Anthony Alford: Fools Gold or True Turnaround

After making the Pittsburgh Pirates' Opening Day roster in 2021, Anthony Alford struggled and was eventually DFA'd. He has since cleared waivers and has been tearing it up in Triple-A, but is it real success or just fools gold.

When you look at the Pittsburgh Pirates, there are holes all over the field, but one of the biggest holes has been in the outfield. The only player out there who has had any semblance of success has been Bryan Reynolds, who has hit .286 with 10 home runs and 31 RBI. After him, the next best batting average in the Pirates outfield is Ben Gamel, who currently sits at .214 on the season. In total, the Pirates have had nine different players play at least one game in the outfield, and Reynolds is the only one who has taken off. One of the first players to go this season was outfielder Anthony Alford, who in 81 at-bats struck out a horrendous 37 times. He ended up being DFA'd by the Pirates on April 21st, but cleared waivers and was sent to the Pirates alternate training site.

His overall numbers look pretty mundane, .272 with five home runs and 18 RBI, but what he has done lately has been out of this world. During the month of June, Alford has a ridiculous .852 batting average with three of his five home runs and eight of his 18 RBI. He has raised his batting average during that stretch from a measly .175 at the start of the month, to its current mark of .272. He has worked with Triple-A Manager Brian Esposito and hitting coach Jon Nunnally on his swing and has seemed to have found something. Alford has at least one hit in seven of his last eight games, including four multi-hit performances. Today, we see what has changed with Alford's approach, and whether or not it is sustainable and can get him promoted to the Big Leagues.

Starting Over

When Anthony Alford was Designated For Assignment by the Pirates on April 21st, many people thought it was the end of his time with the Pirates. However, he ended up clearing waivers and went down to the alternate training site to work on his swing. During his time with the Pirates, his biggest problem was his strikeout rate. He ended up going down at a 55.1% clip and was not able to get his timing down. However, the encouraging sign was when he was putting the ball in play he was having success. His BABIP to start the season was sitting at .250 and he was seeing a decent amount of pitches at nearly five per at-bat. So, he went down to the Minors knowing that in order to be successful, he would have to get his timing back.

Upon his return to Triple-A, it was more of the same for Alford as he experienced in the Major Leagues. He did not get a hit in his first six games with the Indians and struck out six times in those six games. He finally broke through with a 2-3 night against Toledo on May 13th and followed that with another 2-3 effort the following night. The big key for Alford in those two games was his patience as although he struck out in both, he walked three times over the two games. It was an up and down end of May for Alford as he finished the month with a .185 batting average. He slumped at the end of the month to a 3-26 (.115) stretch and it looked like all was lost for the former top 100 prospect in the Blue Jays system.

However, June has been a different story for the 26-year-old outfielder as he has completely turned his game around. After going 0-3 in his first game of June, Alford broke out with a perfect 3-3 day with a walk and his first home run of the season. His batting average jumped more than 40 points that day, and it got him back on the right track to success. He would rattle off hits in seven of his next eight games and has hit .852 in the month of June. Unfortunately, he is still striking out at a 37.7% clip this month, but he is putting the ball in play more often. He has a total of five extra-base hits this month out of his 12 total knocks. He is still struggling to get his timing down, but as we saw in the Major Leagues when he does get a bat on the ball, good things have happened.

Could Alford Come Back to the Big Leagues?

With the current state of the Pirates outfield, anything is possible as Manager Derek Shelton tries to put something together that works. While Reynolds has been holding his own in center field, it has been a constant struggle between Ka'ai Tom, Ben Gamel, and Gregory Polanco at the other two spots. Neither player has a batting average above the .214 mark, and none of them have played particularly good outfield defense to warrant them sticking around. Polanco will be gone after the season, Gamel is not part of the Pirate's future, and the only thing keeping Tom around is his Rule 5 status. The Pirates outfield could use a shake-up and Alford, with a new approach, could provide that.

However, what concerns me is he is still striking out at a very high rate, which more often than not doesn't translate into much success at the Major League level. Even though he is hitting a ridiculous .852 during June, he has also struck out 37% of the tome during that stretch. That tells me that his timing is still off and he is more or less getting lucky if nothing else. When he does put the ball in play, he has the speed and the ability to make things happen on the base paths. However, if you aren't on base consistently, you might as well throw that speed out the window because it is basically useless. Alford has to show me that he can keep that strikeout rate down if he wants another shot at the Big Leagues.

I'll admit, I was intrigued with what I saw from Alford last season, and was expecting him to put it all together in Pittsburgh at the beginning of the year. However, after his struggles in April, it would take a lot for me to put my faith back in Alford in the Big Leagues. Being that he is not on the 40-man roster, the Pirates would have to DFA someone to bring Alford to the Big Leagues. The question the Pirates are faced with is whether or not Alford outweighs the production of a guy like Gamel or Tom who would be on the chopping block. Personally, I would keep Alford down in the Minors until a spot opens up via trade. Then, let him play out the final two months in Pittsburgh and either release him if he struggles or keep him around if he shows he earned it. Alford is on absolute fire now at Triple-A, the question is whether or not he can keep that going and get himself back to the Major League club.

The Pittsburgh Pirates (23-43) take on the Washington Nationals (28-35) in game two of their three-game series tonight at 7:05 pm. Tyler Anderson (3-6, 4.52) is on the hill for the Pirates as he takes on Patrick Corbin (3-5, 6.21) for the Nationals. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.