Projecting Jack Suwinski’s Upside with the Pirates
p/c: Joe Sargent - Getty Images
After being acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the San Diego Padres, as part of the Adam Frazier package around the 2021 trade deadline, Jack Suwinski joined the Bucs last season, and did so in unconventional fashion.
Suwinski started out 2022 playing at AA, for the Altoona Curve. In 13 games, he posted an OPS of 1.107.
On April 26th, Bryan Reynolds was placed in Covid protocol. The Pirates called up Suwinski from Altoona - something that the organization rarely does.
During the month of June, Suwinski had a couple of memorable moments. The first was June 4th against the Arizona Diamondbacks, when he delivered his first big league walkoff home run off former Pirates closer Mark Melancon. The other went down two weeks later on June 19th versus the San Francisco Giants, where he became the first rookie in MLB history to hit three homers in a game, which included a walkoff blast.
The Pirates sent Suwinski down to AAA Indianapolis on July 15th - playing in 31 games, before getting recalled on August 28th.
In his first taste of big league action last year, Suwinski was about league average offensively, as he put up a 98 OPS+ in 372 plate appearances. He performed well at the plate against RHP, with a slash line of .237/.330/.465, but struggled versus LHP, posting a .122/.225/.286 slash. Suwinski connected on 19 long balls - the most by a Pirates rookie outfielder since Jason Bay in 2004.
The strikeouts were a concern, for Suwinski, as he registered a 30.7% K rate. However, he did good work drawing walks, putting up a solid, 11.0% BB rate.
Suwinski’s BABIP last season was on the unlucky side at .242. He was a definite pull hitter, doing so at a 39.0% clip. MLB will enforce a shift ban in 2023 and beyond, so perhaps the rule change could work in his favor.
Defensively, Suwinski played all three outfield positions in Pittsburgh. Overall, he displayed above average ability, as he recorded 2 Defensive Runs Saved, along with a 7.8 UZR/150.
Based on Suwinski’s splits from a year ago, it should be interesting to see if the Pirates want to utilize the 24-year-old outfielder in a platoon role. In December, the Bucs obtained Connor Joe from the Colorado Rockies. Because Joe can play a steady outfield himself, and has an .843 OPS against lefty pitching since 2021, it could present an opportunity to have Joe partner up, with Suwinski.
When it comes to MLB comparisons, Suwinski seems to profile as a Mike Yastrzemski type. A lefty-hitting outfielder, who doesn’t hit for much of an average, but can draw walks, is capable of putting up 20-25 homers, and can hold his own defensively. If used in a primary platoon, then I think Suwinski can have good success at the plate.