Pittsburgh Pirates Take A Dip In This Week’s MLB Power Rankings
By Larry Snyder
Across Major League Baseball, youth will be served as every team looks to their farm system to provide talent to compete in making the playoffs.
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This week you and I take a look at who is the youngest player on the Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of the National League Central. Which one might tip the scale in favor of his team?
For the crew of the Jolly Roger, outfielder Gregory Polanco has the honor at 23, and he will turn 24 in September. In the early going, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound right fielder from the Dominican Republic has seven hits, two RBIs, and two stolen bases in 31 at-bats.
Sailing the Ohio River to Cincinnati, outfielder Billy Hamilton is 24 and reaches the ripe age of 25 in September. The 6-foot, 160-pound center fielder from Collins, Miss. over 28 at-bats has put up seven hits, one RBI, and eight stolen bases.
Heading over to the North Side of Chicago, outfielder Jorge Soler is 23, and will remain the Cubs youngest by 21 days even when third base prospect Kris Bryant is promoted from the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound right fielder from Cuba has collected eight hits and six RBIs in 26 at-bats.
In the the Land of the Fonz, Laverne and Shirley, Milwaukee second baseman Ryan “Scooter” Gennett is 24 and advances to 25 come September. The 5-foot-10, 184-pound infielder from Cincinnati, Ohio in 19 at-bats has three hits and one RBI.
Traveling by steam boat down the Mississippi River, St. Louis pitcher Carlos Martinez is 23 and hits the big “two-four” in September. The 6-foot, 185-pound right-hander from the Dominican Republic has thrown seven innings in two games for the Cardinals and has struck out nine while surrendering two earned runs.
I am still betting on Polanco to put it together for the Bucs this season. Let me know your thoughts and choices in the comments section below.
Time to reheat our cup of java and see where the experts on the internet have the Pirates in their Power Rankings this week.
Bleacher Report – This Week 11 / Last Week 7 – Joel Reuter likes the early performances from Pedro Alvarez and Francisco Liriano.
CBSSports.com – This Week 20 / Last Week 16 – Matt Snyder points out that Pittsburgh went 10-18 through May 1 last season and still came on to win 88 contests.
ESPN – This Week 19 / Last Week 15 – Two players that David Schoenfield is keeping an eye on are Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco, Their strikeouts and walks are worth noting.
FanSided – This Week 7 / Last Week 2 – Kyle Franzoni thinks Francisco Cervelli is doing a nice job behind the plate in replacing Russell Martin.
On a side note, FanSided‘s Robby Sabo has the Pirates’ Neal Huntington at No. 8 among his Top Ten General Managers in Major League Baseball..
FOX Sports – This Week 16 / Last Week 17 – Craig Goldstein compares Andrew McCutchen’s recent haircut and results to that of Samson.
SI.com – This Week 18 / Last Week 10 – The staff at Sports Illustrated downgrades the Bucs this week after the slow start out of the blocks.
Keep sailing forward Jolly Roger fans, and I will check in with you again next week.
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