After each month this season, we’ll break down some stats from the past month for the Pittsburgh Pirates by looking at where both the team and the individual players rank in the league.
*Stats in this article are only from April, and they don’t include stats from yesterday’s May 1st game against the Reds*
The Pirates had an up and down month of April, with a hot start, a poor follow-up to that hot start, and then a hot finish. The team started out 4-0 after an opening series sweep of the Cardinals, but then lost four in a row after a 5-2 start, including losing three of four to the Tigers. The Pirates battled around the .500 mark in the middle of the month, but have currently won six of their past seven as they enter May, and sit at 15-10 after taking two of three from the Cincinnati Reds. They sit in second place in the NL Central behind the Chicago Cubs, owners of the best record in baseball. But even though they sit in second place, don’t let the month of April be discouraging. While the Pirates do have their weaknesses at the moment, the offense provides much hope moving forward.
The Pirates finished April with the best team batting average and the best team on-base percentage in all of baseball. The new on-base emphasis the team stressed with its off-season additions and with its spring training play has to have had some sort of impact on this start. Their batting average of .293 is 12 points ahead of the Red Sox and 16 points ahead of the next-best National League team, the Colorado Rockies. Their on-base percentage of .378 is 14 points ahead of the Chicago Cubs as well. Who knows whether this type of success will continue over the course of the season. The Pirates did play series in April against some teams that are expected to not do well this season, including the Reds, Brewers, Padres, and Rockies. The Pirates have their first two series of the year against the Cubs in the month of May, so we may have a better idea of their offense after those series.
Because of the Pirates high team batting average and on-base percentage, other offensive stats were high as well. The team scored the third-most runs in baseball, unfortunately behind two division foes, the Cubs and the Cardinals. But the Pirates were only 14 runs behind the league-leading Cardinals, which isn’t too shabby. The Pirates led baseball in hits with 250, ten ahead of the Diamondbacks and led the National League in doubles with 56. They also finished in the top five in baseball in total bases (382), RBIs (122), and OPS (.826).
In terms of individuals, the Pirates have six qualified batters batting over .300. In fact, every Pirate batter (including the bench) is batting over .275 except, ironically, Andrew McCutchen. Josh Harrison is top ten in the National League in batting average at .333, Francisco Cervelli is top ten in the NL in OBP at .438, and both Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco are top ten in the NL in doubles with ten and nine, respectively. Polanco is also top ten in all of baseball in WAR (according to Fangraphs) at 1.3. Polanco’s contract extension at the beginning of the season has certainly had some an impact on Polanco’s early season success, even if it’s just on a mental level.
Oh, and Francisco Liriano has five hits in 13 at-bats this year, including 3 RBIs. At this point, it’s becoming a trend for Liriano, and a good one at that.
Pirates need eight runs tonight to match the '96 team for most-prolific offensive April in franchise history.
— Matt Gajtka (GITE-kah) (@MattGajtka) April 30, 2016
The Pirates didn’t match that on Saturday night, as they fell three runs short.
Oh, and the 15 wins by the Pirates in April tied a club record for most wins in the month of April. That’s good.
Unfortunately, the Pirates did not perform well from a pitching standpoint. They were 20th in baseball with an ERA of 4.10, and were tenth in baseball in runs allowed with 109. What stands out is that the Pirates allowed the second-most walks in baseball with 104, only six behind the Reds. On a positive note, they were eighth in baseball in strikeouts with 200. If they can limit their walks, their pitching should improve.
Gerrit Cole was the only starter with an ERA under 3.00 at 2.78, and the bullpen didn’t have one reliever with an ERA under 2.50. For a bullpen that was a huge strength last year, they need to be better. The Addition of Jared Hughes should help. And the additions (hopefully) of Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon at some point this season should help the rotation. Jon Niese is in the bottom ten in the NL in ERA at 5.08, although he’s been the victim of some poor defense behind him at times. Both Niese and Liriano are in the bottom ten of the NL in WHIP. And Liriano leads the NL in walks while Jeff Locke is tied for second. Again, limiting walks is key for this staff.
On a positive note, both Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon have ERAs under three at Indianapolis, and both Alen Hanson and Josh Bell are batting above .300. The future looks bright for Pittsburgh.
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