One month to go thoughts...
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 1:17 pm
We've got a month to go with a Pirates team that is pretty much above average. Their record indicates that. Their stats pretty much indicate that.
Offense:
The Pirates post up a pretty middle of the road for MLB batting average of .256. They are significantly better in OBP ranging at 5th in MLB but post a shocking 25th in slugging. Really, no one expected them to be a high power team, but Marte, McCutchen and Kang have really let this team down in terms of power. IMO, Polanco isn't a huge shock. He is turning into the player we thought Marte should be and McCutchen was. If he continue to grow, he will be the best of the three. This team gets on base and steals bases, but again, scoring runs in middle of MLB. I think it is the same three culprits who have let the team down in RBIs. All of that said, one could certainly see this team being significantly better in the last month and going on a tear. Those guys are due. Plus they are adding a very competent hitting in Bell (or so it appears).
Pitching:
ERA actually has them a little better than average in the league. I thought that was actually surprising. And, they have abandoned the biggest anchors for the first 5 months. However, when I look at their stats, I see a team that is bailed out by defense. They have a terrible 1.37 WHIP (22nd in the league) and low strikeouts (24th). They give up an average amount of hits, but they walk too many (10th) in the league. I don't know what to think moving forward. They really need Cole to pitch like the #1 he was last year. There is a lot of reason to think that 39 year old Vogelsong will hit the wall. The young pitchers (esp. Taillon) are throwing a lot of innings. Nova has been a surprise. They look very good right now, but this is the exhausting part of the season, even for veterans.
They seem to be on the cusp statistically. I would not have a hard time seeing them having a great September. Of course, they could continue to stumble around as they have been most of the summer.
Offense:
The Pirates post up a pretty middle of the road for MLB batting average of .256. They are significantly better in OBP ranging at 5th in MLB but post a shocking 25th in slugging. Really, no one expected them to be a high power team, but Marte, McCutchen and Kang have really let this team down in terms of power. IMO, Polanco isn't a huge shock. He is turning into the player we thought Marte should be and McCutchen was. If he continue to grow, he will be the best of the three. This team gets on base and steals bases, but again, scoring runs in middle of MLB. I think it is the same three culprits who have let the team down in RBIs. All of that said, one could certainly see this team being significantly better in the last month and going on a tear. Those guys are due. Plus they are adding a very competent hitting in Bell (or so it appears).
Pitching:
ERA actually has them a little better than average in the league. I thought that was actually surprising. And, they have abandoned the biggest anchors for the first 5 months. However, when I look at their stats, I see a team that is bailed out by defense. They have a terrible 1.37 WHIP (22nd in the league) and low strikeouts (24th). They give up an average amount of hits, but they walk too many (10th) in the league. I don't know what to think moving forward. They really need Cole to pitch like the #1 he was last year. There is a lot of reason to think that 39 year old Vogelsong will hit the wall. The young pitchers (esp. Taillon) are throwing a lot of innings. Nova has been a surprise. They look very good right now, but this is the exhausting part of the season, even for veterans.
They seem to be on the cusp statistically. I would not have a hard time seeing them having a great September. Of course, they could continue to stumble around as they have been most of the summer.