MINNEAPOLIS -- There is a pretty steep drop off from the top half of the Pirates’ lineup. Adam Frazier, Phillip Evans, Bryan Reynolds and Colin Moran are all off to really strong starts, with all four recording an OPS of at least .857 through Thursday’s win over the Tigers. Yes, there’s some small sample size at work, but they’ve been as consistent a 1-4 as just about any team in the majors.
The bottom half? Not so much.
Jacob Stallings is in a lull, Kevin Newman’s spring training magic didn’t carry over to the regular season and Gregory Polanco is still striking out too often, with most of his hard contact finding a defender.
The bottom half of the lineup hasn’t produced much, but there is one hitter who has been taking advantage of those extra base runners: Erik Gonzalez.
It’s a bit surprising, because Gonzalez’s results at the plate have only been ok. The .291 batting average sticks out, but a .304 on-base percentage and .436 slugging percentage are middling.
Despite that, he’s already at 12 RBIs on the year, just eight off the career-high he set last year. There’s a chance he could set a new personal best before the calendar turns to May.
Yes, it’s a ridiculously small sample size, but so far, Gonzalez is 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position. If you want to up the ante and look at his results with a runner in scoring position and two outs, he’s 6-for-12. That includes a pair of base knocks in those situations Thursday, which was the difference maker in the 4-2 win over the Tigers.
Will it last? No. Is Gonzalez worth putting in the lineup everyday until this hot hand cools off? Maybe, at least until Ke'Bryan Hayes is back, and that it doesn't interfere with Evans. This lineup doesn’t have a ton of power. They’re going to need to rely on stringing hits together. And right now, Gonzalez isn’t letting those opportunities go to waste.
YOUR TURN: What do you make of Gonzalez’s start? Has he played his way into the everyday lineup?
