At some point during 2015, the final season of Pedro Alvarez' career as a Pirate, I made the comment to the effect that now that Pedro had accumulated 2,000 at bats in the majors, we could reasonably conclude that "what we have seen, is what he is", and I believe that the time has come to make a similar statement about the player who seems to have become the Whipping Boy for the Pirates in 2018, Gregory Polanco.
When Polanco finally arrived in Pittsburgh in 2014, I was telling anyone who would listen that "he would be an All-Star by 2016; 2017 at the latest." Well, I believe that I DIDN'T have that one. Now in his fifth season as a Pirate, here are the batting averages that Polanco has put on the back of his baseball card:
2014 - .235
2015 - .256
2016 - .258
2017 - .251
2018 - .225 (through May 22)
In 1,936 at bats, Polanco's production pro-rated over 162 games shows a batting average of .250, 17 HR, 69 RBI and an OPS of .723. Not the stuff of which perennial All-Stars are made. Through four plus seasons and close to 2,000 at bats, are what we have seen from Polanco what he is? Add to this pedestrian offensive output the head-scratching base running blunders and the defensive gaffes in right field, and you have to wonder just how long the leash will be on the team's patience with a player for whom they had hopes of super stardom.
Finally, baseball-reference.com always lists "comparable players" on every player's page. The list on Polanco's page happens to include tree former Pirates: Travis Snider, Roman Mejias, and Jacob Brumfield. Not exactly Stargell, Clemente, and Parker is it?
Oh, and Austin Meadows' performance right out of the gate will certainly cause the fan base's patience for Polanco to run out, if not that of the front office.
Right On Bob -- I did not see it coming but GP is a mediocre player. I can only speculate but Hurdle's Kumbaya managerial style may not be the best for the guy. Often, guys with so much God given talent get mentally lazy and need that kick in the pants to wake them up. I see the opposite in Austin Meadows, who looks like the real deal, BUT we clamored for GP to come up and be the savior of the team as well. It will be interesting when Marte comes back, if I were the Skipper I would send GP down to AAA to get his groove back. Let's Go BUCS.
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