Pittsburgh Pirates: Reason For Optimism With Josh Bell

Despite struggling at the plate in 2020, there is still reason for optimism with Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Josh Bell moving forward.

There is no doubt about, 2020 did not go as Josh Bell had planned. Neither he nor the Pittsburgh Pirates envisioned him struggling the slugger struggling the way that he did during the shortened 2020 season.

After mashing 37 home runs and posting a 135 wRC+ on his way to being a National League All-Star and participating in the MLB Home Run Derby in 2019, Bell took a step backward in 2020. He hit for just a .226/.305/.364 slash line to go with a 78 wRC+. His isolated power (ISO) dropped from .292 to .138, while his strikeout rate rose from 19.2% to 26.5%.

Despite Bell’s struggles, there is still reason for optimsim moving forward. Fans should expect the talented slugger to bounce back in 2021. The reason for this was due to the fact Bell still crushed the baseball during the 2020 season.

Bell had an average exit velocity of 91.7 MPH in his 223 plate appearances this past season. This is more than 3 MPH higher than the league average exit velocity, and put him in the 88th percentile of baseabll in exit velocity.

There was also plenty of hard contact being made by Bell. He owned a 42.9% hard hit rate in 2020. While this dropped from his 47.2% hard hit rate he had in 2019, it was still 8% higher than the MLB average. His hard hit rate was in the 70th percentile in baseball.

Barrel rate was another number that dropped for Bell from 2019, but remained strong. After barreling the ball up at a 12.7% rate in 2019, this number fell to 8.6% in 2020. However, that is still a barrel rate that is more than 2% higher than the MLB average barrel rate.

If a player continues to hit the ball the way Bell did in 2020 over an extended period of time, they will find success at the plate. It is that simple. It is impossible to crush the ball the way Bell did in 2020 and not eventually start to see the results.

Late in the 2020 season, Bell and the Pittsburgh Pirates could already see this starting to come to fruition. In his final 77 plate appearances of the season he hit for a .288/.377/.485 slash line to go with a .197 ISO and a 128 wRC+. This also led to opposing pitchers once again fearing Bell more, as his walk rate rose to 11.7%. The increased walk rate could likely also be chalked up to Bell regainign confidence, feeling more comfortable and being more patient at the plate.

If Bell continues to crush the baseball in 2021 the way he did in 2020, his results at the plate will improve. Bell has always been a batter that hits the ball hard, and, despite his overall struggles, this did not change in 2020. It is also reason for optimism moving forward for Bell and the Pittsburgh Pirates.