Insider Unveils Major Concern for Pirates Offense
The Pittsburgh Pirates are loaded with young pitching, boasting an budding starting rotation headlined by rookie phenom Paul Skenes.
However, even if the Pirates develop a dominant pitching staff, they will be severely limited as a ballclub if they don't do something about their offense.
Pittsburgh ranked near the bottom of every major statistical offensive category, which resulted in the firing of hitting coach Andy Haines.
So, what exactly was the problem with the Pirates' offense in 2024?
Well, outside a lack of genuine elite talent, John Perrotto of Pittsburgh Baseball Now has identified another major issue: a poor approach at the plate overall.
"The major complaint I kept hearing about Haines from people inside the organization is they felt the Pirates hitters had become too robotic and lacked aggressiveness," Perrotto wrote. "Information overload and a heavy emphasis on working counts led to passivity."
And with all of the emphasis on plate discipline, Pittsburgh ranked 17th in the MLB in walks and finished an even worse 26th in OBP.
Not a single Pirates hitter registered an OPS of .800 or better in 2024, which is obviously concerning. Bryan Reynolds topped the list at .791, and Oneil Cruz came in second at .773.
Pittsburgh totaled just 160 home runs as a team, and not one Pirates player even tallied 25 (Reynolds finished with 24).
Of course, Pittsburgh's offensive problems go beyond its strategic approach. Plain and simply, the Pirates have not done a good job developing hitters within their organization. To make matters worse, they do not have the financial means to sign top players in free agency, so Pittsburgh has no choice but to rely on draft picks and shrewd trades.
Obviously, the Pirates have failed miserably in that department in recent years.
Pittsburgh went just 76-86 this season and has not made the playoffs since 2015.
