Mercer playing better than average
The general consensus is that Pirates’ Jordy Mercer is, at best, an average defensive shortstop.
However, some advanced fielding metrics suggest that Mercer is more than just OK. Both BillJamesOnline.com and BaseballProspectus.com rank Mercer as one of the best defenders at his position in the major leagues — fourth and fifth, respectively.
Without going into the rather complicated mathematics and scouting data behind the ratings, Bill James Online ranks Mercer behind Cincinnati’s Zach Cozart, St. Louis’ Jhonny Peralta and Atlanta’s Andrelton Simmons.
In Baseball Prospectus.com’s rankings, Mercer trails Milwaukee’s Jean Segura, Cozart, the New York Mets’ Ruben Tejada and the Chicago White Sox’s Alexi Ramirez.
Mercer ranks 12th in FanGraphs.com’s metrics.
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Pirates catcher Russell Martin notched his 1,000th career hit Wednesday night with a double off Tigers rookie right-hander Buck Farmer at Detroit.
Martin became the sixth active player who has played the majority of games at catcher to reach 1,000, joining St. Louis’ A.J. Pierzynski, Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina and Detroit’s Victor Martinez.
Martin’s first hit came on May 5, 2006, when he was playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a two-run double off Milwaukee’s Chris Capuano at Dodger Stadium.
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JaCoby Jones played more center field than shortstop in college.
However, when the Pirates selected Jones in the third round of last year’s amateur draft from Louisiana State they were hopeful he could be a full-time shortstop as a professional.
So far, so good.
Jones has been playing shortstop at low Class A West Virginia this season and drawing good reviews from scouts.
“There is no doubt in my mind he can play shortstop in the major leagues,” said a scout from an American League team who recently watched West Virginia play. “He has the range, he has the arm and he has the hands.”
Jones certainly has the bat to be an All-Star caliber shortstop. Coming into the weekend, the 22-year-old right-handed hitter was batting .288 with 21 home runs and 17 stolen bases in 112 games.