Struggling Pirates outfielder is changing the narrative with recent heater

Over this long stretch of games where the Pirates have scored less than four runs, there has not been a lot to be excited about offensively. One bright spot in May, though, has been Alexander Canario, a guy who went from playing once a week to everyday once Don Kelly was promoted.

Canario has made the most of this increased playing time by going on a seven-game hit streak. That ended in Game 2 against the Phillies, but responded with a hit again in Game 3. There have been only two games this month where he has gone hitless, notching a hit in 11 out of 13 games. Three of those games have involved multiple hits.

This hot streak has built up an impressive statline in May. Canario is batting .326 with two home runs and five RBI. His OPS climbed to .895, coming from a solid slugging percentage of .512 and .383 on-base percentage. Additionally, he adds a 148 wRC+ and a poor strikeout rate of 27.7%.

This heater is completely different from what he did at the plate in April. His wRC+ was all the way down to -2 with an OPS of .352. That was a very small sample size of just 27 at-bats, but whathe showed in a limited sample justified keeping him on the bench. Now that he has completely shifted the narrative, he has really been an everyday player. That is just what the Pirates have needed.

Alexander Canario has been a bright spot for the Pirates with May hot streak.

Given how bad Tommy Pham has been, the Pirates needed someone to take his place as the everyday left fielder. Bryan Reynolds is also off to a slow start, but his resurgence feels much more likely than Pham's. There also aren't great reinforcements down in Triple-A, so the Pirates desperately need Canario to remain consistent in this role.

A starting outfield of Canario, Reynolds, and Oneil Cruz is not terrible. This offense, as a unit, has just been ... the worst, so they need to prioritize whoever is getting hits at the moment. Canario is just that guy, and Kelly has consistently played him. Hopefully he does not follow Derek Shelton's preferred path and pick the wrong favorites, like a struggling Pham early on.