What Do We Have: Second Base

The Keystone corner might be one position on the field where the Pirates right now are comfortable. Neil Walker, the former catcher, has made big strides this season and has seemingly put a stranglehold on the second base position for the Bucs.

Walker has improved defensively this season, which was the one real goal for Walker this year to see if he could stick at second. While there is still plenty of room to grow defensively, this still just his second season playing the position. With more time in at second, he will be more than serviceable at second.

Offensively Walker took some steps forward. He was a solid run producer for the club and, as of this writing, has 12 home runs. If he could add some more power and draw just a few more walks, he could be a really special offensive player at second base. Right now he depends too much on getting a hit than a walk, which is not alarming but could be a problem if bat speed slows down. This could also be a reason why when he slumps he really slumps.

After Walker there is not much in terms of second basemen. Josh Harrison could be classified here, but he has more experience at third. A host of potential shortstop candidates could be placed here if they fizzle there. Guys like Chase d'Arnaud, could one day be considered a second base option.

For the time being the Pirates could be a lot worse off if they did not have Walker. Having him at least gives the Pirates some level of comfort. A definite storyline moving forward will be whether the Pirates extend Walker to a long term deal, which could very well happen, as it makes baseball and PR sense.