Why Pirates fans should not be sold on breakout spring training slugger

Every spring training, there are always players who get off to really fast starts, leading fans to quickly believe that they are going to be the next big thing. It's not even March yet, and the already Pirates have that kind of player this spring. In fact, he currently leads the Grapefruit League in home runs, yet has some major red flags that have prevented him from reaching Pittsburgh thus far.

This Pirate is Matt Gorski, a 27-year-old outfielder who has been in the Pirates organization since 2019. He has had some solid seasons in his career, becoming the Pirates' 17th-ranked prospect in 2023 after a strong 2022 season, but shortly thereafter, he fell out of the rankings after a not-so-great 2023.

Matt Gorski is having an exciting start to Pirates spring training, but fans cannot jump the gun on him.

Gorski has always brought power to the plate, with three straight seasons in the minors with 20+ home runs. He just does not make consistent contact, whiffing at a rate of 37.3% in 2024. The MLB league average is around 25%, so that will not cut it. His strikeout rate was also high at 28.6% in '24, and has always been around 25% or higher in his career. If he's struggling to make contact with minor-league pitching to that extent, it's typically not a good sign for MLB action, where the competition level is consistently much higer.

When he does make contact with the ball, he does hit it somewhat hard, with an average exit velocity of 89.8 mph, a 43.7% hard-hit clip, and a barrel rate of 7.2%. If manages to continue to not swing and miss, maybe he can still turn into a productive player. That is an interesting development to watch under Matt Hague for the rest of spring, as Toronto's offense presented high contact rates under his tutelage.

With Tommy Pham, Billy Cook, and Nick Yorke all in front of him as right-handed hitting outfield options, it would be very hard for Gorski to win a spot. He has gotten some first base reps this spring, so maybe he is considered a wild card for that position after the Spencer Horwitz injury.

Given his past struggles, it is tough to see Gorski continuing this hot start into 2025. If he did, that would be amazing, but fans cannot jump the gun on him just yet.