Pirates rookie OF Jack Suwinski finally flashes power with 1st major league home run
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The swing felt “super clean” off the bat to Jack Suwinski when the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie outfielder connected with Robbie Erlin’s 1-0 slider, so he took off around the bases with hope in his heart.
“I thought it had a chance,” Suwinski said, “but I never would have assumed.”
As Suwinski watched the ball, he saw Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger pull up as it cleared the fence for his first major league home run, a two-run shot in the eighth inning of a 5-1 win Monday night at PNC Park.
It was a milestone moment that became a blur and was met with silence.
“I was rounding the bases, it was dead quiet,” said Suwinski, 23, who blocked out the cheers. “I didn’t hear anything. I was just rounding and didn’t hear anything.”
After an emergency call-up from Double-A Altoona on April 26, when All-Star center fielder Bryan Reynolds and infielder/outfielder Cole Tucker were placed on the covid-19 injured list while awaiting test results, Suwinski has surprised even himself by staying with the Pirates and in their starting lineup.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder finally flashed his power potential in his 11th MLB game, though Pirates manager Derek Shelton never showed much concern about Suwinski’s approach at the plate. Before the game, Shelton said Suwinski’s numbers (.219/.265/.250 with one double and two RBIs) weren’t indicative of his plate appearances.
“If you watch him – and this is a kid that came from Double-A – he is very rarely off-balance,” Shelton said. “If you watch the game, you very rarely think, ‘Oh, he’s overmatched’ – because he’s not. He hasn’t gotten probably as many hits as he would like, but the consistency and the control of his at-bats has been really good.”
Suwinski has started in right field but switched to center when Jake Marisnick injured his left thumb when he landed awkwardly on his glove after making a diving catch in the fourth inning. Shelton complimented Suwinski’s route on a catch of a Trea Turner pop fly near the right field foul line in the first inning as a play that shouldn’t go unnoticed.
“That was not an easy play,” Shelton said. “He went a long way to get it.”
Suwinski has come a long way since being acquired from the San Diego Padres last July, along with infielder Tucupita Marcano and pitcher Michel Miliano, for All-Star second baseman Adam Frazier. Suwinski hit double-digit home runs in the minors in 2018 (10), 2019 (12) and 2021 (19) but had only four in 45 games at Altoona last summer.
Suwinski was added to the 40-man roster last fall but ranked only No. 24 among Pirates prospects by Baseball America. His hot start in Altoona changed his course, as Suwinski was batting .358 with a 1.107 OPS, eight doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs in 13 games and riding a nine-game hitting streak when he was called up.
Shelton noted that Suwinski hit his first major league homer “pretty flush.”
“As we’ve talked about with Jack, he continues to have good swings,” Shelton said. “He continues to do really good things. … I think he’s proved that he deserves to play out there.”
Suwinski is trying to be a sponge, learning from fellow outfielders Reynolds, Marisnick and Ben Gamel while playing to his strengths. Now, Suwinski wants to show that he has staying power.
“I just want to help the team win the best that I can, show up and work hard, put a good effort and good intent forward,” Suwinski said. “Even though it’s been a couple weeks, I still try to stay day to day, not look too far ahead, too far back. I just do what I can to help the team.”