It hasn’t been the easiest of runs for Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Travis Swaggerty.
The 2018 first rounder from South Alabama University has had to deal with injuries, and the pandemic wiping out an entire minor league season — leaving him short on development time.
He was off to a strong start in 2021, before an injury sliding back into first base on a pickoff move forced him to miss the remainder of the season. He had just 48 plate appearances at the time.
While he did make his Major League debut, and picked up his first hit, Swaggerty spent the majority of the 2022 season in Triple-A Indianapolis, posting some solid numbers. He had a .254/.348/.399 slash, to go along with a 102 wRC+ and 32 extra-base hits (nine home runs).
There was maybe more to his season than what the final numbers suggested. Swaggerty had an injury early in camp on his left shoulder, followed up by a mild concussion, and got off to a really rough start.
Through May 15, Swaggery had just a wRC+ of 40, followed with a strikeout rate of 36.7% and a slash of .174/.269/.232.
Travis Swaggerty. Dead center. pic.twitter.com/qH8SRmeNOu
— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) May 12, 2021
Over his final 88 games played, Swaggerty was a different player at the plate, slashing .271/.364/.435 with a 114 wRC+.
His strikeout rate dropped down to 23.2%, while keeping the walk rate strong (12.7%). He also recorded 30-of-those-32 extra-base hits in that span as well, and swiped 17 bases along the way.
Finding a spot for Swaggerty isn’t going to be easy. The Pirates added to their outfield picture through a trade (Connor Joe) and free agency (Andrew McCutchen), as well as having a couple of waiver claims (Ryan Vilade and Miguel Andujar). He’s also one of several lefties that were already in the picture.
His calling card has always been his defense, but the Pirates played with Ji-Hwan Bae in center field with Bryan Reynolds in left at the end of the season.
At this point Bae relies on his speed and athleticism in the outfield compared to Swaggerty, who has played the position for much longer.
Bae has also hit better in the upper levels, and has been able to apply his game-breaking speed on the base paths as well.
The top-10 price tag will always put unfair expectations on Swaggerty, but I mentioned going into last season that if he could carve out a role even as a bench player, that wouldn’t actually be too far off what the position usually generates out of hitters.
It will be interesting to see if Swaggerty can carve out a role in the majors. His defense can play a big part of that, especially if the team wants to protect how much McCutchen is in the field. They can use Swaggerty as a late game replacement as well as get some playing time against righties.
Highlight of the Day
Pirates Prospects Daily
By Tim Williams
**In the latest Pirates Winter Report, John Dreker looks at Tsung-Che Cheng’s offseason in Puerto Rico.
**Our new format for Pirates Discussion on Friday had Jeff Reed, Anthony Murphy, and NMR discussing the top 100 prospect lists.
**Missed yesterday? Anthony looked at how Jase Bowen hit the ball really hard in 2022.
Song of the Day
Pirates Prospects Weekly
John Dreker looked at Tsung-Che Cheng’s winter in Puerto Rico, and the level of talent he was up against.
Pirates Winter Report: Tsung-Che Cheng Gains Valuable Experience in Puerto Rico
Ethan Hullihen will have his latest Pirates Business feature on Sunday at noon.
