P2Daily: What is Travis Swaggerty’s Future With the Pirates?

This kind of plays to a couple of players on the Indianapolis roster, but is there some kind of message that is getting sent by the lack of opportunities that Travis Swaggerty has gotten in the majors.

It’s not like the entire outfield picture is being locked down right now, with only Bryan Reynolds really laying a claim to center field. Jack Suwinski has had moments, followed by struggles, and Cal Mitchell really hasn’t gained a lot of traction in his time in the majors. That’s left Ben Gamel and Greg Allen still getting playing time with the Pirates.

Gamel has certainly had his moments, both at the plate and in the field, while Allen has mostly struggled. So why not give Swaggerty more of a shot? He got a whopping nine plate appearances over five games played earlier in the season before getting sent down, where he has remained.

Not really much of an opportunity.

Swaggerty had a rough month of August, but his overall body of work seemed to be good enough to warrant a promotion with actual playing time. He picked up three hits on Sunday, and has 15 total bases across 18 September at-bats.

The Pirates could think his offense isn’t ready to translate to the majors, and prefer to stash him in the minors for now. That would be unfortunate for the Pirates, namely their defense in the outfield.

Based off of Baseball Savant, Pirates’ outfields have a collective -12 Outs Above Average (OAA), ranking 25th in the majors this season. Swaggerty’s calling card has been his defense, making him a potential upgrade on the current roster.

Even if he maxes out as a fourth outfielder, which I’ve written before how that can still be win for the Pirates, that still helps out the major league team in one of their biggest area of needs.

The Pirates could feel confident in Swaggerty being able to hold down an outfield spot going into next season, and are just putting him in a position to get as many at-bats as possible, even if it’s in Triple-A.

What the Pirates do with Swaggerty, and how they start to put together their outfield for next year, will be one of the more interesting things to watch in the offseason.

Justin Meis Furthers Cause To Remain In Rotation

Something tells me Justin Meis is in line for some recognition for this past week, both on this site and elsewhere. The hometown kid pitched 14 shutout innings this week, including seven perfect on Sunday.

*Justin Meis didn’t allow a hit on this pitch, nor any of his remaining 75 pitches on Sunday night. Photo: Tim Williams / Pirates Prospects*

Meis flashed some really great stuff out the bullpen last season in Bradenton, making it look like he could be a fast rise should they keep him a reliever. He’s pitched out the rotation all season, both with Bradenton before moving up to Greensboro. It was a rough start to his High-A career, but he’s obviously made the adjustments.

Pitching 14 shutout innings in Greensboro is no easy task.

The options don’t seem as plentiful for rotation spots when looking way too far ahead at the 2023 Altoona rotation. The run Meis has been on over the last month or so, you would have to think he’s making a pretty good case to be a part of it.

Playoff Picture Update

Another week in the books, so we are that much closer to the Minor League playoffs. For Bradenton and Greensboro, this upcoming week is the last series of the regular season.

Bradenton is in the best place to make the playoffs, but have won just four games out of their last 10. They are two games back of the Dunedin Blue Jays for first place of the FSL West. Bradenton plays Clearwater this week, who are in last place. Dunedin plays Palm Beach, who lead the FSL East division at the moment.

Greensboro has won seven of their last 10, but remain five games back of a first place bid. Altoona is 5.5 games back, and have a 5-5 record over the last 10 games. Finally Indianapolis is getting hot at the end of the season, winning eight of 10, but still remain 11.5 games back right now.