in the Pirates batting order. I feel like his legs will be a big plus to the batting order and will set up many opportunities for the middle of the lineup to drive in runs. Look for him to be right back up there with 30+ stolen bases and serves as the main stolen base threats on the team. He will also bring leadership to the Pirates outfield and prove to be more valuable of a pick up than many fans saw at the time.
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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