Watching Jack Suwinski’s 2022 season unfold was one of the better storylines of the year so far in the Pirates system. Suwinski rejoined the Altoona Curve at the start of the year after playing there after last year’s trade deadline. He skipped right over Triple-A to be a replacement in Pittsburgh while a couple players were moved to the COVID list, and never gave up his roster spot.
Just how impressive of a start did he get off to? Suwinski still leads all NL rookies in home runs, despite being back in the minors the past two weeks.
Why the minor leagues? He was in the midst of a 0-for-29 stretch and looked like he needed a reset.
That reset looks like it might be working. In 13 games with Indianapolis, Suwinski has hit five home runs and owns a slash of .288/.362/.635.
He’s fixed now, right? They can call him back up pick up right back where he was before the slump? I don’t believe it’s that simple.
Hitting home runs hasn’t been the problem for Suwinski this season. With a .198 average and 14 home runs, it was clear going deep was one of the things he was doing well, but he was far from a well rounded player.
Suwinski hitting this many home runs in Triple-A after having the kind of success he has in the majors shouldn’t be as much a surprise and to an extent, expected. There’s a very good if the Pirates called Suwinski back up he continues this hot streak he is on, that’s the kind of hitter he’s been this year — very streaky.
There’s also a chance that the fact he’s striking out nearly 40% of the time he stepping to the plate in Indianapolis opens the door for a lot of the struggles to resurface after some time down. Granted, 13 games is harsh to judge a number like that, as he’s continued to bring it down over the past couple of games.
Jack Suwinski with a RBI single to give Indy the lead. He ends up on second on the throw home #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/i55fM9Imeo
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) August 3, 2022
This is what I want to see from him, more than the home runs. Something so simple but big on a development scale. That’s the point of the minor league system, to become a better overall player. He’s shown that his power translates to the highest of level, now it’s time to become a better hitter so he can hang around the majors.
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