Pittsburgh Pirates: Tucupita Marcano Should Play Every Day at Second Base

Even with a slight slump at the plate in recent games, Tucupita Marcano has done nothing but provide both an offensive and defensive spark for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Some times people have to admit when they are wrong. When it comes to the Pittsburgh Pirates and their trade of Adam Frazier last summer, I must admit that I was wrong for my initial reaction to the deal.

Trading Frazier was the 100% correct move to make, he was at peak value and is set to hit free agency following this season. However, when the return was first announced many folks, myself included, were not thrilled with the return. Well, that trade is looking like it could be a strong one for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In addition to Jack Suwinski, who leads all NL rookies in home runs, the key piece for the Pirates in the trade was Tucupita Marcano. Marcano is a player that Ben Cherington had long coveted and that he attempted to acquire in the Joe Musgrove trade, but at the time San Diego was not willing to part with him.

Marcano saw MLB time with the Padres last season, but this came after he had not previously played above the High-A level. This led to the Pittsburgh Pirates having him spend the rest of the season after he was acquired at Triple-A, before starting this season with Double-A Altoona.

Marcano got a cup of tea with the Pirates when they needed players in a pinch after Bryan Reynolds and Cole Tucker were placed on the COVID-IL in April. In that trip to the majors Marcano was 1-for-2 with a doubled.

After returning to Altoona and putting up impressive offensvie numbers, Marcano earned a promotion back to the majors in late May. It looks like Marcano is now playing his way into staying in the majors permanently, and he should be the every day second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Overall this season Marcano has hit for a .262/.318/.410 slash line to go with a 106 wRC+ in 68 MLB plate appearances. He has walked at a 7.5% clip, has hit a pair of home runs, 3 doubles, and has an isolated slugging (ISO) of .148.

Those offensvie numbers are more than respectable, especially for a 22-year-old rookie seeing his first extended MLB action. His numbers also looked even stronger before going 1-for-13 the previous three games. Such is life with a small sample size.

Not only have Marcano’s offensvie results been good enough to continue to earn regular playing tine, he may be a big part of the team’s future. The only way to truly find that out is by playing him with regularity.

Marcano has also been a strong defender at second base. He has been responsible for both a +2 Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average at second base. Marcano has also very much passed the eye test defensively at second base. Nearly every game he seems to make at least one above average play at second.

As long as Ji-Hwan Bae remains at Triple-A the Pittsburgh Pirates options for second base are limited. Yu Chang can play the position, but the less at-bats he receives the better. Michael Chavis can play there as well, but, right now, Chavis is essentially the team’s every day first baseman. This leaves Marcano. With Marcano performing well both at the plate and in the field, he should be the team’s every day second baseman moving forward.