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Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Rum Bunter Staff Preview: Marty Leap
By Marty Leap
Worst Position Group – Shortstop
The good news is the Pittsburgh Pirates have multiple options for the shortstop position this season. The bad news is, they may lack any good options. Due to this, shortstop will be the team’s worst position group this season.
With both Erik González and Kevin Newman performing well offensively, the battle at shortstop is starting to heat up. The problem is both players have plenty of question marks around their offensive abilities.
González owns a .250/.283/.362 slash line and a wRC+ of 68 in 624 MLB plate appearances. While Newman had a strong rookie campaign in 2019 his lifetime .278/.325/.384 slash line and 88 wRC+ are both below league average. Newman’s lifetime 85.1 MPH exit velocity, 24.8% hard hit rate and 1.7% barrel rate are all well below league average as well.
To go with his offensive struggles, Newman is also a poor defensive shortstop. While González is a plus defender at the position, his offense is far too poor to play on a daily basis at the Major League level.
Cole Tucker entered Spring Training in the mix at shortstop as well, but due to a thumb issue he has only appeared in one game. Tucker also has minor league options remaining, which makes it likely he will not start the roster on the active roster. Additionally, Tucker, like González, is a plus defender but very poor offensive player.
Thankfully, the Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of shortstop talent in the farm system. The problem is, out side of potentially Oneil Cruz late in the season, none of these players will reach the Majors in 2021 making shortstop the team’s worst position this season.