BRADENTON, Fla.

There’s an expression baseball coaches have for hitters like Bryan Reynolds, a compliment as much for his approach to the plate as for the simplicity of his swing.

When talking about Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton borrowed a phrase his predecessor, Clint Hurdle, liked to use: Slow heartbeat, man.

“Watching him, talking to him, the fact that he does that from both sides of the plate, his heartbeat slows down,” Shelton said. “I don’t think it ever skips up. … You see really good hitters that have that. When you see a lot of elite hitters, you see a calmness about them that you don’t see in a lot of people.”

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds works with hitting coach Rick Eckstein at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.  

The pulse of the Pirates could beat with Reynolds if he can repeat a rookie season where he slashed .314/.377/.503 with 37 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs and 68 RBIs in 134 games to finish fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

“I just try to keep it simple and take the barrel to the ball,” Reynolds said, with a shrug. “That will clean up a lot of different things and give you a lot of success, if you hit the ball hard.”

Reynolds has always raked, batting .329 in three seasons at Vanderbilt, .312 at High-A San Jose, .302 at Double-A Altoona and .367 at Triple-A Indianapolis. After hitting at every level, he was expecting to do the same in the majors.

If his sudden success was a surprise, it was because Reynolds only spent 13 games at Indy before his emergency call-up in late April with outfielders Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte injured. Reynolds got a hit in his debut — which was overshadowed by Cole Tucker’s game-winning homer and curtain call — and never stopped hitting.

“I’ve been working for this my whole life, hitting in the cage with my dad and hitting in the offseason. I got the opportunity last season and ran with it,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t expect to be up that quick, but the opportunity came and I tried to deal with it the best I could.”

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds takes batting practice during a workout at Pirate City in Bradenton.  

What will Reynolds do for an encore?

There’s talk he should steal more bases — something he hasn’t done much of since his sophomore season at Vandy — and that he has untapped power.

Reynolds, of course, is understated about his goals.

“Just go out there and play,” he said. “Same idea as last year. I’m not trying to do more or less, just keep it right there.”

A career center fielder, Reynolds replaced a Gold Glove winner in Dickerson in left field last season and made such a seamless transition that barely anyone blinked when the Pirates traded Dickerson. Reynolds is more comfortable in center and was open to the idea of switching spots when the Pirates traded Marte. But the plan is for Reynolds to remain in left, which is cavernous to cover at PNC Park.

“It’s like being another center fielder, they say, and I’d agree with that,” Reynolds said. “It’s not the covering ground that makes left more difficult. It’s the spin off the bat. You’ve got to get used to it.”

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds works out Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, at Pirate City in Bradenton.  

Reynolds also adjusted to batting second for the first time in his career. His spot in the order seems to matter little, as Reynolds hit .305 in 93 starts in the two-hole and .307 in 20 starts in the fifth spot. Shelton hasn’t made up his mind whether to hit Reynolds second, which analytics suggest is suited for the best hitter, or to drop him a spot so he can hit in front of Josh Bell.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Reynolds said. “I’m going to have a lot of good players hitting behind me one way or hitting in front of me the other way, so wherever they want to slide me is fine with me.”

Bell credits the presence of Reynolds and Marte for an All-Star campaign in which he hit career highs of 37 homers and 116 RBIs. Bell’s eyes light up at the idea of coming to bat with runners in scoring position, thanks to Reynolds.

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds talks with first baseman Josh Bell during a break in their workout in the batting cages at Pirate City in Bradenton.  

A fellow switch hitter, Bell is impressed with how Reynolds can “cover the strike zone completely” from both sides of the plate.

“He has his heat zone and he has blips that are a little bit colder but there’s not one pitch where it’s like, ‘He’s not going to be able to hit this pitch if I throw it there,’ ” Bell said. “He’s not going out there slapping balls around. He’s getting his A-swing off. But he doesn’t have a cold part of his zone, so it’s just dangerous for pitchers.”

So dangerous that Bell made a bold prediction: “I can see him being the next guy going to an All-Star Game this year.”

That’s an encore that would get everyone’s heartbeat racing.

Well, maybe everyone except for Reynolds.

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds signs boxes of baseballs outside the clubhouse after a workout Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2020, at Pirate City in Bradenton.  

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