Pirates are following the Royals' lineup approach

     The Pirates have had an interesting offseason. This has included losing two of their biggest power threats in the lineup (Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker). The players that are replacing them are Josh Harrison and newly-signed John Jaso. These guys don't have quite as much power, but they do get on base at a higher clip. This begs the question: Is less power and more on-base potential the Pirates goal?

     Last year, the Royals went into the season with not much big-time power hitter, with their biggest threat, Billy Butler, going to Oakland. Royals were not concerned with this at all. Instead, they rolled with it, and their lineup of good overall hitters worked out. Their trade deadline addition, Ben Zobrist, wasn't a power threat, either. 

     I think the Pirates are trying to emulate this in their own way. We have seen the Pirates copy the Royals methods before, when they set up an elite back end of the bullpen similar to the Royals when they acquired Joakim Soria last July. It wouldn't be surprising if they tried to copy a method of the Royals again, since they do seem to have the answers. 

     The Pirates lineup is in a similar situation as the Royals last year. The big power threats for the Pirates are few and far between, with McCutchen, Marte, and Kang being the hugest threats, and none of them are thumpers by any means. But just like the Royals, the Pirates have guys that can hit for higher average and get on base more. Polanco, Harrison, Jaso, and Cervelli fit that mold well. Looking through the lineup as a whole, the threat of players getting on base at all times is a consistent thought that could make pitchers fearful. 

     Last year, the Pirates lineup was more about power, swinging for the fence, and providing instant offense. Meanwhile, the Royals had more consistent hitters, bunched together hits. and created runs that way. I believe that was the real difference between the two clubs. It is very hard to beat top pitchers with instant offense. That is why the Pirates had trouble a lot of the time. When looking at the Royals, it seemed that they could get to any pitcher. The reason; they were able to bunch together hits. Good-hitting teams can rattle pitchers throughout the whole game. That creates an advantage for the offense. That was something the Pirates were missing last year. 

     The Pirates offense, in its current state, projects to be better than they were in 2015. Pirates won 98 games with a so so offense and great pitching. We all can hope that the Pirates pitching doesn't NEED to be as good as they were (it would be nice, though). I think this new method of how the lineup is built is a good fit for the Pirates.