Pittsburgh Pirates: First Half Individual Grades for Bucs Hitters

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Neil Walker (.250/.344/.388/6/25)

Jul 2, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Neil Walker (18) at the batting cage before playing the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Staying consistent, I have to acknowledge the fact that Walker has been nearly as disappointing as Jones. The only difference is the fact that Walker brings Gold Glove caliber defense to the table.

I keep waiting for Walker to heat up and hopefully that will happen in the summer months because a .388 slugging percentage and .741 OPS simply won’t cut it. His glove bumps his grade up a bit. Grade: C+

Clint Barmes (.204/.236/.275/2/10)

There is really nothing kind I can say about Barmes’ production. Very classy guy but the Bucs need more and it was nice to see they acknowledged that fact and made a change. They certainly got very little from Barmes for $11 million Grade: F

Jordy Mercer (.273/.320/.427/4/11)

Quite frankly anything Mercer does will represent an upgrade over Barmes, but overall Mercer has been solid. he has shown the knack for getting on base and produced and OPS (.747) almost nearly 200 points higher than Barmes.

Mercer is still a work in progress and may not be the long-term answer at short, but so far he has been a little bit better than average and that alone represents an upgrade. Grade: B-

Pedro Alvarez (.243/.309/.517/21/56)

Just think where Alvarez would be without his notorious slow April.

After hitting only .180 with a .560 OPS in the season’s first month, El Toro has picked it up in a big way. He hit .225 with a .794 OPS in May and was scorching hot in June with a .309 batting average and a ridiculous 1.060 OPS. In addition the power and run production has picked up every month.

Alvarez also has a much improved glove and a better approach at the plate. He gets dinged a little bit for the month of April, but otherwise has been outstanding. Grade: A-