Pittsburgh Pirates Need to Keep Playing Jack Suwinski

The 2022 season needs to be about the future for the Pittsburgh Pirates and one way to do this is to continue to play Jack Suwinski every day

While the Pittsburgh Pirates currently find themselves in third place in the National League Central, they are just 11-16 on the season. This comes after the team lost two out of three over the weekend in Cincinnati against a Reds team that is off to a historically poor start.

For the rest of the season the Pittsburgh Pirates need ot focus on giving players who could be a big part of the future getting playing time. In addition to Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds, this includes infielder Diego Castillo. Another player who needs to be in this boat is outfielder Jack Suwinski.

Suwinski was acquired last summer in the Adam Frazier trade. Suwinski could have a big future with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the best way to start to figure that out is for the Pirates to continue to play him on an every day basis the way they have since he was promoted from Double-A Altoona.

Through his first 34 MLB plate appearances Suwinski has hit for just a .219/.265/.250 slash line to go with a 54 wRC+. However, Suwinski has not looked overlooked at the plate at any point as evident by just a 14.7% strikeout rate.

Also, Suwinski’s batting average on balls in play (BAbip) is just .265. League average BAbip is .300. A BAbip of .265 indicates that a hitter is due for progression, which will come for Suwinski if he continues to do what he has done at the plate.

Suwinski has also been a plus defender for the Pirates. Entering play on Sunday he had a +4 Defensive Runs Saved in 69 innings played in right field. While Suwinski has yet to find his footing offensively, he has been a plus defender for the Pirates.

Moving forward Derek Shelton needs to continue to pencil Suwinski into his lineup on a daily basis.  Suwinski has been a plus defender for the Pirates while also flashing offensive potential. With 2022 being about the future there is no reason to not continue to trot the 23-year-old Suwinski out there.

Suwinski could be a cornerstone for the Pirates moving forward. He could be a fourth outfielder for the Bucs. Suwinski’s future could also be somewhere in between. Regardless, the Pirates need to continue to play him every day.