4 years agoPittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell finally had his breakout campaign in 2019, mashing 37 doubles and 37 home runs en route to a .936 OPS. Fast forward to the first 15 games of 2020 and he has just one double and two home runs to his credit with a .579 OPS. Bell is whiffing at an alarming 39.8%, continuing to perform at a lower rate against left-handed pitching. After hitting just .224 against southpaws last season, Bell has opened the year 2-for-16 as a right-handed batter this year. During his power eruption, 26.9% of the balls Bell put it play were in the air; this season, he is off to a 17.1% start, which would set a new career low. Pittsburgh’s upcoming series with the Cardinals appears destined to be sidetracked due to COVID-19, potentially putting Bell in line to miss multiple games this upcoming week.--Jesse Borek
Source: MLB