We continue our spring preview of the Pirates with the hot corner. The position filled by last years Co-NL home run champ, Pedro Alvarez. Although, this season, he may be getting some help.
Pedro Alvarez: Pedro showed offensive improvement last season by hitting a league-leading 36 home runs and driving in 100 which was fifth-best in the NL and also good enough for his first silver slugger award.
He still has more room to improve though, as he led the league in strikeouts (186) while hitting .233/.473/.770. His performance in 2013 against left-handers was a dismal .180/.286/.537 while only hitting three homers. Alvarez did show life towards the end of the season with a couple of clutch-hits against southpaws, including the game-winning RBI single in game 3 of the NLDS against the Cardinals.
Alvarez broke a major league postseason record by recording an RBI in his first six postseason games. It’s a record he can extend the next time the Bucs make the postseason.
On defense, Alvarez led third basemen in errors for a second straight year with 27 miscues, although he also showed flashes of greatness with the glove as he ranked 3rd for third basemen in range factor (2.87) and led NL third basemen with 359 assists. Even with the high strikeout and error rate, Alvarez still posted a 3.3 WAR (wins above replacement).
Look for Pedro to get more time in the cleanup spot this spring as Clint Hurdle want’s Alvarez batting directly behind the NL MVP in Andrew McCutchen.
Josh Harrison: Harrison played many infield positions as a fill-in in 2013 with his primary role coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter and runner. In 95 plate appearances, Harrison batted .250/.409/.699 with three home runs and 14 RBI. One of the three homers was a walk-off shot against the Marlins at PNC Park on August 6th. His speed and ability to play many positions (he played all but catcher and 1B in 2013) allowed him to become a situational pinch-runner that could stay in the game.
On defense, Harrison played 31 innings at third while only committing one error. He has played a total of 468 2/3 IN at 3B in three years with the Pirates while only committing 8 errors which places him as the leading candidate to back up Pedro Alvarez for the second consecutive year.
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(Photo Credit: J. Meric/Getty Images North America)
