Position Report Card: Right Field

Right field was another position that the Pittsburgh Pirates were a let down in 2014. You are never going to have a great deal of success when a position's playing time is split between 2 or even 3 people, yet that is what the Pirates did in this situation.

Travis Snider, Gregory Polanco, and even a little bit of Josh Harrison sprinkled in was what the Buccos right field was made up of this past season.

Snider began the season in extremly underwhelming fashion. There was even speculation that he would be designated for assignment when they were thinking about calling up Polanco, but that was not the case. Maybe that was what lit a fire under Snider, but whatever it was he actully ended up putting up some fairly respectable numbers across the board. Snider hit 13 homes runs, had 38 runs batted in, and hit at an avergae of .264 in 140 games played. He also excelled as a pinch-hitter.

Travis Snider pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates
phot courtsey of Snider's twitter account

Polanco was supposed to be a savior for the Pirates. A highly talented rookie this year with still an enermous amount of potential, but it just didn't all click for him this year. We all saw flashes of his talent, but overall he was just a little too inconsistent at the plate going on long stretches without recording a hit. Polanco ended the year with a line of 7 home runs, 33 runs batted in, and a very low .235 batting average.

Gregory Polanco
photo courtsey of pittsburghpirates.com

Combining those numbers, the 2 primary right fielders for the Bucs hit 20 homes runs and batted 71 runs, while not hitting for any kind of average. Not horrible numbers, but definitley not great by any stretch of the word. This is defintiley and area that needs improvement for continued success for the Pirates in 2015.

Overall Grade:  C+