Jordy Mercer Pirates Shortstop of the Future

Sep 2, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer (10) is congratulated by third base coach Nick Leyva (16) after hitting a solo home run off of St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

On Mother’s Day 2013, Jordy Mercer roared onto the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball scene.  The shortstop had a monster weekend in New York and then was sent back to AAA Indianapolis as the Pirates wanted to avoid making “an emotional decision.”  It wasn’t much of a reward for Mercer, but the Pirates needed an extra shortstop to stay sharp and not ‘gather rust’ sitting on the Bucs bench.  I recall Neal Huntington asking me if I was comfortable with not having another shortstop available.

It was a good point, Jordy Mercer had an option, but the strategy forced the to play without their best 25 players which is something that is never acceptable for us.  The Bucs were pitching so damn well, in hindsight it was the safe move, but we couldn’t help but think the Bucs could have got a few more wins with Mercer on the roster.  Maybe it changes the year end win total, maybe not.

Last May, there wasn’t a spot for Jordy Mercer on the Pirates 25-man roster.

But unfortunately just a few days later, John McDonald, the  Pirates SAFE AUTO version of cheap shortstop insurance policies, was injured.  The Pirates were left with no choice, but to promote Jordy Mercer to the 25-man.   His six seasons in the minors were over.

The Baseball Gods are strange sometimes.  And in this instance, the Pirates were about to discover their shortstop of the “right now. ”

Jordy Mercer being his cool as hell teammate self .

Mercer hit .271 in May and then started seeing more at-bats in June, July and August (75 each month) and what do you know, the bat played!    But it was what he did in September that caught the attention of baseball fans.  Mercer put up an OPS of 1.005 thanks to his gaudy .633 slugging.

The Pirates hedged their bets this offseason and smartly signed Clint Barmes.  You know, just in case, Mercer’s production fell off the table.  In the month of April and May, it seemed like that was exactly what was happening.  But as we told Mercer when he was on the RumBunter podcast–his line drive rate was up, the Oklahoma native was hitting the ball harder than ever, the ball just was was finding the grass.

After hitting .175 in April and .225 in May, everything changed.

Since May 31, Mercer has been the hottest hitting shortstop in the league with 95 hits in 318 at bats.  #MercerTime has 17 doubles, ten bombs and has driven in 47 teammates. Since the All Star break, the average is .288 with an .801 OPS. In the month when it matters most, Mercer is making it a September to remember once again, hitting .326 with three bombs in his last ten games.

The 6’3″ 205 pounder has been durable as well playing 136 games this season.  While the Pirates have had to mix and match players at other positions, Mercer has been a rock. Advanced metrics aren’t exactly in love with Mercer at short, but his glove has been steady as the offensive production in the second half is peaking.  Especially telling is seeing him mash lefties, as he posts a .318 average against southpaws this season, although 8 of his 11 homers have come off right handers.

Add it all up, and the Pirates shortstop of the future has been under their nose all along.