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Pittsburgh Pirates: Projecting Team’s Lineup by the End of 2022

By Noah Wright

CINCINNATI, OH - AUGUST 08: Ke'Bryan Hayes #13 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a solo home run in the sixth inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 8, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati defeated Pittsburgh 3-2. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - AUGUST 08: Ke'Bryan Hayes #13 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a solo home run in the sixth inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 8, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati defeated Pittsburgh 3-2. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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Indianapolis centerfielder Travis Swaggerty hit a leadoff home run to start the game against Iowa at Principal Park in Des Moines on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.20210504 Iowacubs /

Center Field – Travis Swaggerty

Travis Swaggerty is the top outfield prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system. Their 2018 first-round pick has shown a ton of talent throughout the minor leagues. In 2019, he had a 120 wRC+ at High-A Bradenton. Then in 2021, he completely skipped Double-A and got right into Triple-A action.

Swaggerty looked good at Triple-A for the short time he was there this year. He batted .220/.330/.439 with a .343 wOBA, and 107 wRC+. Now on paper, those are solid, but not great numbers, being slightly above league average. But he did get unlucky. Swaggerty hit a line drive at a 26.7% rate while having a ground ball rate of just 36.7%. Despite his high line drive rate, the lefty outfielder had a batting average on balls in play of .200. Now, yes, batting average on balls in play needs a larger sample size than 48 plate appearances. However, in any case, a sub-.250 BAbip despite getting the ball in the air as often as he did is just plain unlucky.

Swaggerty has always had the raw power potential, having an 89 MPH exit velo and 41% hard-hit rate in 2019. He finally started to put it on display in 2021 with a .220 isolated slugging percentage. Swaggerty has a 50-hit tool, 60-raw power grade, and 45-future game power tool. Though his game power tool could reach new heights if his 2021 power output is for real.

Though his best tool is his speed and defensive ability. FanGraphs gives his speed a 65-grade and his fielding a 60. He also has the same arm grade with a 60. Swaggerty and Reynolds could be interchangeable between left field and center field given that Reynolds has played more than adequately in center field this year, but Swaggerty being considered a better overall defender. Though like with Reynolds, if he ends up in a corner rather than center, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise.

Given that Reynolds, Matthew Fraizer, and Jared Oliva are the only other two players that could see time in center field next season, and Reynolds having plenty of experience in left field, Swaggerty should see a decent bit of time in the majors next year. He probably would have gotten a fair bit of playing time this year had it not been for shoulder surgery cutting his season very short.

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