Connor Joe Providing Unexpected Spark to Pirates’ Lineup
p/c: Charles LeClaire - USA Today Sports
Another year, another 100-loss season. That’s what the Pittsburgh Pirates dealt with, in both 2021 and 2022.
General manager Ben Cherington was looking to make a conscious effort to improve the lineup by bringing in veteran hitters that have had track records in the past.
The biggest of course was the Pirates reunion with Andrew McCutchen. Other notable moves were the trade of Ji-Man Choi, and the signing of Carlos Santana. Perhaps their most underrated addition from last offseason was Connor Joe.
Originally drafted by the Pirates back in 2014, Joe was looking to climb the minor league ranks of the system to get his way to Pittsburgh. However, former Pirates GM Neal Huntington dealt Joe to the Atlanta Braves, a week after the 2017 trade deadline, in exchange for Sean Rodriguez.
The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Joe in September of 2017, for international bonus money.
Joe was a Rule 5 player, with the Giants, before the 2019 season. In April of that year, he was returned to the Dodgers.
Unfortunate health news came Joe’s way in 2020, as he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Although Joe was cancer free, he still opted out of the abbreviated year, for the Dodgers.
Following the 2020 season, the Colorado Rockies signed Joe to a minor league deal, and he spent two years in Denver.
It was December of last year that the Pirates would obtain Joe from the Rockies, in exchange for pitcher Nick Garcia.
The general assessment of Joe was a right-handed, utility bat, who can handle left-handed pitching well, and play quality defense, both in the outfield and at first base.
While Joe is viewed as more of a platoon hitter, you wouldn’t know it based on his first month of the 2023 season. Here are his current offensive stats:
.357/.455/.643
191 wRC+
10.8% BB rate
20.0% K rate
0.9 oWAR
Joe has been an absolute on base machine early on. He already has seven multi-hit games, while his 10 extra-base hits are currently tied for second most on the team. Joe is hitting the ball extremely hard, posting an exit velocity of 91.2 - a figure that is higher than the MLB average (88.4).
The plate discipline has also been steady for Joe, as he’s only chasing pitches at a 16.8% clip, which is lower than his career mark of 24.1%.
Through the first 18 games, Joe has a very unsustainable .439 BABIP, so the numbers will likely cool off some eventually.
At 16-7, the Pirates are getting major contributions on the hitting side, as well as the pitching. As for the offense, the Bucs have a .436 slugging percentage - good for sixth best in baseball.
The surprising contributions of Connor Joe are no doubt playing a large role, in the success of the Pirates’ offense the first few weeks of the season.