MINNEAPOLIS -- There hasn't been a lot to get excited about for the Pirates' offense so far this season, especially during their current four-game losing streak. They have scored just seven runs during the skid, and in Chicago this past weekend, they only plated a run in three of their 29 innings played.
Colin Moran has done more than his share to try to get the Pirates' offense going during this time, though, homering twice this weekend to take the National League lead with five.
That's right, Colin Moran. The guy who hit 13 home runs and had a 97 OPS+ primarily as a platoon has become one of the most feared hitters in baseball in 2020. The third year is the charm.
There is nothing cheap about his hot start, either. He's tattooing the baseball right now, and the quality of contact is the best it has ever been.
Here are his Statcast peripherals, going by what percentile he ranked in among major-league batters. The higher, the better:
Overall, that's not very exciting. His expected batting average and slugging percentage were basically average, but he wasn't exactly hitting the ball hard. Based on those numbers, you'd project he is either an average or slightly below-average hitter. His season slash line would support that.
Now here are those same metrics in 2020:
It looks completely different. It is completely different.
How about some examples. On Saturday, Moran tagged a single with an exit velocity of 110.6 mph. That's the hardest hit ball he has had in the majors. Later in the game, he homered off left-hander Kyle Ryan, and the exit velo was 108.5 mph. That was the fourth hardest hit ball he's had in the majors. It's worth repeating that was off a southpaw.
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