Bell went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, one walk and two RBI against Washington on Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

He's lifted his batting average to .314 and looks more like the promising rookie from 2017 than the disappointing hitter from last season. Bell has nine extra-base hits in 14 games, including three homers -- he didn't collect his ninth extra-base hit until his 35th game in 2018. Pittsburgh's offense has struggled to score runs, but not because of Bell. As a result, it wouldn't be surprising to see opponents begin to pitch around the 26-year-old in the coming games.

Bell went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in a 6-3 victory over the Nationals on Friday.

EDGE Analysis

The 26-year-old is off to a nice start, slashing .295/.373/.568 with three homers, 10 RBI and six runs in 44 at-bats. That's certainly encouraging after last season's disappointment. Bell hit .261 with only 12 homers and 62 RBI in 2018.

Bell went 2-for-4 with an RBI single against the Cubs on Wednesday.

EDGE Analysis

He's batting .391 in 24 at-bats over his last six games, with three doubles and a pair of home runs. Bell hit only two homers in his first 155 plate appearances last year. He bounced around the batting order for the second half of 2018 but has batted fourth in the lineup for every game in April thus far.

Bell went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs in a 7-5 victory against the Reds on Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

The Pirates first baseman blasted his mammoth homer over the green wall behind the landscape in centerfield at PNC Park. It was his second straight game with a home run. Bell hit 5-for-8 in the final two days of the four-game sweep of the Reds this weekend to raise his average to .310. He also has five extra-base hits, including two homers, eight RBI and five runs in eight games this season.

Bell went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI in a 6-5 win over the Reds on Saturday.

EDGE Analysis

Bell entered the game without an extra-base hit through 25 plate appearances this season but finally busted out in a major way against the Reds. The 26-year-old now carries a .269/.333/.462 slash line through seven games.

Manager Clint Hurdle said Bell will "absolutely" be the Pirates' cleanup hitter in 2019, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Bell has primarily hit fourth throughout his career, so this should be nothing new for him. The first baseman owns a .200/.231/.360 with a pair of homers through 17 games this spring. Bell is hoping for a bounce-back in the power department after hitting just 12 homers last season (down from 26 long balls in 2017).

Bell hit his second homer of the spring in Friday's game against the Rays.

EDGE Analysis

He struck out in his other three at-bats and is hitting .182 in Grapefruit League action. Bell continues to struggle defensively but has little competition for the first base job. Lonnie Chisenhall and Francisco Cervelli will likely serve as his backups. It's easy envisioning a rebound in power from Bell in 2019 - he hit 12 homers last season after belting 26 in 2017 - but it's important to note that he never hit more than 14 home runs in the minors.

Bell belted a three-run homer against Baltimore on Tuesday, his first of the spring.

EDGE Analysis

He hit 12 homers in 2018 after collecting 26 home runs in 2017. Although Bell never hit more than 17 homers in parts of seven minor-league seasons, the Bucs are counting on him to boost his power numbers in 2019. Even though the 26-year-old batted just .261 last season, he still finished with a .357 on-base percentage. With little competition at first base (Jose Osuna and Francisco Cervelli), Bell will get every chance to prove that his 2017 campaign wasn't a fluke.

Bell, who will be looking to rebound from a disappointing 2018 campaign, changed his offseason routine and also met with new hitting coach, David Eckstein, in December.

EDGE Analysis

He hit 26 home runs with 90 RBI as a rookie in 2017, but slumped to 12 homers and 62 RBI last year. The first baseman believes he's rediscovered what made him successful two seasons ago. "It was just going back to that mentality in Triple-A, using that left-center-field gap to my advantage instead of thinking of that short porch there in right field," Bell said. The switch-hitter slashed .301/.427/.534 with four homers in his final 89 plate appearances in 2018. With David Freese no longer around to take starts away from him at first base, Pittsburgh will give Bell every chance to prove his rookie season wasn't a fluke.

Bell is out of the lineup versus the Cubs on Wednesday.

EDGE Analysis

Bell will take a seat with southpaw Jose Quintana on the bump for the Cubs. In his place, Jose Osuna will start at first base and bat third in the order. Bell may remain on the bench for the series finale Thursday with lefty Jon Lester set to pitch.