Pittsburgh Pirates Top 30 Prospects 2019 Season Rewind: Matt Gorski

Next up on the Pittsburgh Pirates top 30 prospects of 2019 season rewind list is another member of the 2019 draft class

With the 57th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Matt Gorski. A native of Fishers, Indiana, the Pirates drafted Gorski out of Indiana University. The 21-year-old Gorski is a right-handed hitting outfielder, and appears to be a player that could move through the Pirate system quickly.

In his final season at Indiana Gorski slashed .271/.374/.498 in 55 games for the Hoosiers. Gorski hit 12 home runs to go with a 11.6% extra base hit rate in 225 at bats across these 55 games. He also stole 18 bases for the Hoosiers, while driving in 46 runs.

Gorski quickly signed with the Pirates, which led to him making his professional debut in a hurry. After signing with the Pirates, Gorski was able to accumulate 202 plate appearances in 49 games this season. These 49 games were played with the short-season Low-A West Virginia Black Bears.

With the Black Bears, Gorski slashed .223/.297/.246 with a wRC+ of 96. He owned a strong 9.4% walk rate, but his 23.9% strikeout rate was higher than you would like to see. You would also like to his his ISO .123 and extra base hit rate (7.8%) increase.

While Gorski had his struggles with West Virginia in 2019, the important thing was at bats. Gorski was able to make his professional debut the same year he was drafted, while accumulating over 200 plate appearances. This can only be a positive for Gorski and his long term development with the Pirates.

After getting his feet wet with short-season West Virginia in 2019, look for Gorski to jump up a level in 2020. Gorski should be slated to start the 2020 season with full-season Low-A Greensboro. With a strong showing for the Grasshoppers, Gorski could find his way to High-A Bradenton at some point next summer.