This offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates were faced with change. An abundance of players moved on to different clubs, but one in particular had a way bigger impact amongst Pirates fans.
On Dec. 9, the Pirates agreed to trade Neil Walker to the New York Mets in exchange for starting pitcher Jonathon Niese. This trade brought on a huge buzz amongst Pirates fans due to Walker’s popularity in the city in which he was born and raised. However, as the 2016 season has gone on, the Pirates may have found an answer to the question, “Who will replace Walker as an everyday second baseman?” The answer was right in front of their eyes the whole time in the form of Josh Harrison.
Harrison, who was originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs out of the University of Cincinnati in 2008, has had quite the exciting career in professional baseball. He was part of the July 2009 trade that sent John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to the Chicago Cubs, and he is the only player from that deal that currently plays for their respective team.
In May 2011, Harrison made his major league debut and began his career of going back and forth between Triple-A Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. From 2011 to 2013, Harrison made a stellar impact coming off the bench for the Pirates, but he didn’t make a huge impact until the 2014 season.
In 2014, Harrison finished second in the National League Batting Title race with a .315 batting average, while also contributing 13 home runs, 52 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 143 games.
Despite a stint on the disabled list, Harrison had another stellar season last year, hitting .287 with four home runs and 28 RBI in 114 games.
With Jung Ho Kang set to return in the not-so distant future, the odd man out in the Pirates infield shouldn’t be Harrison.
What makes Harrison so special is not just his hitting ability, but also his position flexibility. Throughout his major league career, Harrison has played every position on the field, including one game at pitcher and only excluding first base and catcher. Most of his experience has come at third base with 170 career starts, but his 85 career starts at second base made him an early favorite to take Walker’s spot at second base coming into the 2016 season.
This season, the 28-year-old Harrison is hitting .329 with 10 RBI while hitting primarily in the seventh spot in the lineup and starting in 18 games this season. Despite coming off the bench against Diamondbacks over the weekend, Harrison, who is known for his energetic style of play, received his first day off of the season.
In the Pirates 11-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on April 21, Harrison showed off the kind of tools that make him so important to the success of this club. Not only did Harrison make an impact at the plate, going 2-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and one walk, but he also made an influence on the base paths.
In the fourth inning in particular, Harrison reached base on an RBI single that drove in Starling Marte. Harrison, who has always been known for showing impressive hustle on the basepaths throughout his career, stole second base and then went on to advance to third and home on separate plays, both due to wild pitches.
This season, Walker has also found success with the Mets, hitting .288 with seven home runs and 12 RBI in 16 games. Walker has also struggled a bit with plate discipline striking out 15 times and drawing only one walk in 66 at-bats.
Though the Pirates lack a bit of power with Walker out of their lineup, Harrison has proven to be a worthy replacement for the 30-year-old Pittsburgh native. Harrison does have occasional pop in his bat, but his main contributions come from his hard work on the basepaths, stellar defense, ability to get on base and ability to come through with runners in scoring position. In fact, Harrison is tied for third in the NL with four stolen bases, tied for second in the NL with 18 singles and holds a .333 batting average with 10 hits and 10 RBI with runners in scoring position.
It may be safe to say that Josh Harrison has been underrated and undervalued by many throughout his career who don’t get to see him play every day. The former All-Star brings an exciting energy to the ballpark everyday and has proven to be deserving of the opportunity he has been given. This opportunity involves Harrison getting a chance to play every day at one specific position as opposed to playing every once in awhile at various positions around the diamond.
There is no doubt that Neil Walker will always be a fan favorite in Pittsburgh, but with his play this season, Harrison is making the transition away from the “Pittsburgh Kid” a little bit easier to handle.
