Grading Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates front office at the season’s midway point
By Bill Felber
Farm system
The farm system has to be any growing team’s wellspring. In Cherington’s case, that has meant the development of such set pieces as third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, pitcher Mitch Keller, and most recently shortstop Oneil Cruz.
The leg injury that prematurely curtailed the season and development for Cruz forced the Pirates to scramble their mid-infield plans. It has also multiplied the importance placed on the growth of another system product, second baseman Ji Hwan Bae.
The question is whether the 23-year old Bae is up to the challenge of learning on the job. He’s batting .238 with a .609 OPS, which even for a young middle infielder isn’t very good. He’s also taking his bat to the field, producing a -7 Defensive Runs Saved score. It all adds up to a -1.2 WAA.
The new hope is that recent promotion Henry Davis may be the answer. An outfielder and former top draft pick, Davis debuted in mid-June and has had a fast first two weeks: a .311 average, an .802 OPS and a +0.2 WAA. All he has to do now is keep it up for the next three months.
As a group, though, the eight rookies Cherington has used in 2023 have not produced well. Their collective WAA is -1.8, and while Bae is responsible for the bulk of it five of Cherington’s eight callups have hurt rather than helped the team.