Pittsburgh Pirates’ Gregory Polanco: 3 Keys to fuel 2nd half

Pittsburgh Pirates right-fielder Gregory Polanco went and had himself a series against the Cardinals. Going a combined 5-for-15 and coming through with one of the best clutch hits in Pirates history, Polanco gave himself something to feel good about going into the break.

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Many Pirates fans will tell you that they needed to see that great performance just as much as Clint Hurdle, Neal Huntington, and Polanco himself. With apologies to Pedro Alvarez and Jeff Locke, no single player is as polarizing to the fan base as Polanco. Fans see the potential. They drool over the Bucs’ trio of outfielders being lauded as the best in the game, but some cannot allow Polanco the necessary time to get there. Having been christened as a full-time starter from Day 1 of the 2015 season, Polanco has shown us the growing pains that accompany a young player in what is still only his first full year in the major leagues.

I believe that Polanco will take the Cardinals series and build on it in the second half of the season. In the process, he will show us that the potential is starting to translate to results. He will reassure us that our faith in his improvement was a good investment.

Here’s how he can do it.

1. Hunt the fastball

It is no secret that the Pittsburgh Pirates do not see as many fastballs as other teams. However, many would be surprised to learn that Polanco sees the most fastballs of any Pirates regular with at least 100 plate appearances this year. Polanco sees a fastball 59.9% of this time at the plate, higher than Pirate offensive pillars Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Neil Walker. (Apologies to Chris Stewart, who sees 62.5% and has 100 PAs, but is hardly a ‘regular’)

Polanco needs to use this to his advantage. I’m beyond certain that the Pirates analytical team is already in his ear about this, but if Polanco can sit and wait for the fastball, he can do deadly things. Polanco’s walk off against Trevor Rosenthal was a fastball low and inside. We know what Polanco did with the pitch. I was more impressed that he identified it in the first pitch of the at-bat and acted accordingly. If Polanco is going to keep seeing so many fastballs, he needs to make pitchers pay.

2. Continue to draw walks

The 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates are still struggling to draw walks. As of today, they have a walk rate of 6.9%, still well below the 8% National League average and still in the bottom third of the league at 11th overall. Despite starting the year with a 3.9% walk rate in the first month of the season, Polanco has steadily improved in drawing the free pass, with a 16.9% rate over the last 14 days – 14.3% over the last 30. This has left him with a season-long 10.1% rate, the only Pirates hitter other than McCutchen to enjoy a rate of 10% or better.

Until Josh Harrison returns from injury, Polanco is the obvious choice for a leadoff hitter. In the Cardinals series, I was more impressed with his six walks (one intentional) than anything else. If Polanco can capitalize on the free pass and couple that with his base-running ability, the top of the Pirates order can be deadly.

3. Improve against left-handed pitching

This one is obvious. Polanco is just 7-for-46 against left-handers this year for a .152 average, making it clear to all that he is still learning how to approach southpaws. This split absolutely must improve in light of Harrison’s absence. Polanco’s continued apathy towards hitting LHP forced Hurdle to do something drastic and start Jordy Mercer in the leadoff spot in an obvious worst-case scenario for the Cardinals series finale. Although in this particular game it worked out – Polanco and Mercer combined to go 5-for-9 – this is beyond undesirable for the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup.

While these three items may not seem earth shattering and may be obvious to even the casual Polanco observer, combined they can paint a full picture of a good major league hitter.

Polanco’s performance in the second half could be a key driver as the Pirates surge towards the division crown, and these three keys can unlock that enormous potential.

Next: An ode to PNC Park

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