The ideal Pittsburgh Pirates lineup when June begins

Second base: Nick Gonzales

Nick Gonzales made a big splash in his first game of 2025, hitting a home run. Unfortunately, he suffered a non-displaced ankle fracture after hitting said home run. Losing Gonzales just a single game into 2025 was a significant blow to the lineup, not just in terms of depth and reliability, but in overall confidence and morale, as the infielder's development had been a silver lining in a disappointing 2024 season.

The former first-round pick batted .270/.311/.398 through 387 plate appearances. He only walked 4.7% of the time with a 34.1% chase rate, but struck out in just 19.1% of his plate appearances with a whiff rate of 24.9%. Gonzales only hit seven home runs with an .128 isolated slugging percentage, but his 7.9% barrel rate and .407 xSLG% suggested there might be more power to come. Overall, he had a .307 wOBA and 94 wRC+.

This was a big step forward for Gonzales, who struggled with strikeouts in the minor leagues and in his brief taste of big league action in 2023. It also helps that Gonzales looked solid with the glove. DRS didn't love his work up the middle (he registered at -4), but UZR/150 and OAA did, pinning him at +5.7 and +2, respectively.

The Pirates have gotten good defense, but inconsistent offense from second base since Gonzales hit the injured list. Bringing him back into the fold will help the Pirates' depth chart significantly, take some pressure off of both Adam Frazier and Jared Triolo, and get a good glove with the potential to be a good hitter back into the lineup.

Third Base: Ke'Bryan Hayes

After a very promising 2023 season where Hayes finally looked like he turned a corner, the third baseman regressed, likely with most of his struggles originating from a herniated disc. Hayes hasn't gotten off to a hot start to the year, but at the very least, he's shown he's back at full strength on the field.

Hayes is only hitting .260/.309/.325 with a .286 wOBA, and 77 wRC+ through his first 166 plate appearances. He's not striking out much, and has an 18.7% K% while being in the 66th percentile of whiff rate. His chase rate is in the 58th percentile at 26.2%, but hasn't drawn many walks, with a 5.7% BB%. 

Hayes's back injuries last year limited his raw strength. His exit velocity fell from a career-high 92.2 MPH mark in 2023 to just 88.9 MPH last year. He's back up to his career norm at 91 MPH, but his barrel rate is only in the 26th percentile at 5.1%. For what it's worth, he hasn't had any problems lifting the ball this year with a 10.2-degree launch angle. He could definitely benefit from trying to pull the ball more, which is what led to his successful 2023. Right now, he's been an all-fields hitter.

Defensively, Hayes has been as good as ever. He already has +3 defensive runs saved and +4 outs above average at third base. He is tied with Matt Chapman for the highest OAA mark among all third basemen. He'll likely be a Gold Glove finalist by the end of this year, at the very least, if not win his second one.

Hayes still has the potential for more offense. He hits the ball hard, makes good swing decisions, and doesn't swing and miss at a high rate. He's even lifting the ball more frequently than in previous seasons, except for 2023.