Pittsburgh Pirates: A Look at the Opening Day Lineup

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Clint Hurdle have posted their Opening Day lineup. The lineup shows a continually adapting organization that is ready to embrace the 2017 season.

The Pirates have posted their Opening Day roster against Boston, with the first pitch scheduled at 2:05 PM. The lineup is as follows:

1. Adam Frazier LF

2. Starling Marte CF

3. Andrew McCutchen RF

4. Gregory Polanco DH

5. David Freese 3B

6. Francisco Cervelli C

7. Josh Bell 1B

8. Josh Harrison 2B

9. Jordy Mercer SS

My first take is that this is a great Opening Day lineup.

Adam Frazier has an extremely hot bat coming out of Spring Training with a .403 BA and a .471 OBP. Having him lead off shows that Hurdle is not entering the 2017 season with a set game plan that he will not budge from. He is willing to work a hot bat into the lineup no matter what. By starting Frazier in left field, Hurdle also allows Polanco to rest his ailing shoulder.

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Putting Starling Marte in the number two spot is truly a surprise – most Pirates analysis has had Marte hitting clean-up. I believe that having Marte hitting second is an interesting notion that could pay huge dividends. We know that Marte has speed and singles-hitting potential, we hope that he finds some of the power that he was missing last season. Until Marte shows that he has the power of a clean-up hitter this season, the Pirates should continue to use his obvious skill set in the number two spot.

With Marte not hitting clean-up, Polanco gets a chance to lock down the four spot for the rest of his tenure as a Pirate. Polanco has shown raw power but potentially lacks the RBI-hunting-consistency that a manager would like from a clean-up hitter. If Polanco can find this consistency, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have a very talented clean-up hitter for many years to come.

Next: A Look at Division Rival Cubs

The only other important note from today’s lineup that sticks out to me, is Josh Bell hitting seven. I like that Clint is sending the message to Bell, that even though Bell is coming off of an injury and did not bat well in Spring Training, the Pirates want him playing every day. At the same time, Hurdle recognizes that Bell may not be ready yet to sit in the 2 spot that seems to best suit his batting style.

Here comes the 2017 season, let’s go Bucs!