Pirates outfielders Bryan Reynolds, Gregory Polanco vow to put hitting woes behind them

Feb. 26—The Pittsburgh Pirates aren't going to pretend their corner outfielders didn't bat below the Mendoza Line last season. Right fielder Gregory Polanco and left fielder Bryan Reynolds just don't want anyone to think playing amid a pandemic resembled a normal baseball season.

After Reynolds batted .187 (35 for 185) and Polanco .153 (24-157) — combining for 122 strikeouts in 282 plate appearances — both spent the offseason trying to rediscover their timing and refine their swings. They are treating spring training as a fresh start, a chance to put a season of struggles behind them and prove themselves at the plate.

"I can't control opinions people have about me," said Reynolds, who hit a team-best .314 in 134 games as a rookie in 2019. "I know the kind of player I am, the kind of player I'm going to be. And I've got all the confidence in the world in myself, so I'll go out there and have a nice full season and help us win some games."

The Pirates were counting on Polanco and Reynolds to be productive middle-of-the-order bats. Instead, they scuffled like never before, no matter how much Pirates manager Derek Shelton shuffled the batting order. They were hardly alone, as no Pirates who played in at least 25 games batted higher than Jacob Stallings at .248. Only Ke'Bryan Hayes (.376 in 24 games) and Phillip Evans (.359 in 11 games) batted .300 or better.

The shortened season didn't allow for elongated slumps. Even the past two National League MVPs struggled. Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers hit .205 (121 points below his 2018 MVP season) and Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers batted .239 (66 points below his '19 MVP season).

"Last year was tough because it was short," said Polanco, who had a team-high 65 strikeouts but was tied for second with 22 RBIs. "I go through a slump for a season, like every season that I've played in the majors ... you've got your slump for weeks, months, whatever, but we didn't have the time last year. We only had two months and, at the end of the season, I started feeling better, swinging better, but we didn't have enough time."

Polanco didn't fare much better in winter ball in his native Dominican Republic, batting .197 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 21 games while dealing with an injured right wrist. After a few weeks off, Polanco prepared for spring training in Miami by working with new assistant hitting coach Christian Marrero, which Polanco called a "huge step for me." A left-hander, Marrero threw the left-handed hitting Polanco batting practice to help him keep his front shoulder closed, allowing him to concentrate on keeping his head in the strike zone longer and shortening his swing.

It's a matter of simplifying mechanics, Shelton said, noting the longer a hitter stays in the zone the more surface level there is for contact.

Reynolds is impressed with how Polanco has hit so far at Pirate City, noting he looks "physical" and "strong." Those always have been Polanco's trademarks, as has his ability to hit the ball hard when he makes contact. Polanco ranked in the 95th percentile in exit velocity (92.9 mph) and 93rd percentile with a 51.6% hard-hit rate.

"In our live BPs yesterday, he had a good swing on a really tough, high-thrown fastball," Reynolds said. "He looks good and healthy, and that's all you can ask, is to be healthy. Then his talent will take over."

Polanco's swing-and-miss is a greater issue, with a 43% whiff rate and strikeouts in 37.4% of his plate appearances.

"Not trying to do too much with the ball," Polanco said. "Just trying to see the ball as long as I can. I'm not changing anything. I think I was getting out of the zone too quick."

Despite a textbook stroke that Shelton said has minimal movement, Reynolds blamed his struggles on timing, saying it was "just way off."

"Wasn't getting started early enough. Wasn't getting in position soon enough so I was rushed and not seeing the ball well," Reynolds said. "Just worked on my rhythm, timing and those kinds of things and I feel good where I'm at."

A former hitting coach with the Tampa Bay Rays, Shelton said timing could be affected by anything from how a hitter sees the ball out of a pitcher's hand to how he tilts his head.

Getting back into the groove requires work in the batting cage and video room, talking to hitting coaches and taking an honest look at his approach.

There's no simple solution.

"That's honestly the million dollar question," Shelton said. "That's a question for Bryan Reynolds. Timing is something, I know we talked about it a lot last year. For hitters in general throughout the league, it's something different for every guy. There's no magical fix to it. When your timing gets thrown off, it throws off everything else that happens in your swing."

Instead of making major adjustments with his hands or to his swing, Reynolds took a month off in October to press the reset button. He wanted to be free and easy with his swing so it looks and feels natural again, instead of looking like a statue that keeps striking out.

Reynolds believes the Pirates will be better hitters this season, knowing full well they couldn't be much worse than they were last season.

"I'm confident that we will be the players we are, and you can't judge anyone on 2020, a 60-game season," Reynolds said. "We'll go out there, and we'll have a full season and we'll hit how we hit."

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .