Which Pirates players proved to be the biggest bargains in 2019 — and which didn't come close to earning their paycheck?
FanGraphs' Dollars stat offers a clue. Dollars compares a player's actual salary to the value that he generated in terms of Wins Above Replacement (WAR). WAR measures a player's hitting, fielding and baserunning value compared to that of a Quad-A-type player. One win above replacement costs about $8 million on the free-agent market, per FanGraphs' calculations. So, a one WAR player would have a Dollars value of $8 million.
The Pirates' biggest bargains included quality pre-arbitration players like Bryan Reynolds ($25.5 million value, $555,000 actual salary), Josh Bell ($19.6 million value, $587,000 salary), Kevin Newman ($19 million value, $557,000 salary), Adam Frazier ($17.9 million value, $584,000 salary) and Joe Musgrove ($26.5 million value, $583,000 salary).
Starling Marte is one of the team's highest-paid players, but he was still well worth his pay ($24.2 million value, $10.3 million salary). The players who provided the worst return on investment (non-Lonnie Chisenhall division) included Gregory Polanco (-$1.5 million value compared to a replacement-level player, $6.1 million salary), Francisco Cervelli ($-1.5 million value, $11.5 million salary) and Chris Archer ($5.6 million value, $7.7 million salary).
More Pirates stats
• Bell's bombs: Josh Bell belted 37 home runs during the 2019 season, which tied for the 10th-highest single-season total in franchise history and the most for a Pirate since Brian Giles went deep 38 times in 2002. Let's take a deeper dive into Bell's homers, though. The switch-hitter mashed 28 as a lefty batter and nine as a righty batter. He hit 16 to the pull side of the field, 13 to center and eight to the opposite side. Bell crushed 13 homers on four-seam fastballs, eight on sliders, five on changeups, four on two-seam fastballs, two on curveballs, two on sinkers and one on a splitter. Seventeen of his bombs came at PNC Park, and 20 on the road.
No matter how you split it, Bell had one of the best power-hitting seasons ever for a Pirate.
• It's a sprint, not a marathon: Baserunning doesn't win as many games as top-notch hitting and fielding, but it makes a difference on the margins. And when it comes to generating value on the base paths, the Pirates were in the bottom tier among MLB teams. Pittsburgh's base running cost them about five runs compared to an average team, according to FanGraphs' Base Running Runs (BsR) stat. BsR accounts for things like stolen bases, caught stealings, taking extra bases and avoiding outs while trying to advance, and beating out potential double plays. The Pirates ranked 20th in the league in BsR. Their best base runners included Marte (+3.4 BsR), Pablo Reyes (+1.8) and Jason Martin (+1.6). Bell (-5), Colin Moran (-3.4) and Melky Cabrera (-1.9) brought up the rear.
To continue reading, log into your account:
