Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training Battles: Shortstop

The start of Spring Training is just around the corner for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of baseball. Woo hoo!! This spring the Pittsburgh Pirates will have a few position battles on the roster. One of these battles will be at shortstop.

Last season, the team’s primary shortstop was Erik González. However, in 2019 Kevin Newman was the primary man at shortstop and one of the best rookie hitters in the National League. The Pittsburgh Pirates remain high on former first-round pick Cole Tucker as well.

When the offseason began González appeared to be a potential non-tender candidate. This was due to him hitting for just a .27/.255/.359 slash line with a 62 wRC+. In his career González has hit for a .250/.283/.362 slash line to go with a 68 wRC+.

What has always been so perplexing with González are his career contact rates. His career 88.5 MPH exit velocity and 39.1% hard hit rate are both better than league average. This, however, has never led to consistent MLB success for González at the plate. At this point, it appears unlikely that González will open the season as the team’s starting shortstop.

If it is not González, that leaves Tucker and Newman. What happens between those two could hinge on a potential Adam Frazier trade. If Frazier is traded before the start of the season, which still seems likely, then both Tucker and Newman are likely to start with Tucker at shortstop and Newman at second base.

Between Tucker and Newman, Tucker is the far superior defensive player. Tucker owns a +2 Defensive Runs Saved and -2 Outs Above Average at shortstop in 318.2 MLB innings at the position. As for Newman, he owns a -13 DRS and a -12 OAA in 1191.1 innings at shortstop. This could give Tucker a big leg up in the competition.

Offensively, both Tucker and Newman, despite Newman’s strong 2019 season, project as poor offensive players. Newman is a lifetime .278/.325/.384 hitter with a wRC+ of 88 in 800 MLB plate appearances. Newman’s biggest issue is a lack of quality contact. His lifetime 85.1 MPH exit velocity is 3.2 MPH below league average while his 24.8% hard hit rate is 10% below MLB average.

Even during Newman’s strong 2019 season he struggled with quality contact rates. His 85.3 MPH exit velocity and 28.3% hard hit rate were both in the bottom 5% of baseball. His 2019 season was carried largely by an unsustainable .333 batting average on balls in play.

As for Tucker, he has been plagued by the strikeout during his MLB career. In 275 career plate appearances Tucker owns a 25.8% strikeout rate, which is 4% higher than the MLB average. His 85.8 MPH exit velocity and 31.5% hard hit rate are both below league average as well. All of this has led to Tucker posting a lifetime .215/.260/.324 slash line and a wRC+ of 53.

This could leave the Pittsburgh Pirates deciding what they value most out of the shortstop position. While both Newman and Tucker are below league average hitters, Newman is the better hitter of the two. However, Tucker is the far superior defensive player.

While the Pittsburgh Pirates have a battle at shortstop this spring, odds are, whoever wins the battle will not be the long-term answer at shortstop for the organization. The long-term answer will most likely shake out as either Oneil Cruz or Liover Peguero. That said, of the options currently on the roster Tucker is the most likely to play a long-term role with the Pirates. This combined with his defensive skill could make him the front runner at shortstop entering the spring.