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A Case For the Pirates’ Pitcher Hitting Eighth

The pitchers aren't great hitters, but it could help turn the lineup over for the better ones

The pitchers aren’t great hitters, but it could help turn the lineup over for the better ones

I often consider myself as a forward thinker and I believe the title aptly applies to me in terms of what I like to see from a front office managing their franchise. I enjoy watching organizations getting ahead of the curve and trying to exploit market inefficiencies. I like learning about new ways to draft and develop talent and I love seeing creative approaches develop whether they succeed enough or not.

Strangely enough, I’m a traditionalist as to how the game is played with only a few exceptions. I’m not a huge fan of ballparks that generate as many home runs as the actual players do. I don’t like overloading infielders on the right side of the infield. I dislike measures to speed up play (I paid for these seats and I want to sit in them for as long as possible). I’ve also been averse to lineup experiments like the genius of batting Tike Redman in the three hole. With that in mind, I haven’t had many positive things to say about the pitcher hitting eighth.

My biggest complaint is that it puts your worst hitter in a position to get more plate appearances. Why would you want to see the pitcher come up to the plate more often than you already do? The advantage, as they say, is that it puts more hitters ahead of your 3-spot hitter each subsequent time through the lineup. Of course, you defeat the purpose when you move your 3-spot to the 2-spot like the Reds did with Joey Votto in a recent game against the Pirates. However, I like the move for them in theory for the same reason I like it for the Bucs.

When I look up and down the Reds roster, they don’t have an ideal lead off hitter right now. Sure, Billy Hamilton could steal on a throwing machine right now, but he simply isn’t getting on base enough to use his speed. For me, your leadoff hitter should make good contact, get on base with walks and provide excellent base running. The Reds are only getting the last from Hamilton. You wouldn’t know it from watching the Reds play the Pirates but he stinks against the rest of the league. His on base percentage of .267 is far lower than the .350 you’d like to see.

The Pirates, likewise, haven’t got an ideal candidate either. Though he makes great contact and puts the ball in play, Josh Harrison is quick, but doesn’t use his speed to steal a lot of bases nor does he draw a lot of walks. This limits his getting on base to how often he gets a hit. For me, Harrison is a better two hole bat. Starling Marte has the speed and base stealing acumen, but strikes out too much. On top of that, he has the game power that you’d like to see in a better position to drive in runs. Polanco is like Hamilton-light in terms of base running, though he does walk more. That said, Polanco might be the closest thing they have to a pure leadoff hitter.

If the Pirates were to use a pitcher in the eighth spot, this is what my lineup card would look like:

1. Josh Harrison
2. Francisco Cervelli
3. Andrew McCutchen
4. Starling Marte
5. Pedro Alvarez
6. Jordy Mercer
7. Neil Walker
8. Pitcher
9. Gregory Polanco

Once you get past the pitcher the first time, Polanco essentially becomes the leadoff hitter, Harrison becomes the two, Cervelli the three, and McCutchen the four. It plays to each hitter’s strengths each subsequent time through the lineup and doesn’t diminish the amount of plate appearances the top three in the order will get, while it does limit Polanco’s a bit.

If you’re having trouble visualizing this, here is what the batting order would look like the first three times through. I highly suggest reading it completely if you’re having difficulty:

Harrison
Cervelli
McCutchen
Marte
Alvarez
Mercer
Walker
Pitcher
Polanco
Harrison
Cervelli
McCutchen
Marte
Alvarez
Mercer
Walker
Pitcher
Polanco
Harrison
Cervelli
McCutchen
Marte
Alvarez
Mercer
Walker
Pitcher / Pinch Hitter
Polanco

After the second or third time through, there is no guarantee that the pitcher’s spot will even come into play. In the end, it could get a dangerous pinch hitter like Jung-ho Kang a little closer to the meat of the lineup. The Pirates also lack an ideal cleanup hitter and this helps balance that out. Suddenly, that doesn’t seem to matter as much with three real bats in front of the teams best hitter. It also helps break up the lefties/switch hitters.

There are a couple of other things to keep in mind here. This lineup works best against right handed pitching, though it might also allow the Pirates to give Polanco a chance against left handed starters. He’s not hitting them well, but if he isn’t getting reps against them, he’s unlikely to improve. While Chris Stewart had himself a nice June, it probably only makes sense with Cervelli in the lineup unless Walker hits closer to career norms. Without him at the two spot, the Pirates would need to bump Marte there and Alvarez to cleanup. While Alvarez has been better than he’s been given credit for being, he’s not someone I’d want higher than the five and Walker’s not someone I’d want higher than the six.

No matter how you spin it, the Pirates line up has holes. It also has some round pegs forced into square holes. I like my pitchers in the nine spot in the order where they belong. It feels as comfortable as a feather bed or as American as apple pie to put your pitcher there. However, circumstances may dictate a more creative approach. If the ideal situation where Polanco took steps towards realizing his potential in year two happened, or Walker was hitting the way he can, the Pirates probably shouldn’t even consider a break with tradition. However, they’re in a rough situation and they need a band aid until they can sort some things out at the trade deadline. While I didn’t note it in my piece outlining what the Bucs should do before August 1, the Pirates do need more to help their offense than an extra right handed bat off the bench. Another middle of the order hitter like Justin Upton would help and again, the pitcher should hit ninth. Problem is, there are quite a few games between now and then.

About Steve DiMiceli (82 Articles)
Steve is a naturalized yinzer hailing originally from just north of Allentown, PA. He came to Pittsburgh to attend Duquesne University and decided to stick around after graduation. Steve is best known for his contributions to Duquesne hoops community as the owner of the Duquesne Dukes forum on Yuku and as the former editor of We Wear the Ring on the Fansided network. He is an avid Pirates fan, home cook and policy nerd. He is the co-founder of the Point of Pittsburgh. Easily irritated by people who misuse the word regress.

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