Pittsburgh Pirates 2B Josh Harrison is enjoying a productive season in many ways
Josh Harrison recorded most of his at bats as the lead off man for the Pirates in 2014, his breakout All-Start campaign. 357 of his 520 at bats came from the top spot of the order. Even though he had success as a lead off man, Harrison is not a top of the order player by trade. While batting lead off for the Pirates that year, Harrison struck out 50 time while drawing 15 walks.
He came back down to earth in 2015 while still batting lead off before his return from an injury to his thumb. He still posted a fair batting average with a .276 clip. However, he struck out 45 times in 268 at bats,. 16.8 percent rate. On its own merit, that is not a horrible rate, but coupled with a very low 4.2 percent walk rate, Harrison was a feast-or-famine type of player in 2015.
2016 has brought a different role for Harrison. The Pirates developed a high on base percentage approach with their new lead off hitter, John Jaso. With Jordy Mercer and now, presumably, David Freese manning the leadoff spot against RHP, the majority of Harrison’s at bats have come in spots lower in the order. 123 of his 135 at bats have come in the six spot or later.
[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#000000″ class=”” size=””]Though he has low strikeout rates, Harrison likes to swing the bat.[/pullquote]Specifically, 105 of his at bats have come in the seventh hole.
Harrison is batting .304 with 20 RBI and 15 runs scored through May 16. With this move back to the lower third of the order, he has become one of the most productive offensive players for the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially with runners in scoring position.
He has had 47 at bats with runners in scoring position, and in those 47 at bats he is batting .319 with 17 RBI. 27 of those at bats have come with two outs, and he is batting .370 with 10 RBI in that scenario.
Batting lower in the order is benefiting Harrison in more ways than one. Though he has low strikeout rates, Harrison likes to swing the bat. He had a 54.2 percent swing rate in 2015, fourth highest on the club. His O-Swing percentage (percentage of swings at pitches outside of the zone) was second on the team at 38.3 percent. When batting lead off in recent years, Harrison had to attempt to tame his free swinging habits just because of the lead off role. Batting lower in the order allows Harrison to be a free swinger and take chances that he would not be able to when batting lead off.
Another thing to think about is, when batting lead off, Harrison had the pressure of getting on base for the big hitters in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ lineup. With his move to the seventh hole, all Harrison has to worry about is getting the bat on the ball and driving thosebig hitters in.
Overall, all signs point to Harrison being a more productive player while batting lower in the order. It‘s more natural for him and he can take the approach he is more familiar with at the plate.
Harrison’s move to seven could lead to similar productivity that he had in his all-star season in 2014.
Photo Credit – Daniel Decker Photography
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