Neil Walker spent most of the young 2015 season batting somewhere below Andrew McCutchen in the Pittsburgh Pirates every day lineup. With Josh Harrison‘s struggles and Gregory Polanco‘s forward strides, there is now a seismic shift in the Pirates batting order that will likely see Walker staying in the second slot in the order for the foreseeable future.
Finding the right combination of hitters is one of the few visible areas in which a manager can truly affect the game. Clint Hurdle may have just solved one of the biggest problems for the 2015 Pirates in one stroke.