Bryan De La Cruz, Right Field
After acquring Bryan De La Cruz at the MLB trade deadline, the Pirates have a good idea of who will be in the cleanup spot in the order. The right-handed slugger fits right in between two left-handed bats and brings a lot of power to the team.
This season, De La Cruz has hit 18 home runs, which would be tied for first on the team with Reynolds. He has also driven in 51 runs and hit another 19 doubles. His power has brought him a .418 slugging percentage, which goes with a .291 on-base percentage to make an OPS of .709. His wRC+ is a few points below average, but is still not horrible at 96.
Statcast metrics show De La Cruz could have even better numbers, but striking out has been a factor for him. His strikeout percentage is at 26.2%, but his expected slugging percentage is at .466.
The addition of De La Cruz really helps this lineup, but having him in the fourth spot will help even more.
Rowdy Tellez, First Base
Since June 1, Rowdy Tellez has been one of the best hitters in this lineup and is one of the reasons why the Pirates are above .500. His hot streak was very important to this team because, before June 1, Tellez was almost unserviceable.
This season, Tellez hasn't hit for the power he has in the past, but he still has hit nine home runs with a .692 OPS and has driven in 36 runs. His batting average is at .246, which is one of the best marks of his career, but for Tellez to be effective, he needs to hit for more power. His wRC+ is eight points below average at 92.
When Tellez begins to tap into that power, he will be dangerous. He can definitely continue to stay hot at the plate, but an increase in power will be huge for this team. Since June 1, Tellez has a .315 batting average with eight home runs and 28 runs batted in. That stretch has been very impressive, but it cannot stop there.
Consistency with Tellez is key. If he can continue to do what he has done during the summer months, then this lineup will perform even better.