The two injured Pirates Jung Ho Kang and Jared Hughes are set to begin their rehab assignments on the long road back to joining the Pirates. Both players will be much welcomed additions to the Pirates team and will help them be ready for a deep run in 2016.
Last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates experienced one of the scariest sites you can see on a baseball field. Their star player Jung Ho Kang was taken out by Chris Coghlan of the Chicago Cubs and was laying helpless on the infield dirt. It turned out that Kang had torn his ACL and required season ending knee surgery.
That loss of Kang effected the Pirates greatly and before they knew it, a 98-win baseball team had been eliminated from playoff contention in the wild card round as the Chicago Cubs defeated them 4-0 sending them home for the season. The off-season surgery and the rehab has been concluded and for Kang it is time for the final step in the rehab process, the minor league rehab assignment.
Kang along with Pirates middle relief pitcher Jared Hughes are each scheduled to begin their rehab assignments this week and come back to help the Pirates this season. Both players will be sent to Triple A Indianapolis with Kang's rehab starting today and Hughes's beginning tomorrow.
Both of these players were very important parts to the Pittsburgh Pirates team last season. Kang came over from the Korean Baseball league and showed that he belonged in the majors while Hughes became the rally killer for the Pirates becoming one of the top pitchers in the league in terms of stranding runners on base.
At the beginning of the 2015 season, Kang was signed to a four year deal with the Pirates. He was coming over from Korea with an impressive .356 average with 40 home runs and 117 RBI. There were many doubters as to whether or not Kang could produce with consistency at the major league level and play short stop everyday.
While not playing short stop, Kang did hold up the other end of the bargain and became a big run producer for the Pirates over the course of the year. In total, he hit .287 with 15 home runs and 58 RBI in his rookie campaign with the Pirates. It took the rookie some time to adjust to the major league level as he collected just one hit in his first 13 major league at-bats, but he turned it on in the months of May and July and turned out to be a big run producer in the lineup.
Kang brings a power threat to the Pirates lineup that they have been lacking in the beginning part of the season. While the Pirates have a lot of players who can hit you 10-15 home runs, there is no true power threat that can break a game open. When Kang comes back, he provides that pop in the middle of the order that will allow the Pirates to scare a lot of teams down the stretch.
The Pirates lineup currently has five men hitting over .300, and when you add Kang to the mix this lineup is flat out scary. The only problem you face with Kang coming back is who will come out of the Pirates lineup? With so many players having success there is really no one to take out of the picture, which is a good problem to have.
David Freese is currently on a tear for the Pirates with his .306 average and Jordy Mercer has been impressive on defense and is holding his own at the plate as he is tied with Starling Marte for the team lead in RBI. These three players will more than likely go through a turn table of action, which is good because it allows each player to get there fair share of rest.
The other Pirate that will be returning to the team is right handed middle reliever Jared Hughes. Hughes has been one of the more consistent pitchers in the Pirates bullpen the last couple of seasons and his return will give a big boost to the bullpen allowing guys to get some rest. If he is at his best, he also has the potential to shorten the game for opposing teams.
Last season, Hughes was 3-1 with a 2,28 ERA while striking out 36 and walking 19 in 76 games pitched. Hughes has been a part of the Pirates bullpen since 2011. After a break out year in 2013, Hughes was able to continue his success into the 2014 season and help the Pirates win the second most games in major league baseball.
Hughes' call to action last season was getting the Pirates out of tight spots. Last season, Hughes inherited a total of 56 runners last season and only nine of those runners crossed the plate. Hughes consistently used his sinker ball to get out of jams causing 11 double plays over the course of the 2015 season.
Hughes will factor nicely right into the middle of the Pirates bullpen. He will more than likely asked to be the bridge between the starting pitchers and the back-end of the bullpen guys. The key for Hughes will be whether or not his sinker is on. When he is getting guys to hit the ball on the ground, he is very effective out of the pen.
If Hughes can retain his success from the 2015 season into this year, the Pirates could potentially have five inning games on their hands. Neftali Feliz, Tony Watson, and Mark Melancon have had a great deal of success this season and adding an effective Hughes to the mix could make the game very short for opposing teams with Hughes taking the reigns in the sixth followed by Feliz, Watson, and Melancon
Both of these players will be welcome sights for this Pirates team. They are already strong contenders in the National League Central and adding these two players could put them over the top. While both these players still need some time to mend, each will come back and play a significant role on this 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates team.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are currently preparing for a ten game west coast road trip where they will travel to San Diego, Arizona, and Colorado. Tomorrow night the Pirates are back in action as they face off in the first of a three game series with the San Diego Padres. The pitching match-up will be Colin Rea (0-1 5.56) for the Padres taking on Francisco Liriano (1-0 2.45) for the Pirates. First pitch for tomorrow's game is scheduled for 10:10 p.m.
