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 utility man turned starting second baseman, Josh Harrison
During the offseason the Pittsburgh Pirates by trading local hero, Neil Walker to the New York Mets. This move meant that the Pirates would need a new starting second baseman. Enter Josh Harrison.
Josh Harrison has spent the bulk of his career as a super utility player. 2015 was originally supposed to be his time as he took over the starting third baseman role until an injury helped pave the way for Jung Ho Kang. 2016 was another year, another new starting position. How did the former All-Star take to his new full-time spot?
Solid Defense
When the 2016 season began, many people were excited about the defensive potential of Josh Harrison. Neil Walker has plenty of positives to his game but the defensive range wasn’t one of them. Walker wasn’t a poor defender, as much he was a limited one. For the most part, Harrison delivered on the promise of improved defense.
Neil Walker struggled with Defensive Runs Saved during his career. (DRS) His career second base total was -11DRS. Harrison was an instant improvement on that. In his first full season at the position, he saved eight runs. The team overall struggled a lot this season but Harrison did an excellent job at preventing runs. The Pirates as a team stress run prevention and Harrison was an embodiment of that. Neil Walker had a superior season at the plate, there is no arguing that but in the field Harrison wins outright.
“Clutch” with runners in scoring position
Harrison didn’t have a great season from the plate but he didn’t lack offensive value. Harrison was your man if you’re a fan of so-called clutch hitting. With Runners in Scoring Position, (RISP) he hit a very good .310/.331/.395/.726 with 53 RBIs. He was one of the betters “clutch” hitters on the team this season.
I usually find the concept of “clutch” players to be a fairly over-valued anomaly. Good hitters tend to get hits with runners in scoring position. It isn’t a strange concept but it was hard to ignore just how good Harrison was in the big spots prior to his injury. Ignoring just the overall RISP numbers, he also excelled in mid to high leverage/late game situations. In the big spots, he hit a cool .318/.330/.434/.764. He was one of the players you’d want to see up with men on and the game on the line. He may not have the reputation of a clutch hitter but he was that in 2016.
Health Issues
Josh Harrison may never match what he did in 2014 but he’s a very solid contributor to any baseball club. However, all his positives don’t mean anything if he can’t stay on the field. His 2015 season was mired by injuries and this season was cut short because of health issues as well.
Late in the season while thriving as the team’s lead-off hitter, Harrison injured his groin and that was it for the season. It’s hard to blame a player for health issues but unfortunately, it is a strike against him. Pittsburgh sports fans know all about athletes constantly getting injured. The Penguins had Beau Bennett until this year and the Steelers have Ryan Shazier. Harrison isn’t quite at their levels yet but if he misses a large chunk of time with an injury in 2017, he could earn the “injury prone” label.
Poor Plate Discipline
There are a handful of things you can always count on. Death, taxes and Josh Harrison swinging at pretty much any pitch. Harrison has never been a patient hitter and it’s unlikely he will ever change. He’s made a career out of hacking at pitches and seemingly refusing to take walks. This year was no different. Despite the team’s new on-base centric approach, Harrison saw his walk totals decrease from 19 in 2015 to 18 this season. That might not seem like a huge decrease but it dropped his walk rate from 4.2 to 3.4
Despite the team’s new on-base centric approach, Harrison saw his walk totals decrease from 19 in 2015 to 18 this season. That might not seem like a huge decrease but it dropped his walk rate from 4.2 to 3.4. Harrison drawing a walk is like seeing a shooting star, you better marvel at it because you don’t really know when it’s going to happen again. Harrison swung at a fairly 37.1 percent of pitches outside the strike zone this past season. Which is actually fairly close to his career rate of 37.7. He wasn’t any worse but it’s still frustrating to watch him swing and miss at so many poor pitches.
Conclusion and Final Grade
Josh Harrison had a tough job in 2016 as he had to replace a popular and productive local hero in Neil Walker. He wasn’t great this season but once he took over as the lead-off hitter, he actually looked more like the All-Star he was in 2014. Harrison is far from a conventional lead-off hitter. He swings at everything and refuses to draw walks but he manages to be productive. Despite his hacking approach, Harrison also never strikes out. When he is up at-bat, you can almost guarantee he will put the ball in play. That and his above-average speed makes him a relatively solid lead-off hitter.
The health is still a huge knock against him. I will still give him the benefit of the doubt for next season but if he finds himself on the DL in 2017, he will officially be injury prone, which obviously benefits no one. The good still outweighs the bad for me, so Harrison earned a B- grade for his 2016 season.
What Grade would you give Josh Harrison?
Today we continue our 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates Gradeout Series with Josh Harrison. How would you grade his 2016 season?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) October 25, 2016
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