These 2 Pirates need to step up immediately to ignite second-half offense

The Pittsburgh Pirates will enter the second half of the 2024 season with some momentum after taking two of three against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers before completing a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox heading into the All-Star break.

That said, they are sitting at .500 (48-48) after the break, and the rest of this season can go one of two ways. One of the most obvious ways for the Pirates to avoid a second-half free fall is to get more pop out of their batting lineup, whose first-half performance was uninspiring to say the least.

Entering the All-Star break, the Pirates ranked 27th in the league in batting average (.231), on-base percentage (.299) and OPS (.669). They are also in the bottom-10 in both runs scored (402) and home runs (99). Even with an electric starting rotation led by a flame-throwing rookie who has taken the baseball world by storm, Pittsburgh doesn't have a prayer of making any sort of meaningful postseason run with offensive numbers like those.

A trade acquisition could provide a spark to the offense, but there's no reason to believe Pittsburgh will be making any big, splashy moves ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Therefore, the Pirates will be looking for some dramatically improved performances from some of their internal options.

Pirates need slumping Jack Suwinski, Ke'Bryan Hayes to start hitting in the second half

While Pittsburgh can benefit from more hitting throughout the lineup, there are two players in particular who can make a significant impact if they are able to turn around their sluggish starts to the season: outfielder Jack Suwinski and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes.

Suwinski's free fall this season has been devastating to the Pirates' batting lineup. After leading the team in home runs and OPS in 2023, he is currently hitting just .174 with nine homers through 83 games.

Hayes, meanwhile, is slashing an abysmal .244/.297/.311. He ended the first half of the season on a hot streak, however, batting .400 (12-for-30) over his final eight games. He had three consecutive multi-hit games against the White Sox, including a 3-for-5 performance with two RBI in Sunday’s 9-4 win. To be fair, though, it was the White Sox.

Last year, Hayes broke out in the second half and finished the season at a respectable .271/.309/.453, in addition to winning his first Gold Glove at third base. If he can replicate his production from the end of the 2023 season, the Pirates are a different team.

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