Connor Joe picked up a pair of stolen bases on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. The Pirates in general haven’t been too aggressive on the base paths in spring, with those two by Joe finally putting them in double digits.
Maybe Spring results don’t matter too much, but it does seem important to use that time to pick up on strong habits to carry into the season.
With the new pitch clock and bigger bases, it seems things are trending in favor of being more aggressive on the bases, but up to this point it’s something that the Pirates haven’t put much of a focus on.
After all the games concluded Sunday, the Pirates ranked 26th in baseball in stolen bases with just 11 in 16 games played.
The Cincinnati Reds lead all of baseball with 27 in 18 games. The New York Yankees, who are probably more known for the power in their lineup thanks to Aaron Judge, are second with 25.
So it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that the Reds have scored the second most runs in baseball up to this point, the Yankees are 10th, while the Pirates also sit 26th with almost 50 runs less than their divisional rival.
Spring training numbers don’t matter to an extent, but it seems one is exploring ways to maximize on scoring runs, and succeeding, while another is struggling to fill up the scoreboard.
The Pirates have players that certainly have the capability of stealing bases, Ke’Bryan Hayes finished with 20 last year, Oneil Cruz had ten in 87 games played, and he had 19 in 68 games during the 2021 season.
Ji-Hwan Bae finished second in the system last year with 30 stolen bases. Liover Peguero, Travis Swaggerty, Andres Alvarez, Matt Gorski, and Jared Triolo all have spent time in major camp, and they all finished with at least 20 steals in the minors last year.
While not all of them are going to spend a considerable amount of time in the majors this upcoming season, there seems like there could be a lot more work being done in being aggressive and trying to get into scoring position, especially with the offense struggle so much.
Overall, what happens in spring isn’t going to necessarily translate to the regular season. The Pirates could be doing their own testing or have their own feelings on stealing bases and holding off till the season starts.
As things go on, and the projected regulars continue to get more playing time, it would be ideal to start treating things like they would once the season starts, if only for the habits.
The rotation has looked strong for the most part this spring, and baseball is making an effort to try and produce more scoring, why shouldn’t every team take advantage of it?
Pirates Prospects Daily
By John Dreker
Missed anything from yesterday? Here’s a rundown of what went on, looking at Spring Training action, prospect highlights, WBC recaps, Ethan’s Sunday article on Pirates business, as well as yesterday’s Daily article.
**Spring Training Recap: Braves 11, Pirates 3
**Pirates DVR: Antwone Kelly WBC, Bubba Chandler And Anthony Solometo Live BP
**World Baseball Classic Recap: Team USA Wins Opener
**Pirates Business: Who Could Qualify for the Prospect Promotion Incentive?
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