The growing sentiment against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ moves this off-season have led many to believe that the Pirates lack homegrown talent. Is that truly the case?
In 2015, the average Major League roster had 6.6 home ground players receiving regular playing time. The high was 11, which was shared by the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. The low mark- one – is held by trade happy Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics.
The Pirates as a team rank right near the top in terms of home grown players as they had 10 regular contributors in 2015. They were Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, Jung Ho Kang, Jordy Mercer, Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco, Gerrit Cole, Tony Watson and Jared Hughes.
Compare that to the rest of the playoff finishers in the National League: