Jack Suwinski’s power is hard to match.
The left-handed hitting outfielder absolutely crushed a pitch last night, going deep on a 96 MPH fastball to pull the Pirates to within one run at the time.
442 ft later
What I want to highlight today is Suwinski’s stance. He’s made a visible change since last year. For reference, here are his home runs last year:
Almost immediately, from the first home run in that video, you can see the small difference. Starting from the ground up, Suwinski’s lead leg is a little more bent this year, as his weight shifts back over his hips. His shoulders and back are more upright at the start of his swing this year. Last year, he was slightly slanted toward the plate. This year, he starts to fall that direction as he starts his swing, which looks like it could help his momentum and thus help his already ridiculous power.
Suwinski is going to look good hitting home runs, no matter the stance. The question is whether he can hit them for a higher frequency, and with less of a cost for that power. The knock against Suwinski has been that his power mostly comes against right-handers. He crushes right-handers enough to be an everyday player, but struggles against lefties enough to be successfully targeted by a lefty reliever.
This brings me to what might be the most important change in his stance. With the new, upright look, Suwinski also has a new head angle. His head is turned more toward the pitcher this year, with both eyes fully locked on the pitcher from the start. If you watch his at-bats, you’ll occasionally see Suwinski adjust his head before the pitch, glancing slightly down the first base line, before moving back to the pitcher.
Visual perception is a focus for the Pirates in the minors. I haven’t talked to Suwinski about this, but the visual changes he’s made to his game match what a lot of other players are doing. If you look at his 2022 head position, you can see how he might have been side-eyeing the pitcher with his right eye, and getting very little input from the left eye. In fact, the left eye might have been detrimental there, with Suwinski needing to focus it at a sharp angle toward the mound. The 2023 stance has an easy look to the pitcher with both eyes. My theory is that Suwinski’s vision was shifted toward the right of the mound — explaining the success against right-handers and the struggles against lefties. Having a more centered view should lead to better results.
We might be seeing that. Suwinski’s strikeout rate isn’t down, but his walk rate is up from 11% last year to 15.9% this year. His isolated power went from .209 to .279. That jump in power comes exclusively against right-handers, where he’s gone from a .228 ISO to .337. What’s interesting is that his power has gone down against lefties, but his walk rate has gone up, as has his overall production. His OBP last year against lefties was .225, versus .328 this year.
It looked to me like Suwinski may have made this adjustment toward the end of last year. This is his age 24 season, and to think he’s a finished product would be a mistake. He might be, right now, playing his first season where he’s positioned to see both sides of the mound.
*****
There was a brief moment in last night’s game where you saw a direct influence from a veteran to a less experienced MLB player. Carlos Santana won a game last week with a walk off home run, complete with a dance as he was about to cross home plate.
Since that point, Josh Palacios has doubled twice, doing a celebration dance directed toward the dugout. While watching that, I couldn’t help but notice how many Dodgers fans in attendance hated it. A few were visibly modeling the dance after the hit.
It might be a small thing, but in a game where batters fail 70-80% of the time, celebrating your success can have an advantage. It underscores those 20-30% moments as legitimate. In the case of Santana, there’s some comfort that his production in those 20-30% moments will include a walk off home run. In a case like Palacios, we have little clue what he can do in his 20-30% of production.
Palacios has a .245 average and an OBP below .300. He also has inconsistent playing time and only 104 plate appearances across two months in the majors. Hitting three doubles in his last three games might be nothing long-term. It might be the start of a lasting improvement. It’s impossible to say for now, but the positive reinforcement from the dance celebrations has to help.
*****
I spent a lot of time yesterday morning studying up on the 2023 draft prospects. Rather than focusing on the stuff and the stats, my focus today was on the people. I watched a few interviews, including this one from PitchingNinja with Paul Skenes. We have a Roundtable today looking at what makes Skenes a candidate for the top overall pick.
Pirates Notes
The Pirates had another come from behind win against the Dodgers in a wild back and forth game.
**P2Live: Pirates Bats Battle Back
David Bednar was added to the NL All-Star team.
**David Bednar Named to All-Star Game
Prospect Notes
With the MLB Draft approaching, we’re previewing the first overall pick for the Pirates with a Roundtable series. Check out the first two parts, looking at Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes.
**Pirates Roundtable: What is the argument for Dylan Crews first overall?
**Pirates Roundtable: What is the argument for Paul Skenes first overall?
Matt Gorski homered twice for Altoona last night. If you’re wondering about other players who are adjusting their stance to ultimately see out of both eyes, Gorski is one in the minors who has been making that adjustment this year. Gorski is a year older than Suwinski, so there’s less upside, but he does have MLB upside.
**Prospect Watch: Matt Gorski Homers Twice
The Pirates made a lot of moves yesterday, including sending Liover Peguero to Indianapolis.
**Pirates Promote Liover Peguero to Indianapolis; Lonnie White Jr and Yordany De Los Santos
PIRATES PROSPECTS ARCHIVES
Catch up on all of the latest updates around the organization.
PIRATES
7/3: The Early Results From That 2021 Draft Strategy
7/2: Derek Shelton’s Difficult Job
6/30: Williams: Tathata and the Present Day Grades of the Pirates Position Players
6/29: Jared Triolo Has Positive Recovery From Negative Start to the Year
6/29: This May Be Exactly What This Team NeededMLB DRAFT
7/5: Pirates Roundtable: What is the argument for Paul Skenes first overall?
7/4: Pirates Roundtable: What is the argument for Dylan Crews first overall?PROSPECT WATCH ARCHIVES
7/4: Esmerlyn Valdez, Joshua Loeschorn, Andres Silvera
7/3: Jared Jones, Derek Diamond, Josiah Sightler
7/2: Endy Rodriguez, Ryan Harbin, Jonathan Rivero
6/30: Owen Kellington, Alika Williams, Jackson Grounds
6/28: Lonnie White Jr., Kelvin Diaz, Yojeiry Osoria
6/25: Quinn Priester, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Jhonson Pena
6/24: Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, Adolfo OviedoINDIANAPOLIS
7/1: Defensive Focus Might Be Driving Bat Down For Endy Rodriguez
6/30: Cam Alldred Continues To Answer Call For Indianapolis
6/21: Changeup Helps Jared Jones In Strong Triple-A DebutALTOONA
6/22: Power Continues To Come Through For Liover Peguero
6/9: Jared Jones Continues Incredible Development With Altoona
6/1: Matt Gorski Displays Athleticism And VersatilityGREENSBORO
6/29: Breaking Pitches Allowed JP Massey To Dominate Single-A
6/25: Jase Bowen Turning Into An Offensive Threat
6/15: Anthony Solometo Promotion A Win For 2021 Draft ClassBRADENTON
6/26: Bradenton Rotation Leading FSL Through First Half
6/22: Young Bradenton Hitters Making Progress
6/20: Termarr Johnson: Patience Brings Career Day At The PlateROOKIE LEVELS
6/16: Is This The Year For A Solomon Maguire Breakout?
6/12: Pirates 2023 Minor League Preview: FCL Pirates
6/11: Pitching Depth Continues To Grow With Jun-Seok Shim Debut
6/8: Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Dominican Summer League PiratesSong of the Day
