Feb 26, 2014 By John Perrotto for The 4 min read

BRADENTON, Fla. — Jordy Mercer isn’t the first small-town-boy-makes-good story in baseball history. However, few players have come from smaller towns than the Pirates shortstop.

Mercer hails from Taloga, Okla., which has a population of 300. He was part of the seven-member Class of 2005 at Taloga High School.

Yes, Mercer had just six high school classmates. Six.

So, Mercer has come a long way from growing up on a farm in Taloga — he was president of Future Farmers of America club in his hometown — to the major leagues.

“It’s really pretty amazing,” Mercer said at the Pirates’ spring training camp. “I always dreamed of playing in the big leagues but it seemed so far away from the town where I grew up.”

However, Mercer has not only made it to the major leagues, but also will begin the season as the Pirates’ starting shortstop after gradually taking playing time away from veteran Clint Barmes last year.

Barmes wound up making 91 starts and Mercer made 84 as the Pirates made their first postseason appearance and enjoyed their first winning season since 1992.

“I always felt that if I got the chance to have some consistent at-bats and play every day that I would show that I’m capable of playing in the big leagues,” Mercer said. “It was really a matter of opportunity. I got the chance to play and I tried my best to make the most of it.”

Mercer did just that as he hit .285 with eight home runs in 103 games. Barmes, meanwhile, batted just .211 with five homers in 108 games.

“It was really a matter of a player seizing his opportunity,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. “We’ve always felt Jordy had a chance to be an everyday shortstop and he proved it last year.”

Mercer, 27, starred at Oklahoma State and was the Pirates’ third-round draft pick in 2008. While he hit as many as 19 home runs in a minor-league season — combined with Class AAA Indianapolis and Class AA Altoona in 2011 — there were always questions from talent evaluators both inside and outside the organization as to whether he could handle playing shortstop defensively at the major-league level.

Mercer did a solid job in the field last season, though he did commit a pivotal error to cost the Pirates a late-season game against the Cincinnati Reds. Manager Clint Hurdle also started Barmes in four of the five games in the Pirates’ loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series.

However, the Pirates are confident enough in Mercer’s defense to hand him the starting job this season, though they did re-sign Barmes to a one-year, $2-million contract as insurance. Barmes is also back to mentor Mercer for a second straight year, a selfless role he took upon himself last season when he began being relegated to the bench.

“It’s great to have someone like Clint to learn from,” Mercer said. “He knows so much about playing the position and he’s helped me so much when it comes to things like playing angles. He didn’t have to help me, but he did. He’s a great teammate and a great friend.”

Barmes, for his part, has gained a satisfaction at watching Mercer improve.

“The thing with Jordy is he works hard and really wants to learn,” Barmes said. “We’re teammates. It’s not a case of where I’m worrying about playing time or he’s worrying about playing time. We’re in this together and it was great to see him play so well last year because he’s a hard worker and a great guy.”