2016 Pittsburgh Pirates look to continue victimizing relievers

The 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates hit very well in their first plate appearances against relief pitchers. Can that trend continue in 2016?

One of the most tried-and-true axioms in baseball is the importance of getting to the bullpen early.

This truth may be more evident for the 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates than for any other club.

When I took a look at the keys to a successful encore for Francisco Cervelli, I noticed that he had a great slashline throughout 2015 when facing a reliever for the first time. Cervelli enjoyed a .923 OPS and collected nearly one-third of his 43 RBIs in this scenario.

The dominance wasn’t just limited to the Pirates’ backstop. These team batting statistics show how the team “welcomed” relief pitchers in 2015.

The Pittsburgh Pirates clearly enjoyed seeing a new pitcher come into the game, which carries even more weight after considering that the club saw fewer pitches than they would have liked. In 2015, the MLB team average for P/PA (Pitches seen per plate appearance) was 3.82.

Among Pirates regulars, only Andrew McCutchen had a P/PA of 4 or greater, coming in at 4.05 for the season. As per Sporting Charts, this ranked 24th in all of baseball. Cervelli was next with a rating of  3.91, good for 55th. Gregory Polanco was the third-highest ranking Pirate landing at number 67 with a 3.87 figure.

Overall, the Pirates ended the season having seen 3.79 pitches for each trip to the plate.

While a .03 difference from the average may not seem like a large margin, the true tale is told when noting that the team had nearly 200 more plate appearances than the average – 6305 against the average of 6135. Taking nearly 450 more strikes than the average, the overall picture of the 2015 Pirates shows the club could still fall into some free-swinging ways.

Manager Clint Hurdle agrees. In talking to reporters after a recent spring workout, Hurdle noted that their approach could loosen at times.

“We tell our guys that if we strike out nine times per game, that’s three innings of watching our opponents play catch.” Hurdle said.

If the Pirates can find their way to more pitches per at-bat, the benefits run deeper than simply chasing a starting pitcher from the mound. It’s important to note that the statistics listed above not only represent statistics against the first reliever in against them, but rather the first plate appearance against any reliever.

A singular, focused approach to seeing more pitches and getting on base could also lead to more chased relievers. Many Pirate regulars enjoyed stat lines similar to Cervelli’s.

Much has been made this off-season about the team’s attempts to imitate the Kansas City Royals’ hitting approach. In emulating the champs’ ability to get on-base and reduce strikeouts, the 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates may continue to forge an identity that is uniquely their own.

They are quickly gaining a reputation as a team that no reliever wants to face.

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