Pittsburgh Pirates 2012 Position-by-Position Breakdown: Shortstop
By Matt Shetler
It’s been since the early 1990’s when Jay Bell last wore a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform when the Bucs last had an above average shortstop in the everyday lineup. The past decade plus has been especially brutal with the likes of Jack Wilson and Ronny Cedeno filling the spot.
The Bucs badly needed an upgrade over Cedeno and that prompted them to sign free agent Clint Barmes.
While Barmes won’t be confused with an All-Star anytime soon, he is an upgrade and that’s a start.
Starter: Barmes
He had a couple of good years in Colorado under Hurdle but he’s far removed from them. Similar to Barajas, he’s a power only guy in terms of production, but PNC Park is the worst playable National League park for right-handed home runs. Barmes is a solid vet though, he will help the teams in the little ways that Wilson and Cedeno haven’t been able to in the past. Solid glove with a decent bat. If the Bucs offense has a decent year, he could get plenty of at bats with runners on base.
2012 Projections: Don’t expect anything huge out of Barmes, but he could have a consistent season on both sides. .251 AVG, 14 HR, 54 RBI
Backup: Yamaico Navarro
Either Navarro or Josh Harrison will win the backup infielder job and since we looked at Harrison with the second basemen, we’ll look at Navarro here.
The Bucs had to be high on Navarro in exchange for right-hander Brook Pounders, a former second-round pick. All Pounders did last season was lead the entire Pirates organization in K/9IP. Not only that, but Pounders walked only 1.9 batters per 9IP and hit 95 mph on his fastball. So much for not throwing strikes and losing velocity.
Navarro came up through the Boston Red Sox system as primarily a shortstop, but played second, third, short and the outfield in the Royals system. He’s played everywhere this spring and has appeared in all but one of the Bucs preseason games so he could be a good bet to make the team.
2012 Projections: Navarro has good bat speed and a solid glove with a good arm. He should get at bats at a utility player. .265 AVG, 5 HR, 27 RBI
Prospect to Watch: Brock Holt
Holt has a solid season at Altoona last year, splitting time between second and short. He struggled against southpaws (.527 OPS vs. .813 OPS vs. RHP) and it’s still to be determined if he has the range or the arm strength to be a major league shortstop. His bat makes him a good prospect though as he has shown very good patience at the plate.
He will likely begin the season at Indianapolis, but with Chase d’Arnaud already being sent down, Holt will likely be moved back to second base.
Check out Past Previews
Part One: Catchers
Part Two: First Base
Part Three: Second Base
Part Four: Thrid Base
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