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The Pirates Are Now Using Extreme Defensive Shifts in Indianapolis

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INDIANAPOLIS – For the past several years, the Pirates have received a lot of attention at the Major League level for their extreme defensive shifts. They have practiced these shifts in the minors as well, although it would be inaccurate to say that the strategy carried over from the majors to the minors. In fact, it was the exact opposite.

Travis Sawchik did a great job in his book, Big Data Baseball, of detailing how the defensive shifts started in the minor leagues. The Pirates weren’t ready to adopt this strategy at the big league level, so Kyle Stark and Dan Fox got together to implement the shifts at the minor league level. Clint Hurdle eventually got on board, and things went to an extreme level in Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, back in the minors, the Pirates still practiced the shifts, but it wasn’t anything nearly as extreme as what was happening in the big leagues. You didn’t see three infielders on one side of second base, and you didn’t see a second baseman lining up in shallow right field. Instead, they had basic shifts, where guys would move a bit to their left and right, depending on which handed hitter was at the plate.

That all has changed in a big way this year at the Triple-A level. The Pirates have implemented their extreme defensive shifts in Indianapolis. They constantly line three infielders up on one side of the bag, or put the shortstop directly behind the bag on the grass, or have the second baseman in shallow right field. Indianapolis Indians Manager Dean Treanor decided to go the more extreme route this year, helping to prepare the minor leaguers for the big leagues.

“Dean has really put it in play this year, and I think it’s a great idea on Dean’s part, because now it gets these young players who are down here ready for Pittsburgh,” Pirates Infield Coordinator Gary Green said. “Because this is what they’re going to be doing in Pittsburgh. It’s a great idea, him instituting it this year. They worked on it [during practice]. They’ve used it during games. So it just gives them more familiarity, and once they get to Pittsburgh, it’s not going to be a shock for them.”

One thing that has allowed for the extreme shifts to be implemented at this level is the better availability of batted ball data in the minors. The Pirates have a guy in Indianapolis who is in contact with the analytics department from the big league club. The department sends down spray charts, heat charts, and everything else to be reviewed with Treanor and the team before each series.

“We’re a little more extreme [now], and we’re getting help from the people up there, of where to go to get the information,” Treanor said. “I think for the most part it’s worked out very well for us. You can tell how it can frustrate the other side when they hit the ball and think it’s a base hit and you’ve got somebody standing there. I embrace it.”

While I was in Indianapolis last week, I noticed that they’re not only using the extreme shifts a lot, but they’re even dedicating part of infield drills to the shifts. Below is a picture of Max Moroff and Adam Frazier practicing their throws from shallow right field during practice one day.

Max Moroff (left) and Adam Frazier (right) taking ground balls in right field.
Max Moroff (left) and Adam Frazier (right) taking ground balls in right field.

This buy-in is largely to get the players prepared for Pittsburgh, so they’re used to shifting around and playing different areas on the field on any given night.

“You try to mirror the big leagues as much as you can, and this is one of those areas where you go there, and it’s not going to catch them off guard, because we’re doing it here,” Treanor said. “So they’re going to be used to it. I think these guys embrace it. They like the shifts, especially when it works out.”

One thing that definitely helps the Indianapolis team is that they have so many players who were former shortstops. Alen Hanson, Adam Frazier, Max Moroff, Pedro Florimon, and Gift Ngoepe are either getting time at shortstop this year, or have played the position in the past. So when a second baseman is asked to move over to shortstop against a right-hander, or a third baseman is asked to move over against a left-hander, it’s not a problem.

“When you have a shortstop that you can move around and play other positions, it makes it a lot easier on your infield defense,” Green said. “And the guys have taken to it. They’ve done a good job with it. Dean’s done a good job not only instituting it, but working on it to help those guys get comfortable with it. It’s paid off in the games. It’s been fun to watch.”

The Pirates aim for versatility with a lot of their players in the minors, moving them around to give them more chances to reach the big leagues. With the best prospects, like Kevin Newman at shortstop or Ke’Bryan Hayes at third, they’re not taking this approach. But they do take the approach with guys like Frazier or Moroff, who might not have as clear of a path to the big leagues.

The versatility training at the lower levels will definitely make it easier for players to adjust to the shifts. But don’t expect the extreme shifts to go lower than Triple-A, as the Pirates are still sticking with the basic shifting approach at the other levels.

“We shift, but that’s basically our straight up positioning what you see elsewhere,” Green said. “Really, no need to do it at the other levels, especially the A-ball levels with those young kids. They’re just trying to get comfortable catching and throwing the baseball. So to put them in a situation that they’ve never been in doesn’t make any sense. But as they get closer to the big leagues, it does.”

One interesting situation in Indianapolis is at first base, with Josh Bell. The converted outfielder is in his second season at first base, and while the defense has improved over the last year, the shifts add a bit of a new twist, with Bell playing further off the bag in some situations. Bell seems to have a pretty good understanding of where to play, noting a key point in his positioning where the rest of the infielders are shifted to the left side of the infield.

“When Frazier or Max or Hanson is playing straight up for a lefty or a righty, it’s generally a step and a dive to my right side,” Bell said of fielding a grounder. “If I can’t get the baseball after a step and a dive, then I’ve got to vacate that ball and cover the bag. When a guy is over [at shortstop], I really have to expand my dimensions a little bit. If I don’t get the ball, the ball is going in the outfield. So I might as well give a little bit more effort, and try to expand and hopefully still get the guy.”

Josh Bell's positioning during a shift against a right-hander.
Josh Bell’s positioning during a shift against a right-hander.

As I wrote the other day, Bell is getting to the point where he’s got the fundamentals of the position down, and is now learning from in-game experience. So the defensive shifts in Triple-A will only help to give him that experience for the majors, learning when to break for a ball, and when to give one up.

The Pirates have a lot of infielders in Indianapolis who project to reach the majors in the next year. If that is going to happen in Pittsburgh, then they’ll need to get used to the extreme defensive shifts that the Pirates incorporate. For that reason, it makes all the sense in the world to get them started on this approach in Triple-A, so that they don’t have to make as big of an adjustment after their eventual promotions.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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