Pittsburgh Pirates Wake Up Call – The Schedule Finally Softens

In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

A South Beach Road Trip

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a much needed off day yesterday coming off their 6-5 win over the Cubs. The Pirates will now begin a seven-game, two-city road trip in Miami against the Marlins. You can’t take anything for granted in this league but the Pirates had a very tough stretch to begin the season. The Marlins and Reds are still MLB teams but they are certainly not on the same level as the Cubs and Yankees. The Pirates have a good opportunity to finally gain some ground against some lighter competition.

The Marlins currently sit at 10-10 but they weren’t picked to be one of the heavy-hitters in the NL East. However, they still have plenty of talented players and any road game is a tough game. If the Pirates hope to be playoff contenders this season, these are the kind of series they need to win. Plus it’s nice to see an opponent other than the Cubs to be perfectly honest.

Game one is tonight at 7:10 pm and features an excellent pitching matchup as Jameson Taillon takes on Adam Conley. Both pictures currently sport ERAs of three and below. So this could be another low-scoring affair for the Pirates. I am sure everyone is really happy about that!

Jordy Mercer, lead-off hitter

Miami Marlins starter, Adam Conley is a left-handed pitcher. This means you will likely see Jordy Mercer leading off the game. This also means you will see people angry about Jordy Mercer leading off the game. I understand that late in games when the opponent brings in a righty, Mercer can look bad as a lead-off hitter. However, when the starter is a lefty, Mercer leading off is the right move. For his career, Mercer is a .299/.366/.465/.831 hitter against LHP. Platoon splits aren’t the most advanced metrics, so this should be fairly straight forward. Mercer is a very good hitter against lefties. So it makes sense to maximize his at-bats in those situations.

That being said, once the opponent brings in a righty, I think the Pirates should consider substituting Mercer out of the games. The problem for most of the season was they truly didn’t have another Short Stop on the roster. Guess what? They do now in Gift Ngeope! He has logged over 4000 minor league innings at Short Stop. His hitting has never been the strongest part of his game. But I think it makes sense to at least see what he can do when basically facing only RHP. Mercer hits .243/.297/.347/.644 in his career against RHP. I think

Mercer hits .243/.297/.347/.644 in his career against RHP. I think Ngeope at least deserves a chance to see if he can improve on those numbers at all. If he can’t, no harm is done since you aren’t expecting Mercer to put up any better than his career slash line against RHP. The worst thing that happens is you have another Short Stop that can’t hit Right-handed pitching. Mercer still gets at-bats in situations that benefit him and you give a prospect a solid audition at the Big League level. It is a win/win situation.

Sponsored By

Baseball Talk on the Web

MLB remains only major pro sport in the USA where players are shamed for playing better

The 10-Day DL Effect

Breaking down MLB’s jersey name game

CANNONBALLS

If you haven’t already, feel free to give our most recent episode of Cannonballs a listen! It’s just over 15 minutes of spirited and intelligent Pirates debate!

https://soundcloud.com/pbcbreakdown/cannonballs-episode-6-smoke-and-mirrors

Subscribe To Pirates Breakdown Radio

Our podcast feed has been reborn as Pirates Breakdown Radio. On one singular feed, you will find a variety of shows, interviews, quick hits and much more. All designed to keep Pittsburgh Pirates fans informed and entertained no matter where they are.
We are on all the major podcast platforms, including iTunes and Google Play. So whether or not you have an Android or an iPhone/iPad, click on the corresponding button below to get subscribed!

Download Our Mobile Apps

The introduction of our new FREE Mobile Apps gets fans closer to their favorite Pittsburgh Pirates coverage than ever before. Click here to learn about some of the features of our new app – or, if you just can’t wait, click the corresponding app store for your device and grab your copy now.

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!