{"id":58486,"date":"2023-05-29T13:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=58486"},"modified":"2023-05-28T21:35:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T01:35:11","slug":"bucco-blasts-pirates-have-a-kebryan-hayes-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/05\/29\/bucco-blasts-pirates-have-a-kebryan-hayes-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Bucco Blasts: Pirates Have a Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Things have gone south in a hurry for the Pittsburgh Pirates. With their loss in Seattle on Sunday, the Pirates sit at .500 at 26-26 on the season. After a 20-8 start, they&#8217;ve gone 6-18 since. They have yet to win a series in the month of May. Guys like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hayeske01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-05-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/reynobr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-05-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bryan Reynolds<\/a> were off to good starts but have since cooled considerably. The pitching that carried the Buccos early on has gone wayward save for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kellemi03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-05-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mitch Keller<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pirates lose, 6-3.<\/p>\n<p>Eugenio Su\u00e1rez launches a walk-off three-run home run. The Pirates have yet to win a series since the calendar flipped to May.<\/p>\n<p>Roansy Contreras made his first relief appearance of the season.<\/p>\n<p>The Pirates are 26-26.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/justdelossantos\/status\/1662958510496428034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>One thing Pittsburgh does have going for them is that they still reside just 1.5 games outside of first place in the National League Central. That is a testament to how bad the division has been this season. The Pirates&#8217; hot start had them out to a five game lead in the division. Even going just 12-12 over the last 24 games would&#8217;ve had out to a comfortable lead as May winds down.<\/p>\n<p>There is a lot to discuss with the current state of the Pirates. Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes&#8217; offensive struggles, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/contrro01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-05-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roansy Contreras<\/a> potentially being moved to the bullpen, and much more are discussed in this week&#8217;s &#8220;Bucco Blasts&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h2>Bucco Blasts: Pirates Have a Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes Problem<\/h2>\n<h3>Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes&#8217; $70 Million Offensive Struggles<\/h3>\n<p>On Opening Day last season, the Pirates officially announced the contract extension of third baseman Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes. It got fans excited because ownership finally committed money to a player long term. It hadn&#8217;t happened for a while in the Steel City. The move came with cautious optimism however.<\/p>\n<p>Hayes is one of the best fielders, not just at his position, but in all of baseball. Having him at the hot corner for nearly the next decade is a huge plus on that side of the ball. The Pirates were shelling out all this money without having a true feel for his hitting abilities.<\/p>\n<p>Turns out, his flash-of-the-pan 24-game rookie season was just that. Hayes&#8217; career slash line is .254\/.318\/.378 and he&#8217;s hit just 20 home runs. This sample size is over 307 career games. It isn&#8217;t like we&#8217;re going off of nothing when it comes to Hayes&#8217; offensive ability. Third base is a prime spot for power hitting on a good teams&#8217; roster. Hayes does not provide pop, or even much in the OBP department, thus far in his career.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pirates load &#39;em in the 10th. They actually had first and third with nobody out. Can&#39;t get a run. Ke&#39;Bryan Hayes strikes out for the fourth time today to end the frame. He&#39;s 1 for 14 in the series, 8 strikeouts.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JMackeyPG\/status\/1662956860801171456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The 26-year old struck out four times on Sunday afternoon including in the tenth inning when the Pirates had the bases loaded. The Mariners ended the game in the bottom-half. Those are the types of moments the Pirates need run production, especially from a guy considered to be a franchise cornerstone based upon his deal.<\/p>\n<p>His elite defensive play is a big deal. But at some point, the offense has to come around. There is a possibility that the Pirates won&#8217;t get much more than what they&#8217;re receiving now from Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes.<\/p>\n<h3>Roansy Contreras to the bullpen?<\/h3>\n<p>Much like Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes, starting pitcher Roansy Contreras is a young player that Pirates&#8217; management expect to be a part of the next good teams in Pittsburgh. Contreras got a cup of coffee at the end of the 2021 season before getting a permanent call last year. It was expected that 2023 could be his breakout year with a chance to start in the rotation from the beginning of the season. As many young pitchers, Contreras is experiencing the league&#8217;s pushback.