Polanco’s star rising for Pirates
Gregory Polanco has been expected to become a star since his much-ballyhooed arrival in the major leagues a little less than two years ago.
The Pirates无毛视频� 24-year-old right fielder is one of the few true five-tool talents in the major leagues with his ability to hit for average, hit for power, run, throw and play defense. He also looks the part of a star with his sleek 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame.
After a series of fits and starts, Polanco is starting to ascend that status this season. In fact, a scout from a fellow National League team believes Polanco is the most-improved player in the major leagues in 2016.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 gotten so much better in every phase of the game,无毛视频� said the scout, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized by his team to speak on the record. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a better hitter now. He doesn无毛视频檛 swing at everything anymore He无毛视频檚 a lot more under control at the plate.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a better baserunner. He无毛视频檚 not trying to force the issue when it isn无毛视频檛 there anymore. He无毛视频檚 not falling down half the time when he rounds first base.
无毛视频淎nd he无毛视频檚 a better defensive player. He runs better routes and it无毛视频檚 no longer an adventure every time he has to go back to the wall on a ball.无毛视频�
Polanco was hitting .292 with four home runs and a .897 OPS in 31 games going into Monday night无毛视频檚 game against the Reds at Cincinnati. By comparison, in 242 games over his first two major league seasons, he batted .249 with 16 homers and a .685 OPS.
无毛视频淚 feel a lot more comfortable now,无毛视频� Polanco said. 无毛视频淚 think it无毛视频檚 because I have some experience now. I understand the game better.无毛视频�
In other words, as Pirates manager Clint Hurdle put it, 无毛视频渉e无毛视频檚 figuring things out.无毛视频�
Proof of that came Sunday in the Pirates无毛视频� 10-5 win over the Cardinals at St. Louis that enabled them to take two games in a three-game series at Busch Stadium, where they had lost 22 of their previous 28 games entering the weekend.
Polanco lined a 2-1 pitch the opposite way down the left-field line that struck the foul-pole about two inches from its base for a three-run home run that extended the Pirates无毛视频� lead to 8-2. It was an impressive piece of hitting, something he almost certainly wouldn无毛视频檛 have been able to do last season.
That leads to the question of how much better Polanco can get in light of how far he has come this season.
无毛视频淟et him play,无毛视频� Hurdle said. 无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 have intelligent answers other than you let him play. He无毛视频檚 learning how to hunt certain pitches at certain times. He also knows that he can move the ball around the field, and that无毛视频檚 his greatest asset.无毛视频