PITTSBURGH — Jordy Mercer is hitting seventh in the Pirates’ lineup on Friday against the San Francisco Giants, but he’s become one of the best No. 8 hitters in the entire National League this season.
Mercer is hitting .291/.387/.466 while hitting in front of the pitcher. That’s the third-best batting average and second-best on-base percentage in the league. Only St. Louis’ Kolten Wong is performing better.
Mercer is having a rare start to his season. He’s having a a career year at the plate while hitting in one of the hardest places to hit in the lineup.
“It’s a tough spot to hit in,” said Pirates hitting coach Jeff Branson. “You’ve got to have patience, but you’ve still got to be ready hit. You’ve got to have the ability to hit off-speed pitches, the ability command the zone and also to expand the zone. Everybody can’t do it.”
Even for those that can do it, it sometimes takes a while to get there. Mercer has had more than 100 at bats hitting No. 8 in each of the last four seasons, but his best two seasons statistically have been the last two. That’s the reason for his success, more than anything.
“You have to know the situation and what they’re trying to do to you,” Mercer said. “You might only get one good pitch to hit. But I think the biggest thing for me was just experience and getting more at-bats at that spot and in different situations.”
Mercer doesn’t mince any words about the difficulty level of what he’s doing in that spot.
“I think it’s the hardest hole to hit in in baseball,” he said. “Honestly, I do. I’ve done it for so long and I just think there’s so many different ways that the pitcher can do things to you and even in hitter’s counts, you might not get a hitter’s pitch. That’s the most difficult thing. You have to have discipline.”
Of course, there’s another factor at play involved, as well. Really good hitters can do most of the things that Mercer and Branson are describing. But most really good hitters aren’t going to hit eighth.
“Obviously, if you’re hitting .350, you probably won’t be hitting eight,” Branson said. “But the thought of putting one of your not as good hitters in the number eight spot, that’s the misconception of it. It’s about if the guy handle that spot and the maturity required. It’s a tough one.”
If Mercer’s hot streak continues, he may be playing his way out of that spot. He currently has a 96 wRC+, just behind regular starters Francisco Cervelli (98), David Freese (98) and Adam Frazier (99). But of that group, only Cervelli has experience hitting eighth, and most of that came in the American League. Meaning Mercer may be stuck where he’s hitting regardless of the results. So far, that’s working out.
SANTANA SAMPLES THE NINTH
Rookie relief pitcher Edgar Santana pitched the ninth inning on Thursday, and even though it was a non-save situation with the Pirates leading by four runs, it was a good chance for the young right-hander to get his feet wet in a higher-leverage role.
“It was an opportunity we had talked about earlier in the game if we got to that position,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “The opportunity presented itself and he handled himself very well.”
Santana was a late-inning reliever in the minors at times. He closed five games for Triple-A Indianapolis earlier this year and three in the 2016 Arizona Fall League. That’s the goal for him in the majors, as well.
“It was an honor,” Santana said. “It was very exciting, but this is what I’ve been practicing for the whole year in Triple-A, so it was the same for me.”
Santana knows that in order to reach that goal, there is no fast lane or shortcut. The difference between a sixth inning reliever and a ninth inning reliever is often the amount of trust the manager has in the individual, and Santana continues to work on that.
“I know I have to keep going and doing well for the manager to trust me,” Santana said. “Right now, I’m a rookie, so I have to impress and get it to a point where he can trust me in a close situation. It’s not just trust, though. There’s a talent level required, as well. On that front, Santana seems to be doing just fine.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” said catcher Elias Diaz. “He has really good stuff. He competes and he competes no matter what, all the time.”
“People in the minor leagues have talked about the power and sink to the fastball,” Hurdle added. “They’ve talked about the sharpness to the slider. We need to see how it plays up here. This will be the final test — consistency up at this level, getting Major League hitters out and seeing how his stuff works. We like Edgar a lot.”
STARTING LINEUP
Gm 80: #Pirates (37-42) vs #Giants (30-51)
2B
NOTES
Francisco Cervelli ran, caught a bullpen, hit batting practice and even fielded ground balls at shortstop in an effort to get his heart rate up to test his response he works his way back from post-concussion symptoms. … David Freese got the day off for the second straight day. … Andrew McCutchen announced that he and his wife Maria are expecting their first child together this December.
