Pirates slugger Jack Suwinski leans upon foundation built by response to slump

When Jack Suwinski endured an 0-for-29 slump last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates slugger couldn’t swing his way out of it and ultimately drew a demotion to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Amid another 0-for-29 funk this season, Suwinski had something to draw upon. He turned to a foundation built last season, improved during the offseason and constantly worked on with Pirates hitting coaches.

“This is part of it, those ups and downs,” Suwinski said. “For me, that approach, that foundation is mostly mental. So obviously it’s a little bit harder going through a stretch like that because it’s a little tougher, a little more pressure and you get more stressed and frustrated. I think it comes back to some setup things and getting more comfortable when I do challenge work and prep work to be in the right position.

“It definitely helped. Just being able to work through it and relax and try to take it one step at a time and try not to let it unravel as one big thing. Just slow down and take it one at-bat at a time, one pitch at a time.”

This time, Suwinski’s response has been nothing short of incredible. Over the past eight games, he’s batting .391/.576/.826 with a double, three home runs and eight RBIs, including breaking up Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes’ no-hit bid Saturday with a two-run single.

pic.twitter.com/qXGZbQopFa
Jack Suwinski hits a solo shot (18) to cut the Dodgers lead down to 4-3.

— MLB Updates (@MLBNews1234) July 5, 2023

Suwinski went 2 for 3 with a solo homer and two walks in the 9-7 comeback win at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, rallying the Pirates to a three-run fourth inning by smacking Emmet Sheehan’s 2-0 fastball over the middle for a 442-foot leadoff home run to right-center that generated a career-best 114.7-mph exit velocity.

Through his first 75 games, Suwinski leads the Pirates in home runs (18), slugging percentage (.513) and OPS (.878), is tied for the lead in RBIs (43) and ranks second in on-base percentage (.365) and walks (44).

NL outfielders with more HR than Jack Suwinski (35) since making his debut last season:

• Kyle Schwarber (62)
• Mookie Betts (52)
• Juan Soto (38) pic.twitter.com/LzHI4ngWqc

— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) June 28, 2023

He already has surpassed his RBI total from last season, when Suwinski had 38 in 106 games, is one homer shy from last season’s 19. His plate discipline shows with an improved walk rate, from 11% to 15.9%, which ranks in the 98th percentile, per Statcast, an elite chase rate (16%) and barrel percentage (18.1). Suwinski, however, is still striking out at a 30.7% clip and hitting only .179 against offspeed pitches.

“Nothing is ever where it’s going to get to,” Suwinski said, “so we’re going to keep working on that.”

Suwinski’s growth also is evident in his improved home-away splits, as he is slashing .240/.370/.577 with 11 homers and 21 RBIs in road games this season after batting .112 with three homers and seven RBIs away from PNC Park last year.

Perhaps the biggest sign that the Pirates are trusting Suwinski more is how he’s faring against left-handed pitchers. After batting .122 against lefties last year, Suwinski is hitting .228 this season. His dribbler down the first-base line off San Diego Padres lefty Tim Hill in the seventh inning Thursday went for a game-tying single in a 5-4 win to sweep the series. Suwinski hit a 420-foot homer off Milwaukee Brewers lefty Clayton Andrews in the eighth inning Saturday.

⚾Jack Suwinski! HR (17)

7/1/23 @ PIT, ⬇️ 8th
vs LHP Clayton Andrews

105.1 MPH / 34° / 420 ft to RF
Off a 94.8 MPH four-seam fb

▶️It's a home run in 26/30 parks.◀️
????️(Not in BOS, COL, DET, HOU.)

See this play in Gameday: https://t.co/zuAXpKnEBz pic.twitter.com/HboyDC99tR

— Home Run Report (@homerunreport) July 1, 2023

“It’s a little bit of confidence, just making sure that you stay in there,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think we’ve seen that. We’ve seen him stay in there and just get the ball up. When he gets the ball up, he’s able to take good swings off lefties.”

Suwinski continues to work on his weaknesses in an effort to be a more complete player amid his move to center field this season. Although he has batted everywhere but second and ninth in the lineup, Suwinski realizes he possesses middle-of-the-order power and has the potential to be a 30-homer/100-RBI hitter for the Pirates.

“It crosses my mind. I’ve thought about it,” Suwinski said. “I think it would just be the result of everything we’ve been working on. It’s not something I’ll focus on. I’ve thought about it. Just doing the things we’ve been doing will help cross that and get there. That’s definitely something I want to be, to be the guy for the team doing stuff like that.”