Pittsburgh Pirates: A Look at the Team’s Offensive Numbers

Analysis: The Pittsburgh Pirates have had trouble keeping any offensive consistency this season.  Let’s take a look at where they rank statistically so far.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had one of the most up and down offensive seasons by any team in the league this season.  The Bucs saw Andrew McCutchen start off slow and then become one of the best hitters in the league.  Even with his reemergence, the offense has still seen plenty of hiccups.  Gregory Polanco has seen consistent shoulder and hamstring issues plague his consistency at the plate.  Josh Harrison was an all-star, but is still too swing happy have any consitency.  Meanwhile, Starling Marte is still trying to get back into game form.  So all in all, where does this leave the Pittsburgh Pirates in statistical offensive categories?

Team Stats

Runners Left in Scoring Position

The Pittsburgh Pirates leave on average 3.64 runners in scoring position per game.  This ranks of 26th in baseball.  Imagine how many more wins this team would have if they rated in the middle of the pack in terms of scoring runners in scoring position.

Runs per Game

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates rank 27th in baseball in terms of runs scored per game.  The team is posting an average of 4.18 per game.  The only three teams worse than the Pirates are the  Giants, the Phillies, and the Padres.  Those three teams have worse records than the Pittsburgh PIrates, and the Giants and the Phillies have the worst records in the National League.

Strikeouts Per Game

The Pittsburgh Pirates have done a really good job of putting the ball in play this season.  They rank second in terms of having the least amount of strikeouts per game.  For the season they have averaged 7.21 strikeouts per game.  Meanwhile, the only team that has a better rate is the Houston Astros, who is one of the best offensive teams in baseball.  If there is one area the Bucs should be strong in it is strikeouts.  The Bucs have built their team based on the ability to get on base and make contact.  At least they are having success in this department.

Hits per Run Scored

The Pittsburgh Pirates rank 26th in hits per run.  This is a stat that looks at how many hits they have to get before scoring a run. The Pittsburgh Pirates take 1.99 hits for every run they score.  This is an improved from earlier in the year when they ranked in the bottom two in the league.  Still, it is not very good to be in the bottom five.  Essentially, the Bucs have to put together more hits for them to score more runs compared to other teams.

Next: Pirates Offense Needs a Makeover

As mentioned earlier, this team has a lot of inconsistent hitters on the team.  The team ranks in the bottom of a lot of important offensive categories.  If they could improve to even being around league average they could make a serious push in the NL Central.  However, every time it seems they turn things around, they find themselves regress even more.

*Stats are courtesy of Team Rankings.