Pittsburgh Pirates’ shortstop Jordy Mercer has simply been on fire as of late.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a legitimate offensive standout at shortstop recently. That’s the only way to put it.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have had to notice that it’s not just Andrew McCutchen who has heated up for a big way. Mercer has as well.
Mercer entered play on May 22 sporting a .203 batting average, leaving many Pittsburgh Pirates fans wondering how long it would take the organization to find an upgrade at the position.
But since then Mercer has been hitting the cover off the ball. Since May 22, Mercer has hit .388, which tops all players in the National League. He also has shown some pop, slugging .641, which is the eighth best mark in the NL.
Overall he is slashing .283/.359/.426. Those aren’t bad numbers at all, some of the best of Mercer’s career. They look even better considering he was nearing the Mendoza Line just one month ago.
The interesting part of Mercer’s hot streak isn’t exactly how well he has been swinging the bat, but who he has been getting hits against. Known as a guy who rakes against left-handed pitching, things has been totally opposite for Mercer in the past month as he has been having most of his success against right-handed pitching.
So what has changed?
Change in approach?
Mercer has said his approach hasn’t changed.
But something has. The 30-year old simply hasn’t performed very well against right-handed pitching during his five-year career.
From 2014-2016 Mercer put up a combined .241/.296/.344 slash line against RHP. Yet this year he currently is sporting a .326/.394/.481 line. And those numbers include a very slow start. Had Mercer gotten off to a decent start for the season’s first two months, his numbers would be even better.
One thing that has changed, and this dates back to last season, is that Mercer is a more patient hitter at the plate. In 2016 Mercer posted an 8.7 percent walk rate, which was the best number of his career. This season that number has climbed to 10.6 percent. The strikeouts have been down as well. Mercer sported a 17 percent strike out rate in 2015 and dropped that number to 14.2 percent last year.
This year he is a little higher than that at 15.4 percent, but that number was at 14.6 percent heading into the Milwaukee series before striking out four times in three games.
He’s not chasing as much and he is getting his pitch and putting good swings on the ball.
Southpaws?
Now that Mercer has shown the ability to hit right-handed pitching well, he should still be able to put up good numbers against left-handed pitching like he has always done.
Not so fast.
The impressive part about Mercer’s hot streak and overall numbers is that he has done absolutely nothing against southpaws. Mercer was a player that Clint Hurdle had no problem batting leadoff against LHP. And why not, after posting a combined .293/.361/.434 line from 2014-16. Yet this season Mercer has only put up a .140/.246/.246 line against southpaws. That’s not a typo, Mercer has a .492 OPS against left-handed pitching compared to an .875 OPS against right handers.
If he can get back on track against LHP while continuing to have success against RHP, Mercer should easily finish the year by putting up the best numbers of his career.
Great Contact
Part of Mercer’s success against RHP has to do with the fact that he is making much better contact overall. Mercer is sporting a 22.5 percent line drive rate and a 29.2 hard contact rate. Both of those numbers are career highs. Add in the fact that he has been walking more and Mercer has put up a career best .356 OBP as well.
It has also led to an increase in power.
He is slugging .426 on the season and I already mentioned the .641 SLG during the past month, which saw him club four homers. Mercer sits with six homers on the season now and is on pace for a career-high 14. That’s not bad from a guy that generally isn’t counted on to put up big numbers.
Clutch
Another big aspect of Mercer’s hot streak is how he has performed in the clutch. With RISP he has hit .316/.458/.386.
Mercer has also had 37 at bats in what have been deemed late inning pressure situations. In those spots he has put up a whopping .378/.395/.595 line. Those clutch situation numbers are among the best on the entire Pittsburgh Pirates team.
Mercer has also done all of this while having his best year defensively as well.
It’s tough to say whether Mercer can sustain the success with the bat or if this is just maybe his best hot streak of his career. But if he can, his bat will be invaluable to the Pirates lineup as they attempt to climb up the National League Central standings.
Image Credit – Daniel Decker Photography
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