Pirates A to Z: Kevin Newman made dramatic improvement at shortstop, struggled at plate

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z: An alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Miguel Yajure.

Player: Kevin Newman

Position: Shortstop

Throws: Right

Bats: Right

Age: 28

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 185 pounds

2021 MLB statistics: Newman batted .226/.265/.309 with 22 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 39 RBIs in 148 games.

Contract: After earning $598,000 last season, Newman enters his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Acquired: Selected by the Pirates in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft.

This past season: Newman took a directive from Pirates coaches to work on his first step and improve his defense so seriously that he even employed his pregnant wife to feed him grounders from a machine.

Where Newman credited Shayne for his Gold Glove-finalist play, he didn’t take hitting tips from newborn daughter Addison.

“If she did,” Newman cracked, “she’d be fired.”

Newman didn’t lose his sense of humor despite struggling with his swing for the second consecutive season. After hitting .308 as a rookie in 2019, he batted .224 in the shortened 2020 season and .226 in 2021. And his batting average was boosted by a second half that saw Newman hit .249, including .256 over the final 27 games of the season.

The most troubling part for Newman is that he was red-hot in spring training, batting .606 (20 for 33) with six doubles, five walks and no strikeouts in 13 Grapefruit League games to win a three-way competition with Erik Gonzalez and Cole Tucker for the starting job.

Update: Kevin Newman is now hitting .714 (15-for-21) this spring. pic.twitter.com/E21qNbFd4R

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 24, 2021

“Personally, it’s not a season that I’m necessarily happy with how I played,” Newman said. “The bat just didn’t stay consistent throughout the year. The last couple of months were better, for sure. I’m taking that into the offseason and building on that and doing everything I can to get as consistent at the plate as I can.”

Where Newman remained elite was in striking out only 41 times in 554 plate appearances, an NL-best average of once every 12.6 at-bats. While being hard to strike out is a good statistic, Newman was more concerned with being more competitive with two strikes (.188).

Newman promised to make adjustments in his approach, knowing that he hit as a rookie. And the dramatic improvement in his defense is proof that Newman can rediscover the swing that led to his early success.

“Yeah, that’s something personally that I go back to — that I’ve done it and I know I can do it,” Newman said. “My blueprint for the defensive work will stay the same because I did the work and it showed up. But it gives me confidence on the offensive side, to know that I did the work on the defensive side and it really improved so maintaining the same defensive routine and now switching my mentality to the offensive side and knowing that I can make those adjustments in the offseason. I’ve already done it in ‘19. All of those things collectively are a good direction mentally for me to go.”

Defensively, Newman started the season on a 76-game errorless streak and finished with the best fielding percentage (.993) among shortstops and made his share of spectacular plays.

Update: Kevin Newman is now hitting .714 (15-for-21) this spring. pic.twitter.com/E21qNbFd4R

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 24, 2021

Perhaps his best performance came in a 6-5 win over Arizona on Aug. 24, when Newman made a stop deep in the hole and a Jeter-esque jump throw in the second inning and a spin-and-throw play in the ninth.

“I think his range has improved, and his arm strength has improved,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Newman. “It’s a credit to him. We sent him home last offseason with some pretty strict — I wouldn’t say orders, but goals, in terms of what he needed to get better at — and he took it and ran with it, and I think we’re seeing the benefits of that.”

The future: Despite the Pirates trading All-Star second baseman Adam Frazier — a Gold Glove finalist in 2020 — in late July forcing Newman to play with five new double-play partners in the last two months, he continued to stand out at shortstop.

“It was interesting,” Newman said. “Normally, it was Frazier out there every day. When he left, it was a little bit strange to see him go. But we’ve actually adjusted really well. The guys that have been playing over there have done great. There’s been good chemistry and a good working relationship. It takes time to learn your second basemen, to learn the ranges and learn the reads.”

Newman knows all about adjusting to ranges and reads. He played 15 games at second base, including seven after Sept. 3 as the Pirates gave starts at shortstop to Tucker, Hoy Park and Oneil Cruz.

The Pirates have a surplus of shortstops coming up through their system, with Cruz and Liover Peguero ranking among their top-five prospects. Newman is projected to earn a raise to $2.2 million, and will have to hold off a young player or switch to second base.

“It’s exciting,” Newman said. “I’ve been with Pittsburgh for a good amount of time now. I’ve weathered some of the storm, for lack of a better term. And I think it’s exciting to look at the future and see what we can be. I want to be a part of that, want to help us win. I think a lot of guys want that. We have the guys who are willing to work. It’s just a matter of clicking on all cylinders.”