<\/p>\n<p>The 23-year old Dominican is 3-4 with a 4.33 ERA on the 2o23 season. Contreras was scheduled to start on Saturday before being bumped for a returning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/velasvi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-05-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vince Velasquez<\/a>. On Sunday, Contreras made an appearance out of the bullpen. With an extra days rest, Contreras tossed two scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in relief.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s unclear if Contreras was going to be part of a six-man rotation or if he is being banished to the bullpen for the time being. Velasquez exited the game Saturday with elbow discomfort so that may give Contreras a chance to stay in the rotation. Prospect pitcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=ortizlu03,ortizlu02,ortizlu01&amp;search=Luis+Ortiz&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-05-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luis Ortiz<\/a> is up with the Pirates now and currently holding down a rotation spot clouding things even more on the Contreras front.<\/p>\n<p>Contreras has seen his velocity dip a few ticks down to 93-94 MPH on his fastball that typically sat 95-96 MPH. It is leading to harder contact against and the ball being smacked out of the park more frequently. Contreras may have to toss a few good relief outings before he is awarded his rotation spot back. At 23, he can&#8217;t be cast aside yet because the talent is evident. He needs to be able to figure it out again.<\/p>\n<h3>Bednar&#8217;s Talent Currently Being Wasted<\/h3>\n<p>Pirates&#8217; closer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bednada01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-05-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Bednar<\/a> is amongst the games&#8217; best backend guys. He has the makings of a perennial all-star despite his team not having many opportunities to allow him to pitch. Things have gone to an extreme for him, however.<\/p>\n<p>Bednar picked up nine saves in the Pirates&#8217; first month as they blazed through the schedule. Now, Bednar hasn&#8217;t had a save situation since April 29th. That is exactly one month since he had even a chance to pick up a save. He tossed just seven innings in May as the Pirates have free fallen out of first place.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The lowest expected batting average (xBA) leaderboard for pitchers who have faced at least 50 batters is interesting:<\/p>\n<p>1. Alexis D\u00edaz, CIN: .119<br \/>2. Josh Hader, SD: .121<br \/>3. Ryan Helsley, STL: .155<br \/>4. David Bednar, PIT: .156<br \/>5. Adam Ottavino, NYM: .163<br \/>6. David Robertson, NYM: .168<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AnthonyDiComo\/status\/1659594108875292675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Pittsburgh native gave up two runs across those seven outings but they both came against the Texas Rangers on May 22nd. He&#8217;s still been sharp despite coming into low leverage situations as of late. That&#8217;s an important deal of information if the Pirates can will themselves back into the thick of things knowing that Bednar seems to be 100%.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe an easy workload in May will help keep him fresh assuming the Pirates begin winning again and need to lean on him more for a few weeks. It is a shame that he isn&#8217;t getting to close out games and help the Buccos win because he&#8217;s too talented for the lack of save opportunities he&#8217;s suffering through currently.<\/p>\n<h3>What&#8217;s ahead?<\/h3>\n<p>The Pirates finish up a west coast trip with three games against the San Francisco Giants staring Monday and ending Wednesday afternoon. Following their off day Thursday, they&#8217;ll bring it back to PNC Park for a weekend series against the surging St. Louis Cardinals. If things don&#8217;t get better as the calendar flips to June, the season could quickly spiral into one of the more disappointing collapses in Pirates&#8217; history.<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit- Joe Nicholson- USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Things have gone south in a hurry for the Pittsburgh Pirates. With their loss in Seattle on Sunday, the Pirates sit at .500 at 26-26 on the season. After a 20-8 start, they&#8217;ve gone 6-18 since. They have yet to win a series in the month of May. Guys like Ke&#8217;Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4471,"featured_media":58487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,2,1071],"tags":[1374,5829,3070,645,231,6205,1255],"class_list":["post-58486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pirates","category-featured","category-mlb","tag-bryan-reynolds","tag-david-bednar","tag-kebryan-hayes","tag-nl-central","tag-pittsburgh-pirates","tag-roansy-contreras","tag-vince-velasquez"],"modified_by":"Cody Flavell","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4471"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}