Pirates are getting huge value from the bat nobody talks about

For much of the 2026 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ lineup conversation has revolved around bigger names and louder storylines.

Konnor Griffin’s arrival generated national attention. Oneil Cruz continues to hit baseballs into another dimension. Bryan Reynolds carries the expectations that come with a franchise cornerstone. Ryan O’Hearn emerged as one of the club’s most important offseason additions before his injury.

And quietly, almost in the background, Spencer Horwitz has become one of the Pirates’ most valuable offensive contributors.

That might not sound flashy for a player whose profile doesn’t exactly scream modern power hitter. In fact, many of Horwitz's underlying power metrics are objectively poor. He ranks in just the seventh percentile in average exit velocity, eighth percentile in hard-hit rate and 11th percentile in bat speed.

But Horwitz keeps producing anyway. Because while baseball continues to obsess over raw power, Horwitz excels at something that still matters immensely: winning plate appearances.

Through 42 games, Horwitz is slashing .273/.383/.414 with a .797 OPS while posting more walks than strikeouts. His .383 on-base percentage ranks 21st in Major League Baseball, and that ability to consistently reach base has quietly stabilized the bottom half of Pittsburgh’s lineup.

He doesn’t chase often. He rarely swings and misses. He consistently squares baseballs up despite lacking overwhelming raw tools. The advanced metrics paint the picture of a hitter who simply understands how to survive — and thrive — in today’s pitching environment.

Pirates found the perfect Spencer Horwitz role and it's already paying off

Horwitz's value becomes even more apparent when looking at how dramatically his season has turned around.

Horwitz stumbled out of the gate, hitting just .217/.339/.304 through his first 17 games. At the time, it looked fair to wonder whether the Pirates had a bat-first player without enough impact in the bat.

But ever since his three-hit performance against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 17, Horwitz has looked like one of the most reliable hitters in the Pirates’ lineup, slashing .305/.408/.476 with an .884 OPS over his last 25 games. Over that stretch, he has walked 15 times while striking out only 11.

This has shades of a hitter fully settling into his identity — and maybe that identity makes more sense now than it did a year ago.

In 2025, Horwitz was asked to be something he probably never should have been: a middle-of-the-order offensive savior in one of baseball’s weakest lineups. This season, the Pirates finally have enough lineup depth for him to simply be a complementary piece. And that role fits him perfectly.

Spencer Horwitz may never look like a prototypical first baseman. But as a disciplined, professional at-bat machine hitting sixth or seventh every night, he has quietly become exactly the kind of player winning teams need.

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