Pittsburgh Pirates: Four Noteworthy Underlying 2022 Stats

The Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of players who could improve next season, and these four could take a step forward because of some promosing underling numbers.

There are plenty of ways to evaluate major league baseball players. In today’s game of baseball, the stuff you typically find on the back of a player’s baseball card aren’t at the forefront of many fan’s minds. There’s plenty of underlying numbers that are becoming much more popular in today’s sport.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of players who have an underlying number that could help them significantly in 2023. There are ways the Pirates can take advantage of these, as they could have the player adjust or, with new rules, take advantage of something that is now implemented in the game.

Jack Suwisnki – 12.2% barrel rate

Barrel rate is any baseball hit at least 98 MPH and between the 26-30 degree launch angle range. The launch angle range increases every 1.0 MPH added. While exit velocity and hard-hit rate might measure how often a batter hits a ball hard, barrel rate measures how often they make quality contact. Last season, Jack Suwinski had a barrel rate of 12.2%.

Jack Suwinski turned in a respectable year at the dish, slashing .202/.298/.411. The rookie outfielder hit 19 home runs in just 372 plate appearances with a .209 isolated slugging percentage. He was about as close to league average as you can get. Suwinski had a .709 OPS, .311 wOBA, and 100 wRC+, compared to the league average of .706 OPS, .310 wOBA, and 100 wRC+.

Suwinski only had an 88.3 MPH exit velocity and 40.4% hard-hit rate, which, again, were very close to the league average marks of 88.4 MPH and 35.8%. However, what he shined in was barrel rate at 12.2%. This was in the top 86th percentile. There were a total of 39 players in 2022 with at least 300 plate appearances and a 12%+ barrel rate. Of those 39, only Suwinski, Gary Sanchez, Patrick Wisdom, Luke Voit, Christopher Morel, Max Muncy, Ryan Mountcastle, and Joey Gallo had a sub-110 wRC+.

Now the difference between a 100 wRC+ batter and a 100 wRC+ batter might not seem like a major difference, but that’s the difference between Suwinski and Jake Cronenworth or Rowdy Tellez. It’s a decent step forward. Some of those hard-hit baseballs that fielders snagged in the shift may also help Suwinski. After all, he was shifted on 71.2% of the time in 2022. How many more hard-hit baseballs will be more difficult to make an out on with the limited shifting and Suwinski’s raw power? It should surely help him in 2023.

Robert Stephenson – 44.4% Slider Whiff Rate

Calculating whiff is pretty simple. It’s the number of swings and misses divided by the number of total swings taken. Robert Stephenson stands out with a 44.4% whiff rate on his slider, making it a truly deadly weapon. Stephenson made some major adjustments to his pitching repertoire with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and it worked out well for him after the acquisition.

It was only 13 total innings, but Stephenson held batters to a .170 batting average and .264 wOBA with his slider. There were only 13 pitchers in 2022 that faced 100+ batters and had a whiff rate of 44% or higher, and Stephenson was one of them. With a 44.4% whiff rate, you’re talking about a pitch that gets more swings and misses than Gerrit Cole’s slider or Dylan Cease’s slider.

So how can the Pirates take advantage of this? Well, it looks like they already have. Stephenson’s slider usage rate was just 45% during his time with the Colorado Rockies. However, after the Pirates claimed Stephenson off waivers, he used his slider nearly 70% of the time (69.4%, to be exact). He used his fastball a whole lot less as well, going from 53.6% to just 28.2%. There’s a good reason, as while his slider was nasty, his fastball was demolished to a .459 wOBA.

That big change in pitch arsenal will significantly work in Stephenson’s favor next season. Batters can’t hit his slider, and using it about three-quarters of the time seems like a no-brainer move. Sure, his fastball still isn’t great, but he also started to re-incorporate his curveball into the mix, which could even further lessen his four-seamer usage.

Dauri Moreta – .103 Opponent Batting Average On Slider

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Dauri Moreta from the Cincinnati Reds for Kevin Newman. Moreta was a rookie in 2022 but struggled. The right-hander pitched 38.1 innings, posting a 5.40 ERA and 5.80 FIP. But there were positives, including his 24.4% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate, and 1.17 WHIP. There were plenty of positives to draw from Moreta’s season that the surface numbers don’t tell you, but what I want to focus on here is his slider.

When Moreta threw his slider, he held opponents to just a .103 batting average. Now sure, batting average is far from the best indicator of success, but .103 is out of this world amazing, no matter how you spin it. But it’s not as if he gave up a ton of extra bases in the few times opponents did make contact.

Moreta’s slider also held opponents to a .207 slugging percentage and .200 wOBA, along with a 25% hard-hit rate. If you thought Stephenson’s 44.4% slider whiff rate was great, wait until you see Moreta’s. He had an even greater 48.9% rate. That made it the 28th hardest slider to make contact within 2022.

Like with Stephenson, the Pittsburgh Pirates can take advantage of this by simply having Moreta throw his slider more. Moreta’s sinker ran him into a ton of trouble in 2022. It’s either a pitch he should work on immensely or drop entirely. If he does decide to drop it entirely, his slider should become one of his most-used pitches in 2023. There’s no questioning that it was one of the best of its kind during his rookie campaign.