When Jack Suwinski was rushed to the majors by the Pirates on April 26, it was not clear how long he would stick in the big leagues. Suwinski was brought up in a bit of an emergency situation with Bryan Reynolds and Cole Tucker going on the COVID injured list just hours before the contest.
However, in just two and a half weeks, Suwinski has provided a steadying factor, continuing to get starts in the outfield.
While the overall numbers may not indicate his value to the team, Pirates manager Derek Shelton has seen Suwinski’s worth to be well beyond his years and experience.
“I don’t think his numbers indicate how well he handles his at-bats,” Shelton said. “I would be hard pressed to say that there have been more than two at bats where he has been off balance or looked like he hasn’t belonged. They have been consistent.”
With just over 500 plate appearances and 134 games above High-A, the 23-year-old Suwinski is a bit short in the tooth. However, as Shelton stated, he has not hinted at that at all between the lines.
Much of the quality in his at bats comes from pitch recognition and sticking to what he knows works.
“I feel good,” Suwinski said. “I feel like I am putting some pretty good swings on the ball. Pitches that I want to hit, I am swinging at, and laying off some of the ones that I don’t want to. I am going up, sticking to my approach, and following my plan to put together some competitive ABs.”
This is not always the easiest discipline to stick to for such a young player. At the Double-A level, Suwinski certainly saw some top prospect pitchers. However, he had not seen anything close to the seasoned hurlers that he faces on a daily basis now.
For Suwinski, this has been one of the larger adjustments in skipping over Triple-A and joining the Pirates at such a raw age.
“You come here, and everyone is a great player,” Suwinski said. “All of the pitchers are really sharp, they know what they are doing with what they have…It has been an adjustment seeing them. They are not going to make many mistakes. It’s about just being able to take advantage of that, trusting your plan, and trusting your abilities.”
In the last week, this trust has paid off, as Suwinski has popped his first two Major League home runs.
In the beginning, it didn’t seem that Suwinski would remain long in the big leagues. His play and veteran-like outlook should continue to get him more time to develop his game at the highest level.
