Infield defense looking up across the diamond

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Pirates’ 2021 spring training season got off on the right foot Sunday, as they hung on to beat the Orioles, 6-4, in eight innings at Ed Smith Stadium.

It was a game that was saved by, of all things, Colin Moran’s glove.

With two runners in scoring position and two outs in the second, Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins pulled a 2-1 pitch down the first base line. Moran took one step to his left and dove, picking the hot shot before getting up and tossing it to pitcher Wil Crowe.

If that sequence of events surprised you, you weren’t paying attention like Moran was.

“He was a little early on the 2-0 pitch, so I kind of thought maybe I had a chance to get something on the ground over there,” Moran said. “I was kind of anticipating the play.”

If you didn’t know better, you would think Moran was an old pro at first, not a converted third baseman. That change happened last year, somewhat unexpectedly. During summer camp in July, Derek Shelton said, “I think you’re going to see Colin [at third] a lot.” 

We didn’t. Moran made just four starts at his native third and 20 at first base, a position at which he played fewer than 200 innings between the majors and minors. And with Ke’Bryan Hayes at third, it’s very safe to say Moran isn’t going back to the hot corner anytime soon.

So Moran focused on becoming a full-time first baseman, a position that opened up after the Josh Bell trade on Christmas Eve. A lot of that preparation was in the weight room, trying to add a little more muscle now that he doesn’t need to be quite as nimble.

Now in camp, a lot of the focus is working with infield coach Joey Cora to pick up the intricacies of the position that he couldn’t do as much of in-season last year.

"Simple things, like how to stretch off the base,” Moran said. “Which direction to go on different throws. Like if there's a slow-roller to third, how to approach how that ball's going to come in. Backhand for a shortstop, how to know when to get off the bag for a ball that's going to run pretty good, like a two-seam from a shortstop. Little things like that, you have a lot of time here. Just to work on a lot of little things, which is nice."

First base may also suit Moran’s defensive skill set better. He made two errors at first last year, but in a limited sample size broke even on defensive runs saved. The concern for him has been not making fundamental plays, but rather his range. More specifically, his range to his right.

Baseball Savant’s defense stat is called Outs Above Average (OAA), where they can track how many good and poor fielding plays a fielder made based on what direction they had to move. Of the 266 players Baseball Savant tracked in 2019, Moran’s six OAA on plays to his left was the 14th-best for any fielder in that direction. His problem was moving to his right, where his -8 OAA was the third worst.

Moran still feels comfortable moving to his left at the new position, and it could actually be more beneficial at first. After all, making a play to his left at third base would save a single. Making a play to his left, like he did Sunday, is going to save extra-base hits.

“At third, it seems like you're over in that six hole a lot, so you've got a lot to cover to your right, and I've always been better at going to my left than that,” Moran said. “So it's something that I still work on at first, but position wise, there's a little more time when you're over there… because once you catch it, you just toss it over there."

If Moran does improve with the new position change, the Pirates have the makings of a good defensive infield. Gold glove nominee Adam Frazier is returning at second and Hayes won multiple minor-league gold gloves at the hot corner. At short, Kevin Newman spent the offseason trying to work on his first step, and the other two shortstops in the competition there, Erik Gonzalez and Cole Tucker, both have good defensive reputations.

For the group, it’s not going to come down to make the diving plays, but rather the fundamental ones. The Pirates’ shifts last year where graded very well, but they led the league in errors with 47. They will need to cut down on that. 

“We’ve done a nice job of our positioning and putting guys in the right spot, we just have to finish the play,” Shelton said. “We have to make the routine play. And in doing that, that’s going to be guys getting in the right positions, moving their feet, making strong throws. It definitely has the possibility to, we just have to turn our work into game stuff.”

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Starter Chad Kuhl pitched one inning and struck out the side on 24 pitches, 13 of which were strikes. He started off a bit shaky, allowing two singles and having a hard time locating his breaking pitches, but he seemed to get a better feel for it as the inning progressed. 

All three  strikeouts came off the slider.

“I felt like I’ve maybe thrown four [sliders] in a bullpen since I’ve been down here,” Kuhl said. “It’s just one of those things that I’ve just always had the feel for. It’s really a pitch that we’re not working on, but games situations are where I can always rely on it.”

Kuhl’s fastball was sitting at 94 mph and touched 95 mph once, going based off of the gun here in Sarasota. The slider was consistently 87-88 mph. 

• After two runs scored on a Gregory Polanco bouncer in the first on an errant throw by first baseman Trey Mancini, Polanco plated two more runs in a more traditional way in the third, taking an outside sinker deep to left.

“I kind of knew, because I hit it on the barrel,” Polanco said. “I didn’t hit it all the way out front, but I caught barrel for sure.”

A three RBI day at the plate was a fine way for Polanco to start a pivotal season in his career, but he did make a blunder in the field, dropping a fly ball that he said the wind took. 

• Todd Frazier also started his season with a homer to left, this time of the solo variety. 

“Just trying to square up a couple balls,” Frazier said. “Whether I get hits or not, at the end of the day it's about feeling good, feeling comfortable. I saw a lot of pitches and I'll take that first day, for sure.”

Hayes just missed a homer, as well, in the fifth and had to settle for a crushed RBI double. 

• Newman and Gonzalez each went 2 for 2 with a walk. Newman started at shortstop and Gonzalez at second, but the two flipped in the fourth so they could each get some work at the natural position and where they would set up in shifts.

• On the pitching side, Crowe was a bit erratic, but got the job done. He was clocked at 94 mph early, but was back in his normal 91-92 mph later in the inning when he seemed to be more in control. He walked two.

Carson Fulmer gave up a two-run homer in the sixth. James Marvel walked a pair and was charged with an unearned run when first baseman Mason Martin dropped a throw from across the diamond. Sam Howard, Clay Holmes and Shea Spitzbarth all walked and struck out at least one batter. The only Pirate pitcher to throw a clean inning was Nick Mears in the fifth. 

Spitzbarth got the save, and Pirates pitchers struck out 10 in the eight inning contest.

• And to wrap on a nice note, Mancini was playing his first game since beating colon cancer last year.The limited-capacity crowd at Ed Smith Stadium gave him a standing ovation, and he tipped his cap as thanks: