Kevin Newman’s spring was one for the record books, hitting .606 over the course of the month. The Pirates cited shortstop several times as one of the positions that had playing time up for grabs, and Newman emerged with the job.
It’s been a completely different story early on this season. He’s slashing .174/.191/.217 through the first 47 plate appearances of the season. Entering play Thursday, his average launch angle was -3.3 degrees. His average exit velocity (83.8 mph) is down a tick from last year too. Those encouraging signs have completely vanished.
He won the starting job this spring. How long is he guaranteed that job?
It helps his case that Cole Tucker is still in Bradenton, Fla. for skill development. He isn’t really in a position to take the job from him at the moment. Even if he was, Tucker doesn’t have a good track record in the majors to this point in his career. He still has promise, but if he doesn’t turn it around, he isn’t going to force someone out of a job.
The only one who could potentially is Erik González, who is hardly a long-term solution either. He’s shown a little pop this year and has seven RBIs, but the Pirates went down this road with him last year. He just isn’t a legitimate everyday option.
It’s safe to assume either González or Tucker could at least match that slash line. Why does the competition have to stop at spring training?
Perhaps it’s an overreaction after just 13 games, but Newman didn’t look good at all last year, either. The Pirates have a variety of middle infield prospects in the minors who should be major league ready by 2022 -- Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales and Liover Peguero. Newman and Tucker need to show something soon or they could lose their job to one of them.
YOUR TURN: How long should the Pirates stick with Newman as the starter?
