Pittsburgh Pirates: Assessing Position Players For The Second Half

Third Base

Jul 20, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Home plate umpire Marvin Hudson (left) calls Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez (24) out on strikes as Colorado Rockies catcher

(middle) displays a caught third strike during the fourth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Third base has been all Pedro Alvarez and there have been mixed results. I’ll get more into it below, but Alvarez is having a rough go of it on both sides of the ball. How does that affect his grade?

Pedro Alvarez– Fans know that Alvarez frustrates with his inconsistencies but have to be hoping to a large payoff. So far that has not been done. Hurdle has stated that this is the most athletic he has seen Alvarez defensively, but anytime a ball is hit towards him I hold my breath and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Hurdle says it is a particular play to his left, but it seems as though he double clutches his throws and it messes up his release. The bat is one thing and I think that will come around, it usually does. The defense concerns me because the Pirates have just about tried everything, more reps, a mental approach, time off but nothing has worked. At this point it will take time, but the Pirates have trapped themselves and have to ride it out with Alvarez on the field to figure it out. While the late game defensive substitution hurts, Alvarez leads all of Major League Baseball with 21 errors. Things have to change with him though. Grade C-