Ben Gamel Revitalizes Career with the Pittsburgh Pirates

With the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021 Ben Gamel revitalized his career and became a fan favorite among Pirate fans in the process

On May 9th the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed outfielder Ben Gamel off waivers. This came after Gamel was designated for assignment following a slow start to the season with the Cleveland Indians.

When Gamel was designated for assignment the Pittsburgh Pirates in dire need of outfield help. Gregory Polanco was on the injured list, Bryan Reynolds was day-to-day and neither Anthony Alford nor Dustin Fowler looked like they belonged in the Majors.

Had the Pirate outfield situation not been messy when Gamel was designated for assignment it is possible that the Pirates would not have pursued him. However, in dire need of outfield help the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to claim Gamel and this wold be the beginning of Gamel revitalizing his career.

With the Pirates the feisty Gamel quickly became a fan favorite. Between his hustle on the bases, wreckless abandon in the outfield and strong performance at the plate, it was easy to see why Pirate fans and yinzers far and wide fell in love with Gamel.

Overall on the season Gamel hit for a .247/.347/.388 slash line in 400 plate appearances. Gamel posted a 101 wRC+, hit 8 home runs, collected extra base hits at a rate of 7.3% and had a fWAR of 1.2 which was the second-highest of Gamel’s career behind just the 2017 season when he posted a 1.7 fWAR with the Seattle Mariners.

Most of the damage done by Gamel on the season came with the Pirates. In 383 PAs with the Bucs, Gamel hit for a .255/.352/.399 slash line to go with a 105 wRC+ and a healthy 12.5% walk rate. All 8 of hits home runs and 28 of his 29 extra base hits on the season came with Pittsburgh, giving him an 8.3% extra base hit rate with the Pirates.

During the 2021 season Gamel’s walk rate ranked in the 90th percentile of baseball. It was truly a borderline elite skill for Gamel. His 7.9% barrel rate was 1.3% higher than league average and his average exit velocity of 89.0 MPH was higher than the league average of 88.3 MPH. His 36.5% hard-hit rate and 29% line-drive rate were both better than league average as well.

Not only did Gamel hit the ball well in 2021 leading to revitalized success at the plate, he also cut down on ground balls. His 30.9% ground ball rate in 2021 was, by far, a career-low, dropping to nearly 8% lower than his previous career-best. It was also just the second season of Gamel’s MLB career where his ground ball rate was below 40%.

To go with Gamel’s increase in quality contact there was a decrease in soft contact. Gamel recorded soft contact in just 12.4% of his trips to the plate during the 2021 season. His previous career-low was 14.4% in 2019 with the Brewers.

Gamel remains under team control through the 2022 season and enters the offseason likely penciled in as a starting outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates when Opening Day 2022 rolls around. The team could add outfield help this offseason, Yoshi Tsutsugo could be re-signed to play right field, or Travis Swaggerty could crack the Opening Day roster as the team’s left fielder.

Regardless of how the offseason shakes out, unless Gamel is traded, after revitalizing his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021 he will arrive in Bradenton in February with a starting job locked up with the Bucs.