Manager Derek Shelton Has Some Positions Set Prior to Spring Training
The 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates are going to be more about individual growth rather than team success. They are projected to be one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball, but they have a slew of young guys who are looking to develop into the future of the team. This creates a lot of competition in Spring Training and some excitement as the team continues to look to the future, and being competitive for a long time. However, in and amongst these string of competitions you also like there to be some spots that are pretty much locked down. On Monday, Manager Derek Shelton announced the positions that are already locked down for the 2021 season.
The players who already know their roles are Ke'Bryan Hayes (3B), Jacob Stallings (C), Adam Frazier (2B), Gregory Polanco (RF), and Bryan Reynolds (LF). Most, if not all, of these names, come as no surprise as they showed they can handle their positions. Hayes and Stallings both were breakout players last season, Polanco and Frazier are the veterans who will most likely be moved, and Reynolds is the consistent young bat looking to bounce back after a rough year. That gives the Pirates a solid core of five players who they can build the rest of the roster around this season. There is sure to be a lot of shuffling this year for the Pirates, but these positions are pretty solid as the team prepares to head to Chicago on April 1st.
The Bounce Back Candidate: Bryan Reynolds
To say that the 2020 season was disappointing for outfielder Bryan Reynolds is an understatement. After bursting onto the scene during his rookie year, Reynolds struggled in his sophomore season hitting .189 with seven home runs and 19 RBI. The power and run production were still there, but Reynolds wasn't as patient as he was in his rookie year, and when he did put the ball in play it wasn't finding the holes. However, Reynolds has shown success at every level of professional baseball, hitting .300 or better every step, and he is a prime candidate to bounce back for the Pirates. The 26-year-old had the pressure of the offense on his shoulders last year and looks to receive help from other members of the lineup.
One of the biggest problems for Reynolds last year, came with him not getting lucky when he put the ball in play. He had a BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) of just .231 last season in his 55 games played. That was a sharp decrease from the .382 mark that he put up during his rookie season and led to some of his misfortune. One factor in the lower BABIP numbers is seen in Reynolds decrease in hard hit%. He made hard contact just 38.3% of the time last season, a 3% decrease from the year before. With Reynolds seeing fewer pitches to hit, he struggled to handle those tough pitches and was getting out more easily. It was just an overall hard year for Reynolds to put the ball in play, and his batting average suffered.
However, Pirates fans can get some solace in the way that Reynolds finished the 2020 season. Over his final seven games, Reynolds hit .250 with two home runs and three RBI, giving himself some momentum heading into the off-season. He will also be receiving some more help from this year's offense than he had at the beginning of last season. Reynolds was truly the only threat in the Pirates lineup before Colin Moran broke out and Ke'Bryan Hayes emerged. With those two now fully established, that should take some of the pressure to perform off of Reynolds, giving him easier pitches to hit. Reynolds posted better numbers in his first year than former Pirate great Andrew McCutchen did in his first year, and Reynolds is looking to be a leader to this 2021 team like McCutchen was a leader to the early 2010 teams.
The Trade Candidates: Adam Frazier and Gregory Polanco
As with every rebuilding team around the league, you know there will always be those players who are trade candidates. For the Pirates, two of the big pieces they are looking to move are infielder Adam Frazier and outfielder Gregory Polanco. Both players are nearing the end of their contracts and are not in the Pirate's future plans. However, both players are coming off of down years in 2020 and are looking to bounce back and be leaders for the Pirates during the 2021 season. Frazier put together a year where he hit .230 with seven home runs and 23 RBI, while Polanco was able to hit .153 with seven home runs and 22 RBI. Both had similar run production numbers, but couldn't put the ball in play enough to make a huge difference.
For Adam Frazier, the downfall in 2020 was largely unwarranted, given his previous success. In his first four seasons with Pittsburgh, Frazier had had a batting average higher than .270 and was a big part of the top of the Pirates batting order. However, a slow start for the infielder essentially doomed him for the rest of the season. He hit just .148 in the month of July, and he never seemed to be able to recover. He brought his average back over .200 at the end of August and got it to a respectable .230 in September by hitting .258 during the month. There was some interest in Frazier this off-season, but he is still here and says his focus is on getting better.
In the case of Gregory Polanco, it is a matter of showing that he can still play at a high level. He had only played in a combined 42 games from September 2018 to April of 2020 and was determined to show he was back and healthy. Things didn't go his way as he struck out almost 40% of the time at the plate and hit a measly .153 throughout the season. His year did not start out well, with a COVID-19 diagnosis back in July that had him miss the first week of the season. From there he just couldn't get going and had a batting average that sat under .100 through August 21st. He never brought his batting average over the .200 mark during the season and generally looked uncomfortable. He is fully recovered from his broken wrist in January and is trying to show that he can still play at a high level in right field.
The Rising Stars: Ke'Bryan Hayes and Jacob Stallings
At the beginning of the year, fans were waiting for the promotion of Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Big Leagues. There was the initial disappointment that the young third baseman didn't make the cut, but when he came up, he electrified the crowd hitting an impressive .376 with five home runs and 11 RBI. Right from the get-go, you could tell this guy was a rising star and would be a face of the franchise for years to come. The key for Hayes is going to be in how he makes adjustments this season. Opposing pitchers have more video on Hayes and will be changing up their approaches. For Hayes, he has to show an ability to adjust and still put up strong numbers as he tries to claim the rookie of the year award in 2021.
The final spot in the guaranteed lineup goes to Jacob Stallings behind the plate for the Pirates. Stallings came with many offensive questions coming into last season, and he answered many of those questions throughout the season. Stallings ended the year hitting .248 with three home runs and 18 RBI. He showed an ability to move runners and drive in runs and hit .276 with runners in scoring position. Couple that with his strong defensive ability, and he is turning into a complete catcher behind the plate. He was a finalist for the Gold Glove award but finished second behind Cincinnati's Tucker Barnhart in voting. He looks to become a stable piece for the Pirates and their pitching staff in 2021.
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