The Pittsburgh Pirates had a disappointing 2016 season. As the off-season begins, it is time to grade out the club. Today we look at outfielder, Gregory Polanco
Entering the 2015-2016 offseason, no player had higher expectations than Gregory Polanco. He had just finished his first full Major League season and made some big steps forward.
Towards the end of the 2015 season, Polanco really hit his stride. Over the last two months of 2015 Polanco hit .301/.371/.462/.833 with four home runs and 23 RBIs. So entering 2016 many expected Polanco would take a giant step forward.
Hot Coffee to start the season
Believe it or not, the Pirates had a fairly decent start to the 2016 regular season and no player had a bigger role than Gregory Polanco. For the first half, Polanco looked like he was finally turning into the superstar player we all hoped he would be. Prior to the All-Star Break, he hit .287/.362/.500/.862 and really seemed like he finally figured it all out.
Polanco also finally saw the power develop. He hit 12 first half home runs and finally looked like a legit middle of the order threat. It was hard to fathom any major criticism of “El Coffee” for basically the entire first half of the season. In addition to the home runs, Polanco also became a doubles machine for the first half of the season. He hit 24 doubles in the first 82 games of the regular season.
2016 also saw Polanco finally become respectable against left-handed pitching. He is hardly a master against southpaws but he finished .245/.312/.469/.781 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. If Polanco is going to grow into a perennial All-Star, he needs to consistently hit lefties. He doesn’t have to have an even platoon split but he at least needs to be passable.
Second Half Swoon
As good as Polanco was during the first half of the season, he was equally as bad for the second. He could never recapture the magic he had in his bat from April until July. Following the All-Star Break, Polanco hit a poor .220/.267/.414/.682.
One of the biggest areas Polanco struggled with in the second half was plate discipline. He saw his walk rate drop from 11 percent to a poor six percent. Polanco only walked nine times in the season’s final two months. That’s actually less than he walked in the month of June when he walked 12 times. It was frustrating to watch a player completely lose his approach the way Polanco did for most of the season’s final two months.
Coupled with the poor walk rate during the second of the season was Polanco’s high strikeout rate. It stayed constant during both his hot start and poor finish. It was around 19 percent for the entire year. Which while not outrageous is still fairly high. Especially when the walk rate completely takes a nose-dive. Polanco could simply be a player with a high K-rate for his entire career but unless he can continually improve his number of walks, it will be a hindrance to his development.
You take the Good, you Take the Bad…
Gregory Polanco still has potential and could very well turn into a superstar. However, his breakout season turned into just another step in his evolution.
Entering 2016 his average OPS+ was 88, which is well below the league average of 100. In 2016 he saw that rise to 107. Entering the All-Star break his OPS+ was 131, which is very good. In the second half, he saw it regress to near his career rate of 83. So while the overall numbers look very respectable, the bad second half really hurts how many will view this season for Polanco.
Conclusion and Final Grade
Gregory Polanco had a really great start to the season before fizzling out. His season basically mirrored the Pirates. For most of the year, he really looked outstanding but couldn’t finish the job. We saw flashes of brilliance and I think plenty of signs that Polanco should continue to improve in 2017.
The power and improvements against left-handed pitching should prove to be sustainable. Polanco may never compete for a batting title but if the home runs continue to rise, we can probably live with a .260-.280 batting average. However, unless Polanco becomes a 35-40 home run caliber player, he needs to cut back on his strikeouts. I don’t see any reason why Polanco can’t improve on his plate discipline in 2017, especially if he plays more like the 2016 pre-All-Star break version.
What Grade would you give Polanco?
Agree with our grade? Disagree? Cast your vote below to let your voice be heard!
Today in our 2016 Gradeout series we turn to Gregory Polanco. What grade would you give El Coffee for his 2016 season?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) October 11, 2016
Thanks for checking us out here at Pirates Breakdown. Please make sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook for the best Pirates coverage all year long!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
