Pirates 2012 Opposing Starting Pitcher Efficiency

The Pirates offense is off to a slow start to the 2012 season – and that might be an understatement. They have faced some good starters, sure, but they have had a lot of trouble putting together good at-bats. You can see in the graphic above that Pirates batters have seen just 3.68 pitches per at-bat against opposing starters. As a team they have sen 13.44 pitches per inning. Opposing hurlers also aren’t afraid to throw the ball in the hitting zone to these guys, throwing 9.13 of those 13.44 pitches for strikes.

A big key for a big league offense is to get to the other team’s bullpen quick, and the Pirates are going to have a ton of trouble doing that this year if they continue to see less than four pitches per at-bat. They have drawn just seven walks this season, and they have struck out 45 times.

These numbers are bound to come up, and the offense will eventually improve. However, it’s going to have to improve a serious amount before the Pirates can be considered possible contenders or anything close to it.

I’ll be keeping this data for awhile longer, and you can keep updated with the numbers here, on The “Mc” Effect, and on my twitter (@McEffect).