What Jack Suwinski needs to work on at Triple-A

The Pittsburgh Pirates recently optioned outfielder Jack Suwinski to Triple-A to give themselves another bullpen option. After a solid 2023 breakout season, Suwinski has failed to come close to replicating anything like it in 2024. But Suwinski getting sent to Triple-A allows him to get things straightened out, so what does he need to work on once he arrives at Indianapolis?

The first thing is getting his three-true-outcomes approach back. Suwinski broke out last year while batting .224/.339/.454 with a .341 wOBA and 112 wRC+. Suwinski knows his strengths and weaknesses and capitalized on the strengths last year. Jack had 26 home runs, the 15th-most by any outfielder, with a .230 isolated slugging percentage, which was the ninth-highest among outfielders last year. He had the fourth-worst batting average and second-highest K% among his peers at 32.2%, but his 14% walk rate was among the highest.

Up until the last few weeks, the Pirates had Suwinski hitting more like a contact hitter. His first 124 plate appearances saw him only have a 21.8% strikeout rate with a contact rate of 81.5% compared to only 71.8% last year. He also swung outside the zone more frequently as his chase rate went from 17.1% to 31.2%. To Suwinski’s credit, he’s returned to more of a TTO hitter with as many homers over his last 33 plate appearances than his first 124 while cutting his chase rate to 21.8%, but his K% rising to 39.4%. 

But changing the approach mid-season can be hard for a lot of batters. Suwinski needs to get back in this rhythm at Triple-A. He’s a three-true-outcomes hitter, and the Pirates shouldn’t have messed with it. I understand wanting to make adjustments to get him to strike out less, but not changing his entire game and approach.

The second thing Suwinski needs to work on is his fielding. He was not a bad defender in 2023. While defensive runs saved did not like his work at -9, he still registered a solid +3 outs above average while running good routes. However, this year, he already has -7 DRS and -4 OAA while his route efficiency has also worsened. 

Suwinski has had a lot of trouble with batted balls to his right. Last year, he had +4 OAA to his right, but now down to -1 this year. But his ability to field batted balls in front and behind him and to his left have remained about the same. It could be a problem with his defensive positioning, or it could be how he is reading balls off the bat. Either way, this is something he needs to get resolved.

Suwinski can be a solid player. He had a 112 wRC+ and was a near 3.0-fWAR player in 534 plate appearances last year. I believe once he gets back into a rhythm with his approach and starts getting better reads on fly balls, especially to his right, he’ll return closer to his 2023 form than what we’ve seen so far in 2024.