Bearcats in the Big Leagues: The Art of the Steal

Josh Harrison

You can have your home runs and extra base hits. Give me steals. Stolen bases are my favorite like smiling is to Buddy. Harrison has never been the biggest thief and he's still trailing the torrid pace set by teammate Sterling Marte (18 steals already), but the Pirates' second baseman has been more aggressive (and successful) this season. He swiped three bags over the last two days to reach 11 total for the season, which pushes him past the 10 he had last season and well on pace for the career-high of 18 he set in 2014. While the stolen base is going the way of dinosaurs, the Pirates are one of a few teams that still utilizes base running to score runs, ranking third in the majors in steals (45) behind Houston (52) and Milwaukee (50).

Aside from his work on the basepaths, Harrison has continued to hit well despite being too successful in terms of OBP, throwing up a slash line of .281/.294/.375 during the first seven games of June. He also has a pair of extra base hits, three RBI and five runs scored. On the season he is at .322/.352/.426 with 14 extra base hits, 28 RBI and 26 runs scored.

Ian Happ

Fittingly enough, today is MLB Draft day. A year ago, Happ went No. 9 overall to the Chicago Cubs. Fast forward to today and he is still working his way toward the big leagues, battlign it out for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Happ hit .267 over the last 10 games and had a 2-for-4 effort with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored against Potomac. Including that contest, he has hit safely in three-straight and seven of his last 10 contests. His batting averged dipped to a low of .268 prior to the recent mini-surge, but he is back to flirting with .280 now. Overall, his slash line of .279/.402/.438 goes well with his 18 extra base hits, 36 RBI and 35 runs.

Tony Campana

It has been rough sledding for Campana of late. He is hitting just .179 in his last 10 games, partially driven down by a lack of opportunities as well as the fact that he has a hit in just one of his last 17 plate appearances. Now batting .233 on the season with just a single extra base hit, Campana has not had more than one plate appearance in his last three games.

Connor Walsh

Walsh nearly got his ERA under 2.00 over the course of the last week, but when he gave up a run against Wilmington on Tuesday it jumped back up to 2.33. His outing against Wilmington was a rough one, especially from a control standpoint. Walsh walked three batters and let up a hit as well as a run. In his other outing of the week, Walsh threw one scoreless inning to pick up his fourth save of the season, all coming in the last 10 games.