Josh Harrison has had a .302 spring with two home runs, a double and triple, mostly at leadoff. — GETTY
BY JOHN PERROTTO
BRADENTON, Fla. — Sights, sounds and the scene at McKechnie Field …
• Has Josh Harrison rested on his laurels this spring?
Clint Hurdle dismisses the question before it is completely out of the questioner’s mouth.
“Josh is disciplined and he’s committed,” Hurdle said. “So I don’t foresee any of those challenges, as far as him thinking he’s arrived and he’s made it. This kid’s hungry. He’s worked hard and he believes he’s only scratched the surface.”
Harrison was one of the most unexpected success stories in Major League Baseball last season.
He made the Pirates’ opening day roster only because first baseman/outfielder Andrew Lambo struggled so badly in spring training that he was optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis. By the time the season was over, Harrison had become the everyday third baseman and finished second in the National League batting race while also being selected to play in the All-Star Game.
He will be the third baseman and leadoff hitter Monday when the Pirates open the season at Cincinnati.
“As far as how I approach every day, I still approach it like I did last spring,” Harrison said. “I try to get better every day.”
It would be hard for Harrison to better what he did last season when he hit .315, four points behind the Rockies’ Justin Morneau. Harrison also hit 13 home runs and stole 18 bases in 143 games.
Neal Huntington says the Pirates expect some “regression” from Harrison this season. However, two of the more notable projection systems back Huntington’s assertion but still expect Harrison to be a useful player. Fangraphs’ ZiPS system projects a .284 batting average with 10 homers and 16 steals while Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA pegs Harrison to hit .281 with 11 homers and 22 steals.
Harrison led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run Monday and also tripled as the Pirates routed the Phillies, 18-4, at McKechnie Field. He is 13 for 43 (.302) this spring.
Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus both rate Harrison as an above-average defender at third base in their fielding metrics. Harrison feels he will be even better at the hot corner this season because he has been able to concentrate almost solely on the position this spring rather than moving all over the field.
“I grew up playing middle infield, and being bounced around the last couple of years has allowed me to get more comfortable at positions I didn’t play until I got older,” he said. “I feel just as comfortable at third as I did playing second, outfield, whatever. I got enough reps there, so I feel comfortable wherever I’m at. At third right now, I feel really good.”
• CBS Sports reported that the Pirates have rekindled talks with right fielder Gregory Polanco on a long-term contract extension. Polanco was drawn and quartered in some corners of the media last spring for turning down a contract that could have paid him $75 million.
The key word is ‘could.’ The offer guaranteed a little under $25 million and he would have been paid $75 million only if the Pirates exercised each of the option years in the deal and he also reached all the performance bonus levels. So, to be clear, Polanco did not turn down $75 million but a little less than one-third of that.
• John Holdzkom, last year’s Cinderella story after being signed out of the independent American Association, was optioned to Indianapolis this morning, along with fellow reliever Rob Scahill. However, that does not mean Holdzkom turned into a pumpkin. The overriding reason he was sent out is because he had an option left. The Pirates know Holdzkom can pitch in the majors now, and so does he.
“I know it could happen,” Holdzkom said last weekend about the possibility of being demoted. “If it happens, it’s a business decision.”
• The Pirates have four right-handers remaining for three bullpen spots — Arquimedes Caminero, Jared Hughes, Radhames Liz and Stolmy Pimentel. The decision seemingly is coming down to Hughes and Pimentel.
Hughes was superb for the Pirates last year, but he has an option left and Pimentel doesn’t. The Pirates were so enamored by Pimentel’s potential that they kept him in the majors all last season, though he barely contributed, because he was out of options.
Caminero and Liz are also out of options.
Considering how much the Pirates value pitching depth, it would not be a complete shock to see Hughes get farmed out.
• Right-hander John Kuchno pitched three perfect innings of relief today in the Pirates’ 7-3 victory over the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla.
Kuchno is a name worth remembering. Though he hasn’t gotten much prospect hype and has yet to pitch above Class A, the 18th-round draft pick in 2012 from Ohio State throws a hard sinker, making him the kind of pitcher the Pirates love.
John Perrotto, veteran of four decades of Major League Baseball coverage, is a freelance writer for DKonPittsburghSports.com.
March 31, 2015
Coverage: ‘This kid’s hungry’
by John Perrotto • Coverage • Pirates
Josh Harrison has had a .302 spring with two home runs, a double and triple, mostly at leadoff. — GETTY
BY JOHN PERROTTO
BRADENTON, Fla. — Sights, sounds and the scene at McKechnie Field …
• Has Josh Harrison rested on his laurels this spring?
Clint Hurdle dismisses the question before it is completely out of the questioner’s mouth.
“Josh is disciplined and he’s committed,” Hurdle said. “So I don’t foresee any of those challenges, as far as him thinking he’s arrived and he’s made it. This kid’s hungry. He’s worked hard and he believes he’s only scratched the surface.”
Harrison was one of the most unexpected success stories in Major League Baseball last season.
He made the Pirates’ opening day roster only because first baseman/outfielder Andrew Lambo struggled so badly in spring training that he was optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis. By the time the season was over, Harrison had become the everyday third baseman and finished second in the National League batting race while also being selected to play in the All-Star Game.
He will be the third baseman and leadoff hitter Monday when the Pirates open the season at Cincinnati.
“As far as how I approach every day, I still approach it like I did last spring,” Harrison said. “I try to get better every day.”
It would be hard for Harrison to better what he did last season when he hit .315, four points behind the Rockies’ Justin Morneau. Harrison also hit 13 home runs and stole 18 bases in 143 games.
Neal Huntington says the Pirates expect some “regression” from Harrison this season. However, two of the more notable projection systems back Huntington’s assertion but still expect Harrison to be a useful player. Fangraphs’ ZiPS system projects a .284 batting average with 10 homers and 16 steals while Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA pegs Harrison to hit .281 with 11 homers and 22 steals.
Harrison led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run Monday and also tripled as the Pirates routed the Phillies, 18-4, at McKechnie Field. He is 13 for 43 (.302) this spring.
Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus both rate Harrison as an above-average defender at third base in their fielding metrics. Harrison feels he will be even better at the hot corner this season because he has been able to concentrate almost solely on the position this spring rather than moving all over the field.
“I grew up playing middle infield, and being bounced around the last couple of years has allowed me to get more comfortable at positions I didn’t play until I got older,” he said. “I feel just as comfortable at third as I did playing second, outfield, whatever. I got enough reps there, so I feel comfortable wherever I’m at. At third right now, I feel really good.”
• CBS Sports reported that the Pirates have rekindled talks with right fielder Gregory Polanco on a long-term contract extension. Polanco was drawn and quartered in some corners of the media last spring for turning down a contract that could have paid him $75 million.
The key word is ‘could.’ The offer guaranteed a little under $25 million and he would have been paid $75 million only if the Pirates exercised each of the option years in the deal and he also reached all the performance bonus levels. So, to be clear, Polanco did not turn down $75 million but a little less than one-third of that.
• John Holdzkom, last year’s Cinderella story after being signed out of the independent American Association, was optioned to Indianapolis this morning, along with fellow reliever Rob Scahill. However, that does not mean Holdzkom turned into a pumpkin. The overriding reason he was sent out is because he had an option left. The Pirates know Holdzkom can pitch in the majors now, and so does he.
“I know it could happen,” Holdzkom said last weekend about the possibility of being demoted. “If it happens, it’s a business decision.”
• The Pirates have four right-handers remaining for three bullpen spots — Arquimedes Caminero, Jared Hughes, Radhames Liz and Stolmy Pimentel. The decision seemingly is coming down to Hughes and Pimentel.
Hughes was superb for the Pirates last year, but he has an option left and Pimentel doesn’t. The Pirates were so enamored by Pimentel’s potential that they kept him in the majors all last season, though he barely contributed, because he was out of options.
Caminero and Liz are also out of options.
Considering how much the Pirates value pitching depth, it would not be a complete shock to see Hughes get farmed out.
• Right-hander John Kuchno pitched three perfect innings of relief today in the Pirates’ 7-3 victory over the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla.
Kuchno is a name worth remembering. Though he hasn’t gotten much prospect hype and has yet to pitch above Class A, the 18th-round draft pick in 2012 from Ohio State throws a hard sinker, making him the kind of pitcher the Pirates love.
John Perrotto, veteran of four decades of Major League Baseball coverage, is a freelance writer for DKonPittsburghSports.com.