{"id":77391,"date":"2024-06-21T11:02:56","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T15:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=77391"},"modified":"2024-06-21T15:05:53","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T19:05:53","slug":"pirates-hayes-lower-batting-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/21\/pirates-hayes-lower-batting-order\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Star Should Bat Lower In The Batting Order"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With the Pittsburgh Pirates in the wild card race, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hayeske01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes<\/a> must move lower in the batting order. Let\u2019s understand up front that Hayes isn\u2019t a bad player. He\u2019s a very good player.<\/p>\n<h2>Pirates Star Should Bat Lower In The Batting Order<\/h2>\n<p>He produced a WAR of 4.4 and 4.0 in 2022 and 2023, respectively. However, his defense at third base contributed to the greater part of those stats. In 2022, his defensive WAR was 3.0 to lead all of the major leagues. His defensive WAR was 2.4 in 2023. Hayes won a Gold Glove Award in 2023 and probably should have won one in 2022, too. He\u2019s an elite defender.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_dMifhCHdO4?si=7kaC2_onkfWLOjLt\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Hayes Should Bat Lower In Pirates Batting Order<\/h3>\n<p>As every astute baseball fan knows, a WAR of 4.0 is considered all-star-worthy. Nothing here is to suggest that Hayes isn\u2019t an important contributor. Rather, the suggestion here is that he hasn\u2019t shown himself to merit his position in the batting order.<\/p>\n<p>Entering Friday\u2019s action, Hayes is batting .238\/.307\/.321, 3 HR, and 17 RBI, with an OPS+ of 81 in 2024. In 2023, he reached career highs with 15 HR and 61 RBI. However, 2023 is increasingly looking like an anomaly with each passing day. For his career, he\u2019s a .261\/.319\/.398 hitter. Already in his fifth major league season, he\u2019s probably the hitter that his career stats say he is. Yet Pirates manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/sheltde99.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derek Shelton<\/a> has mostly used Hayes in the No. 3 or 5 spots in the batting order in 2024. Pirates fans will remember those spots occupied in the past by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/clemero01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roberto Clemente<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stargwi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Willie Stargell<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/o\/oliveal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Al Oliver<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/parkeda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dave Parker<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bondsba01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Barry Bonds<\/a>. Of course, these legends played on better teams than the current Pirates. Even so, Hayes has been placed in the order higher than more deserving players.<\/p>\n<h3>Reassessing Hayes<\/h3>\n<p>The Pirates must begin to view Hayes as a glove-first player who needs to bat lower in the batting order. Ordinarily, the corner positions are bat-first positions. However, it\u2019s not unusual for a team to carry a glove-first third baseman in the starting lineup. We\u2019ll compare Hayes to some similar third basemen in the following table, but first, let\u2019s set some ground rules. Hayes was a rookie in 2020 at age 23. That was a pandemic-shortened season full of statistical aberrations (including Hayes\u2019 own .376 batting average) and thus will be disregarded. We\u2019ll compare Hayes to four other third basemen, all in their ages 24-27 seasons. Presented is the 162-game average for each player during these seasons.<\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 449px;\" width=\"916\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/buechst01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steve Buechele<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/reitzke01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Ken <\/strong><strong>Reitz<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rodriau01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aurelio Rodriguez<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wertdo01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Don <\/strong><strong>Wert<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Years<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">1986-89<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">2021-24<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">1975-78<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">1972-75<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">1963-66<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Batting avg.<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.242<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.255<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.261<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.231<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.262<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">On-base pct.<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.309<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.312<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.291<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.270<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.335<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Slugging pct.<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.400<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.383<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.361<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.343<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.367<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Home runs<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">16<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">RBI<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">55<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">39<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">71<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">56<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">51<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">OPS+<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">93<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">92<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">79<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">73<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"104\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">98<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Glove-First Third Basemen In Baseball History<\/h3>\n<p>Note that you don\u2019t see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/schmimi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Schmidt<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/madlobi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Madlock<\/a> among the four third basemen comparable to Hayes. Yet all were valuable players who had long major league careers because of their contributions defensively. The Detroit Tigers won a World Series in 1968, with Wert hitting .200 during the regular season. He was considered a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vintagedetroit.com\/werts-fancy-glove-was-part-of-tiger-success-in-the-1960s\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">good defensive player<\/a> but never won a Gold Glove Award because his career in the American League overlapped that of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/robinbr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brooks Robinson<\/a>. Rodriguez, who was also a Tiger (he was traded from the Washington Senators with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brinked01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ed Brinkman<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=colemjo05,colemjo04&amp;search=Joe+Coleman&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Coleman<\/a> to the Tigers for Wert and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mclaide01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Denny McLain<\/a>), broke Robinson\u2019s 16-year stranglehold on the AL Gold Glove Award for a third baseman in 1976. Reitz was also a Gold Glove winner in 1975 with the St. Louis Cardinals.<\/p>\n<p>None of their teams had any pretense about the kind of hitters they were. Buechele usually hits somewhere in the bottom third of the order. Reitz usually batted sixth or seventh. For Rodriguez, it was mostly seventh or eighth. He may have been a permanent No. 8 hitter had he not been on the same team as Brinkman. Wert batted leadoff frequently, but he was on a Tigers team that lacked speed and a prototypical leadoff man. When he wasn\u2019t leading off, he hit seventh or eighth.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word On Hayes And The Pirates Batting Order<\/h3>\n<p>So, too, must the Pirates realize that Hayes should hit lower in the batting order, and from there, he should serve the team just fine. He\u2019s had hot streaks \u2013 his rookie year and the end of last season come to mind. He entices the Pirates&#8217; brain trust now and then, as he did on Tuesday with a long home run against the Cincinnati Reds. But overall, he\u2019s the hitter his lifetime average suggests he is. He hasn\u2019t been better since his r<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/28\/pirates-perez-bart-injured-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">ecent return from the injured list<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These Pirates are no offensive juggernaut. The team is hitting .230\/.298\/.360, 68 HR, and 288 RBI. All rank near the bottom of the National League. It\u2019s even uglier when we look at their numbers with runners in scoring position (RISP). In RISP situations, the Pirates rank 27th in the 30-team MLB with .219\/.309\/.350. Hayes is hitting just .182\/.273\/.273 with RISP. He ranks 13th among the 18 Pirates who have come to bat in 2024. Yet he\u2019s too often hit in front of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gonzani01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nick Gonzales<\/a> (.321 with RISP) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/joeco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor Joe<\/a> (.281).<\/p>\n<p>The Pirates\u2019 primary center fielders (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/taylomi02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael A. Taylor<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/suwinja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jack Suwinski<\/a>) are batting a combined .184, while their main catchers (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/grandya01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yasmani Grandal<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davishe01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Henry Davis<\/a>) are batting a combined .172. They have been occupying the No. 8 and 9 spots in the order, as they should. Hayes is suited for the No. 7 spot. It\u2019s a tight race, and every game is important, meaning every run is important. Too often, Pirates fans and pundits have had to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/05\/29\/bucco-blasts-pirates-have-a-kebryan-hayes-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">revisit what to do<\/a> about his lack of production. It\u2019s time for the Pirates to move Hayes lower in the batting order.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credits: <em>Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the Pittsburgh Pirates in the wild card race, Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes must move lower in the batting order. Let\u2019s understand up front that Hayes isn\u2019t a bad player. He\u2019s a very good player. Pirates Star Should Bat Lower In The Batting Order He produced a WAR of 4.4 and 4.0 in 2022 and 2023, respectively. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5010,"featured_media":77418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_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":[26,1071],"tags":[70,4535,3160,4875,5720,3070,6136,3605,2272,2255],"class_list":["post-77391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pirates","category-mlb","tag-barry-bonds","tag-connor-joe","tag-derek-shelton","tag-henry-davis","tag-jack-suwinski","tag-kebryan-hayes","tag-michael-a-taylor","tag-nick-gonzales","tag-roberto-clemente","tag-yasmani-grandal"],"modified_by":"Evan Mazza, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77391","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\/5010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}