The Pittsburgh Pirates are dead last in runs scored in Major league Baseball. Is there help on the way? Can they improve the lineup? At this point in time, I'm not sure if the Pirates have any options to make things better. The Pirates pitching has been great. The starters have turned in great efforts and some unsung heroes in the Bullpen have kept this team hovering around .500. That is great for now, but how long until the pitching falters? The offense needs to give this team some breathing room and have the ability to steal some wins on offense alone.
Andrew McCutchen has been the three hitter all season long, and has done fairly well. He is batting above .300, but the problem with him is his lack of power numbers. The three spot in the batting order is designed to drive in runs, and is expected to have some Home Runs. McCutchen only has seven extra base hits. The lack of runs batted in may be attributed to the rest of the lineup. The reality is that McCutchen's Isolated Power numbers are awful for a middle of the lineup guy, he is essentially a leadoff hitter forced into his current position. The rest of the offense is based off of that. This team does not have a legit power threat. Neil Walker is heating up since a terrible start, but he too is more of two or six hitter, that finds himself batting four and five. Walker's isolated power is also bad, and he only has two extra base hits. The Pirates are getting no power offense from power spots in the lineup. Pedro Alvarez is heating up, but he is not ready to be thrust into a major role just yet. His biggest thing appears to be confidence, and he is gaining it slowly. Alvarez is going to be that guy in the future, but it is hard to say he will respond to batting clean up right now. Garrett Jones is Garrett Jones. Everyone should know by now what to expect from him. He will finish with close to 20 Home Runs, and 60 some RBI's. Thats a nice source of power, but it should not be a primary source. The fact of the matter is the Pirates have three leadoff hitters in McCutchen,Tabata, and Presley. They carry two spots of dead weight with Clint Barmes and Rod Barajas, and two predictable guys like Neil Walker and Garrett Jones. The wildcard is Pedro Alvarez. He can control a lot of the Pirates success this year and for years to come. He will have to do it in a smaller role, but the Pirates will take all they can get from him now.
The question really is, How does the offense score runs this season? The question is much simpler than the answer. The Pirates higher levels of the minors are not littered with much of anything. Starling Marte is in the same mold of the current Pirates outfield. He is an intriguing prospect with a world of talent. So can he help? The Pirates can bring him up, which they almost assuredly will this season. Tabata and McCutchen are locked up, so its hard to imagine they will be going anywhere. Presley is having a good season, so it is hard to pick where Marte fits. They could always trade him and hope for something big in return. The Starling Marte scenario is a cloudy one, and I do not think anyone knows where the Pirates organization will go with it. The Pirates are a talented minor league group in lower levels, but not deep at all up top. There is no telling where the offense will come from, but if the Pirates see a repeat of last year they will need to add a few sticks. The Pirates best and only real asset that could bring back anything is Joel Hanrahan. I doubt Pittsburgh wants to trade their best pitcher if they are in contention, but if they are out of it and it can bring in a good return. They should do it. It is only May, and there is a lot of baseball left, things always play themselves out.
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