Pittsburgh Pirates 3B Kang Ranked Eighth in MLB Network’s Top 10 Right Now

This offseason, Pirates Breakdown will take a look at the ranking of any Pittsburgh Pirates that make the MLB Network’s Top 10 Right Now list. Today we will take a look the rankings for the hot corner.

MLB Network kicked off their Top 10 Right Now list this past weekend with rankings for second and third base. The man who holds down the hot corner for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jung Ho Kang, found himself ranked eighth overall entering 2017 according to “The Shredder”, which compares past performance and projects a future based on that. . This should come as no surprise given what he did in his limited time on the field last summer and the potential he has coming into this third year with Pittsburgh.

While Kang’s batting average did drop in his second season with the Pirates, he saw improvements in many other offensive categories last season. In 103 less at-bats last season, he hit six more home runs compared to 2015 total. He cut 20 strike outs from his season total and added six more walks which contributed to a 51 point rise in OPS.

This seems like a very fair ranking for Kang. He has shown flashes of brilliance on both sides of the ball with the Pirates, but he has made some very questionable decisions off the field, including multiple DUIs in South Korea that the Pittsburgh Pirates were not aware of before signing him. But when on the field he has been an integral part of the team’s success.

One point to note, while “The Shredder” had Kang ranked eighth, host Brian Kenny has him ninth while both Mike Lowell and the Fan Vote neglected to include him in their respective lists.  But the game isn’t played on paper, so hopefully Kang can build off of last season’s numbers and put together a strong and productive year.

If Kang can stay healthy, I definitely think that he is a threat to his 25 home runs over the course of a season. He gives the Pirates a legitimate power threat in the middle of the lineup. Hopefully the last few newsworthy incidences are the end of a bad stretch and he realizes the potential he has with the Pirates. He could be a major impact player in 2017.

Complete “Shredder” Third Base Rankings

1. Josh Donaldson
2. Kris Bryant
3. Manny Machado
4. Nolan Arenado
5. Justin Turner
6. Adrian Beltre
7. Kyle Seager
8. Kang
9. Anthony Rendon
10. Evan Longoria

Image credit – Daniel Decker Photography