Rookie 3B Jared Triolo performing at the plate for Pirates, riding a 12-game hitting streak

Jared Triolo arrived to the Pittsburgh Pirates with a reputation for a great glove, good baseball instincts and the versatility to play multiple positions in the infield and outfield.

The question was whether he could hit in the major leagues.

Triolo has answered that in resounding fashion, hitting safely in 15 of his first 17 games. That includes a 12-game hitting streak, the longest by a Pirates player this season and the second-longest active streak in baseball behind Boston Red Sox designated hitter Justin Turner’s 15.

Per Elias Sports Bureau, Triolo is just the third Pirates player since 1900 to have a hit streak of 12 games or longer within his first 17 career games, tying Jewel Ens (1922) and Woody Jensen (1931).

“I do not think about it,” Triolo said. “I don’t want to.”

Jared Triolo now has a TWELVE game hitting streak

102.6 MPH exit velocity, .480 xBA pic.twitter.com/ccWtxMQoa9

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) July 19, 2023

Triolo is batting .341 (15 for 44) over the course of the streak after going 2 for 4 in Wednesday’s 7-5 win over the Cleveland Guardians, when his two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning helped pad the lead. Triolo faced four consecutive fastballs from Enyel De Los Santos, fouling off the first pitch, taking a ball and a swinging strike before connecting. Triolo also got the Pirates’ first hit against lefty Logan Allen in the fifth inning on Tuesday.

“We knew he could hit,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Offensively, the one thing to really like about it is he takes aggressive swings. Even if you go back to (Wednesday), that’s a two-strike base hit where he got the two RBIs. The first swing of that at-bat he was aggressive. He was ready to hit. The fact that he’s ready to hit on every pitch is more important.”

In 17 games since being promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis, Triolo is slashing .311/.368/.344 with two doubles and nine RBIs and 19 strikeouts against five walks. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound right-handed hitter was chasing pitches in his first five games, striking out six times in his first 17 at-bats, before getting back to his original approach of hunting pitches in the strike zone and putting good swings on the ball.

“I learned pretty early on, a lot of pitchers in this league try to get you off your approach,” Triolo said. “The quicker you can learn to stick to your approach, it helps for sure. Just trying to get you to chase and swing at their pitches. A lot of the same stuff as the minor leagues, but they execute their pitches a lot better. For the most part, if they throw it in my zone early, I’m going to be ready to swing.”

The Pirates are as thrilled with Triolo’s performance at the plate as they are his play filling in for the injured Ke’Bryan Hayes (low back inflammation) at third base, where Triolo has two errors in 52 chances over 151 innings and is worth 2 defensive runs saved, per SportsInfo Solutions. Triolo knows Hayes will reassume his starting role when he returns from the 10-day injured list, but is making the most of his opportunity in the meantime. Triolo made a terrific catch in foul territory on Tuesday, leaning over the railing next to the home dugout to snare Will Brennan’s pop fly.

Jared Triolo making a great catch at the wall pic.twitter.com/l0qHW0yo4S

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) July 19, 2023

It doesn’t hurt that Hayes has been a fan of Triolo’s play at the hot corner, as well as shortstop, since watching the 2019 second-round pick out of the University of Houston play for the West Virginia Black Bears in the old New York-Penn League in his first pro season.

Triolo won a Rawlings minor league Gold Glove in 2021 at High-A Greensboro and won the Bill Mazeroski Award as the top defender in the Pirates’ system the past two seasons. Last season, Triolo played third base, shortstop and center field for Double-A Altoona and could be a candidate to play shortstop or first base when Hayes returns.

“I like the way he’s fundamentally sound,” Hayes said. “He’s not super flashy or anything, he just gets the job done. … He’s always showed he’s a really good defender with how fluid he moves. He knows where to play. To be able to come up here and do it the way he’s doing it has been fun to watch. I just want him to keep going.”

Hayes is even more impressed by how Triolo has been hitting.

“In the box, he’s done an unbelievable job, especially controlling the zone, getting the bat on the ball and using the big part of the field,” Hayes said. “Really, the thing that’s stuck out to me is in those high-leverage situations he hasn’t let the game get too big for him.”