Back to the Pittsburgh Pirates Newsfeed

Inbox: Who will solidify middle of order?

They could use another strong season from Starling Marte to solidify the middle of the order. The bottom of the lineup is pretty well set: Francisco Cervelli gets on base well, Jordy Mercer crushes lefties and Josh Harrison can spark the lineup when he's hot.

But the two biggest X-factors are Gregory Polanco and Jung Ho Kang. Both can be that "bona fide bat" in the middle of the order, protecting McCutchen while providing patience and power.

Polanco's overall numbers last year may not overwhelm you, but he hit .