The Pirates have gone toward an on-base heavy approach in recent years and they have fallen behind in terms of isolated power (slugging percentage-batting average) and home run rate, especially as home runs keep increasing at such a high rate. From 2012-14 the Pirates were better than the league average non pitchers, but in 2015 that changed, and that gap has increased without the power bats of Pedro Alvarez (non tendered after 2015) and Jung Ho Kang (visa issues). They did have some surprise power last year in Sean Rodriguez and Gregory Polanco, but the rest of the players were either the same as they have been, or a tad worse.
David Freese Has Sacrificed Power For Getting On-Base
