It is no secret that the Pirates have a woeful offense, and that with even average offensive performance, they would likely contend late into the season. One of the dimensions where their performance leaves a lot to be desired is plate discipline. I was looking at the K/BB ratios for National League players with at least 100 AB, and found the following Pirates:

Barmes 20.5 ratio -ranked 1st

Jones 12 ratio - ranked 2nd

Presley 8.25 ratio - ranked 4th

So, we have three of the worst four players in this area (big shout of thanks to Tyler Colvin for preventing the sweep). My question is why would this be the case? My belief is that Huntington has a pretty good feel for modern analysis in baseball, and would know the value of OBP. Is this a developmental problem in the minor leagues? Do Pirate players show larger declines in this statistic when they get to the majors? Does our hitting coach preach "aggression" at the plate? On the horizon, Marte is the best prospect at AAA and he boasts a ratio of 4. Josh Bell had a ratio of 10.5, although the sample size is quite small. Only Grossman and Hansen have respectable ratios among the top prospects, and Hansen strikes out a lot as well. Unless this problem gets solved, the Bucs are always going to struggle offensively. Where do we find a solution?