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Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Goals For Center Field This Season

By Cody Potanko

VENICE, FLORIDA - MARCH 09: Anthony Alford #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates swings at a pitch during the second inning against the Atlanta Braves during a spring training game at CoolToday Park on March 09, 2021 in Venice, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
VENICE, FLORIDA - MARCH 09: Anthony Alford #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates swings at a pitch during the second inning against the Atlanta Braves during a spring training game at CoolToday Park on March 09, 2021 in Venice, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /
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MESA, AZ – February 24: Dustin Fowler #11 of the Oakland Athletics bats during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Hohokam Stadium on February 24, 2020 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
MESA, AZ – February 24: Dustin Fowler #11 of the Oakland Athletics bats during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Hohokam Stadium on February 24, 2020 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /

Goal Number Two – Improved Power

The next thing I want to see from center fielders for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season is a decent amount of power. Alford, for example, isn’t your prototypical Mike Trout, but he does offer you a good amount of extra-base hits and solid hit balls. Alford’s FanGraphs report has his raw power at a 60 grade along with his game power at a 40 grade. Just last year, between three levels, had around 37% of his 83 hits go for extra bases Alford also carried an above-average ISO of .152.

Fowler, in my opinion, is a better option for power even though in 2018, he had a slightly lower raw power at 55 and had plus game power at a 50 future value. 2019 with Oakland’s Triple-A team he hit a career-high 25 home runs along with 22 doubles and 7 triples. His average exit velocity is a very good 91 MPH, and he also had a great ISO of .200.

Goodwin does have some pop. During the 2020 season, even though he had just 31 hits, about 52% of those hits resulted in an extra base hit. If you want a more realistic number, we can look to 2019, where he hit 108 times and had 49 extra base hits which averages out to around 45% of the time. Goodwin does have some pop, don’t get me wrong, I just don’t think he will make the team.

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