INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After seeing inconsistent playing time throughout the first few months of the season, Jared Oliva has really hit his stride in August and September.
In his 26 games over the last two months, Oliva is hitting .347 with nine doubles, a triple and three home runs.
“I think a lot of [the success] has been the work from early in the season,” Oliva said. “It was kind of just slow developing. Obviously, getting more opportunity to play has definitely been a big factor, too. Honestly, it’s just been a lot of the work we’ve been putting in in the cage for previous months and has just shown up. I’ve been swinging better pitches and being on time.”
Additionally, Oliva has had a couple of the more noticeable plays in the Indianapolis season, both due to hustle. On June 9, Oliva capped off an Indianapolis win with a steal of home plate when the catcher tossed a simple lob back to the pitcher.
Have you ever seen a walk-off steal of home? Well, now you have.
Jared Oliva pulls off the feat to secure victory for the @indyindians. pic.twitter.com/hn72iy0jyK
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 10, 2022
On September 15, Oliva homered for the first time in back-to-back games. This one required a bit more hustle.
.@Jared_Oliva41 is a human highlight reel. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/XztLgGRCBc
— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) September 15, 2022
Hustle is just something the Oliva is always going to bring to the table to grind across extra runs.
“I like to play the game hard and aggressive,” Oliva said. “When the opportunity presents itself, and I see some way I can help the team win, I try to take advantage. A couple of those times have stood out more than others. It’s just me trying to think ahead for an opportunity to score another one, and ultimately help the team win.”
Along with that mentality, Oliva has had the opportunity to provide some leadership to a fairly youthful outfield in Indianapolis. That is a role that he has embraced, and takes pride in.
“We have a good crop of young guys,” Oliva said. “I feel like it was good to share a little bit of knowledge and help them when they make that next step. It is a good talented group. Hopefully I was able to share some info and help them out.”
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+ postsRyan has been following Indianapolis baseball for most of his life, and the Pirates since they became the affiliate in 2005. He began writing for Pirates Prospects in 2013, in a stint that ran through 2016 (with no service time manipulation played in). Ryan rejoined the team in 2022, covering Indianapolis once again. He has covered the Pirates in four different big league stadiums. Ryan was also fortunate enough to cover the 2015 Futures Game in Cincinnati.
Oliva in & Suwinski out?
I still like Suwinksi long-term but I’d support this switch because at least we’d get plus defense. The only reason I might keep Suwinski is that he’s been much better at home than on the road, and we’re opening our last homestand.
and Oliva hits right-handed (no Castillo in RF vs lefties)
I see Oliva and Swaggerty as being much more valuable to the Bucs than Suwinski, with defense and base stealing. But, chicks dig the long ball!
I understated his home/road splits–“much better” doesn’t even do it justice. He has a .942 OPS at home and a .364 OPS on the road. I’m at least intrigued to see if, despite his recent struggles, he could turn things around against the Cubs and Reds.
I wonder if theres an underlying reason for this? Thats so significant theres gotta be something he can address
Yeah, I can’t recall ever seeing a split that big. Of course it’s based on fairly small sample sizes but even with just 165 PAs at home and 159 on the road, it seems remarkable. The biggest difference is 13 HRs at home vs. only 3 on the road, but he also has “just” 43 K’s at home (a manageable 26% K rate) and 59 K’s on the road (an ugly 37% K rate). Maybe he just sees the ball better at PNC?