Pirates outfield prospect Matt Gorski made the most of returning to High-A Greensboro.
Gorski capped off an eight home run week with a three home run game on Sunday, including a walk-off shot that won the game for Greensboro. It was also his last at-bat as a Grasshopper, with Gorski getting promoted to Altoona after the game.
So, what has been to the key to the great start?
“I think it’s just a lot of confidence. Confidence and comfortability. To start the year, obviously coming back here I knew the expectations for me,” Gorski told Pirates Prospects. “It was easy to adjust to this period again.”
The second rounder from 2019 has a lot of tools that get the attention of scouts. It has always been a matter of putting it all together.
Gorski struck out 31.1% of the time, while drawing walks just 8.4% of his plate appearances in 2021. The swing-and-miss wasn’t giving him an opportunity to unlock that raw power that so many raved about.
“The raw power has always been there, but you can’t show it unless you hit the ball,” Gorski said. “That was my issue. I was a big swing and miss guy. I was a big strikeout guy. This year I just really wanted to cut down on that.”
While he admits he still has room for improvement in the swing and miss category, he’s got that strikeout rate down to 26.7% and has his walks up to 11.6%, something he again credits to comfortability.
In the video above, you can see some of where he gets anxious and starts to overswing again in some of his highlights from earlier this season, especially with runners on base. Gorski goes back to swinging for the fences and gets caught missing a few times in key spots.
For the most part, Gorski has transformed himself into a much better hitter, due in part to more consistency with his swing.
“You see a much more stable release pattern, meaning through impact the bat isn’t as vertical. The barrel doesn’t roll over as much,” said Greensboro Manager Callix Crabbe. “He’s also been much better with his lead leg stabilization. Essentially, how his front leg impacts the ground, and not extending too early.”
The walk-off home run from @matthew_gorski7 after already hitting 2 earlier. Oh yeah, it was the first pitch he saw! pic.twitter.com/7vQ9USn2Sg
— Greensboro Grasshoppers (@GSOHoppers) May 22, 2022
Double-A and Altoona will be the big test of how far his swing has progressed, but Gorski isn’t looking at it that way.
“The focus going forward is to just try and stay present,” said Gorski. “You can always think about moving up, you can always think about the next step. Just trying to stay present, trying to say ‘What’s the next step?’ and the next step is today’s game.”
THIS WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS
Williams: Jared Jones is a Familiar Story With Hopefully a Different Ending
Endy Rodriguez Gets Back on Track After Swing Issues in April
Matt Gorski: A More Consistent Swing and 17 Home Runs Later…
Prospect Roundtable: Which Greensboro Prospects Are Most Intriguing?
Maikol Escotto: “There’s a lot of thump in that bat”
Jacob Gonzalez: From Minor League Rule 5 to Minor League Video Game Numbers
Jack Carey: Stuff Playing More Than Numbers Showing
Anthony began writing over 10 years ago, starting a personal blog to cover the 2011 MLB draft, where the Pirates selected first overall. After bouncing around many websites covering hockey, he refocused his attention to baseball, his first love when it comes to sports. He eventually found himself here at Pirates Prospects in late 2021, where he covers the team’s four full season minor league affiliates.
He was looking like a candidate for release more than a rising prospect. I look forward to more success and further improvement. 2024 could be quite a year for the young man.
Seem to be a pull hitter, no issues with it, just an observation based on a few videos!
The part about cutting down on his swing and miss issues was very encouraging. Hopefully, we’ll see similar improvement from guys like Escotto and Hudson Head after working with Callix Crabbe.
Well, now we need 1,000 words on Crabbe.
I had some lengthy conversations with Jonny Tucker and Callix Crabbe about hitting during Spring Training. I’m planning on working these into a feature over the next month.
Can’t wait to actually WATCH him play/swing
some real good stuff from crabbe in these articles. he seems more….technical than other managers in the system. would that be accurate to say?
That would be accurate. I think there’s a reason he doubles as the assistant hitting coordinator. He’s an incredibly smart guy.
thanks tim. sounds like a pretty good hire for the pirates. an 80 on the name scale as well 😁
From the Endy article, sure you’ve read it, but in case; “Greensboro manager Callix Crabbe doubles as the Pirates’ assistant hitting coordinator during Spring Training.”
yeah. and he was the hitting coach for the rangers too. but idk. shelton was a hitting coach too and he doesn’t sound as technical as crabbe
i just found it interesting. regardless, i like reading about it!
I love that quote to end the article “the next step is today’s game”. It shows a significant level of maturity and focus.