2011 Position Preview: Right Field

Garrett Jones returns this year and with the first base experiment apparently over, should see most of his playing time in right field. He won't technically be an everyday player to start the seaosn, but he'll start against all righthanded pitchers which will give him at least 110 starts if he stays healthy.

Jones was a revelation in 2009, then trailed off after a strong start last year to finish with pretty mediocre numbers. He had some bad luck in 2010 and wasn't really used in the right manner, so his true talent lies somewhere in the middle.

2009: 82 games, .293/.372/.567, 45 Runs, 21 HR, 44 RBI, 10 SB
2010: 158 games, .247/.306/.414, 64 runs, 21 HR, 86 RBI, 7 SB

Garrett's unimpressive numbers last year are a result of 230 plate appearances against lefthanded pitching in which he hit .220/.261/.360. No one has questioned his ability to hit righthanders, so I expect his rate stats to rebound considerably. He also hit much better as a right fielder last year than while he was also struggling to learn first base at the big league level.

2009 unquestionably was a career year, but I'm expecting Jones to rebound somewhat in 2011. In around 400 at bats I expect him to hit .270/.340/.460 with 50 runs, 15 home runs, 65 RBI and nine steals.

Platoon Partner: Matt Diaz
The Pirates brought in Matt Diaz on a two year, $4.25 million deal. He'll start in right field against lefthanders. He'll also be the primary backup to Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen - Diaz won't play center field but Tabata will shift over when McCutchen gets a rare day off. Diaz has been inconsistent in recent years but certainly has the ability to be an effective platoon player.

2008: 43 games, .244/.264/.304, 9 Runs, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 4 SB
2009: 125 games, .313/.390/.488, 56 Runs, 13 HR, 58 RBI, 12 SB
2010: 84 games, .250/.302/.438, 27 Runs, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 3 SB

Diaz lost 2008 to a knee injury, then had problems with his right thumb in 2009 and 2010. He still compiled a career year in '09 and then hit .285/.335/.530 for the rest of the season after returning from the thumb injury in June 2010. If he can stay healthy for the Pirates, he's a great bat to have on the roster. For his career he's hit an unreal .335/.373/.533 against lefthanders.

Diaz will get over 300 at bats if healthy, but I'm going to be more realistic and count on 250. I expect him to hit around .280/.330/.490 with 30 runs, 9 homers, 36 RBI and four steals.

Matt Diaz Signs To Play Right Field

The Pirates added half of a power hitter to their lineup Wednesday, signing corner outfielder Matt Diaz to a two-year contract for $4.5 million. This move was particularly inspiring in that it proves Neil Huntington's bullshit claim of using Ryan Doumit as the everyday right fielder was actually bullshit he was making up, and not a bullshit move that the Pirates actually will make.

Diaz has a solid career batting line of .301/.350/.456. The reason I say half of a power hitter is his left/right splits which are some of the most pronounced in baseball. Diaz has absolutely murdered lefthanded pitching with a .335/.373/.533 career batting line off southpaws. Against righthanders he is, well, Lastings Milledge, with a career line of .269/.327/.382. Defensively Diaz is above average in left field and slightly below average in right, though he definitely holds his own. On the bases, Diaz has decent speed and chooses his spots well. He has been successful on 23 of 31 stolen base attempts and rarely gets thrown out on the bases. For the record, that is unlike a certain Pirates right fielder from this past season.

Certainly more work needs to be done on this lineup, but this Diaz signing is more good news for the Pirates. Unlike, say, every right fielder the Pirates used in 2010, Diaz is the type of player who you will always see on a successful team. Notwithstanding left/right splits, he is an above average major league hitter. Really the only problem with this signing is that Diaz looks suspiciously like a platoon partner for Garrett Jones.

Hidden in the Pirates 16th-ranked offense in the NL was the fact that the Pirates' most common starters at each position collectively hit at an above average level. The problem was that the Pirates got less than zero from all their secondary players. Every player with between 50 and 300 plate appearances had an on base percentage between .227 and .312 and slugged between .207 and .414. Except for Chris Snyder, all of this dead weight has been jettisoned for 2010. Replacing Lastings Milledge with Matt Diaz is another positive improvement, giving the Pirates a legitimate shot at - dare I say it - an average offense.