Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s biggest flaw continues to haunt Pirates in loss to Marlins

After winning four straight, the Pirates fell to the Marlins in a heartbreaking finish on Tuesday when they stranded two runners on with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning down a run. Losing that game 3-2 was extremely frustrating, espeically following a game where they scored 10 runs. Mitch Keller tossed another quality start, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa's biggest deficiency put him in position for his ninth loss on the year.

This loss shouldn't be blamed entirely on Kiner-Falefa, but his defense has been extremely underwhelming this season, and it showed once again on Tuesday night. When acquired at the 2024 trade deadline, Pittsburgh was expecting Gold Glove-caliber defense with a slightly below-average bat. Nearly halfway through the year, it has been the complete opposite, with Kiner-Falefa posting an above-average season with the bat with a 103 wRC+ and struggling defensively at shortstop.

Shortstop has never been a primary position for Kiner-Falefa, and that is showing with his -4 OAA. That ranks in the bottom 10% of the league, but surprisingly enough, that is not the flaw that hurt the Pirates once again on Tuesday. His below-average arm at shortstop did them in.

In the fourth inning, Otto Lopez hit a routine 91.2 mph grounder right to him and beat the throw out. It wasn't a bang-bang play, either; Lopez beat it out by an entire step on a routine groundball that was hit fairly hard. With two outs, he scored on a single to centerfield. Even with an error on the play, Lopez should have never been on in the first place, which ultimately led to the Marlins' third run scoring. It came around to bite the Pirates, of course, as they lost 3-2.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa's arm has been his biggest flaw and it hurt the Pirates again in loss to Marlins.

On average, Kiner-Falefa throws the ball 79.2 mph. That ranks in the 21st percentile and is really unproductive. Jared Triolo tosses it across the diamond at 85.3 mph, and that is about average. A six mph difference is a major gap and could change a ballgame, just like this one.

Kiner-Falefa is undoubtedly hitting well enough to stay in the lineup everyday, but him being at shortstop is hurting the Pirates. On the contending team he lands on at the trade deadline, Kiner-Falefa will likely handle third and second base. If it weren't for Oneil Cruz struggling at shortstop last season, Kiner-Falefa likely would be the main utility guy on the Pirates' roster, and that is exactly the role he should be in.