In The System: Suwinski embraces hectic trade deadline

ALTOONA, Pa. -- The week of the trade deadline is a hectic time for all involved and especially so at the minor league level. For example, take new Altoona Curve outfielder Jack Suwinski who found out just minutes before a game in San Antonio he was being traded.

"We were getting ready to play a game and I was about to actually head out there to stretch and warm up," Suwinski recalled. "A couple minutes before the game, the manager called me in and told me I was scratched from the lineup without a reason yet, then everyone started shaking my hand and telling me congrats and I didn't really know what was going on until I saw the news I had been traded."

That message started a whirlwind 24 hours that saw some snags, but resulted in him joining the Curve Tuesday night before playing for the first time Wednesday.

"It was a little a little hectic, but it wasn't too bad. I had to go back to my apartment, get all my stuff together, we were actually going on a road trip Monday," Suwinski said. 

It wasn't just as easy as Suwinski packing and leaving in fact, he almost made the road trip with the Missions because things weren't completely official.

"It came down to the last minute because we were waiting on a few official details. So, I was about to get on the bus for that road trip, and nothing was official yet," Suwinski said. "About 15 minutes before we left, I actually got the call that I was staying behind. And then I was gonna head to Altoona."

Suwinski, the 2016 15th round pick for San Diego, didn't take long to get settled in his new digs and uniform as he immediately was put in the lineup and put on an impressive showing with both his bat and glove in his organizational debut last Wednesday.

The glove work came early in the game before the lumber gave Altoona the go-ahead run entering the ninth inning.

Suwinski's power is a big part of why Ben Cherington had him packaged in the Frazier deal along with shortstop Tucupita Marcano, who was sent to Triple A Indianapolis and right-handed pitcher Michell Miliano, who is now in Greensboro. Prior to the trade, Suwinski hit 15 home runs in San Antonio good for fifth in the Double A Central and with his home run with Altoona, he now sits at 16 on the season which would tie him with for sixth in the Double A Northeast.

Of course, Suwinski is still second on the Curve, behind one Mason Martin who has launched 19 home runs to date for Altoona. With Rodolfo Castro in the bigs and Oneil Cruz still on the injured list, Suwinski and Martin make up a lot of power in the heart of the order for the Curve as well as a lot of danger for opposing pitchers.

"I think it's pretty exciting. Getting to know these guys and getting to know our hitters, hearing them talk and seeing them play," Suwinski said. "From what I've heard, we're gonna have a pretty dangerous lineup. So knowing that we got a few other guys who can drive the ball really well and a bunch of guys who can hit really well, it's really exciting."

At the plate, Suwinski is all about not letting pitchers get the upper hand in an at bat and his focus is solely inside his own zone as he looks to hit the ball.

"I'm looking for something in my zone that I could drive. I don't want to expand too early," Suwinski said. "I don't want to give in to the pitcher's pitches. So I'm just looking one pitch one spot and looking for a place to drive it usually up the middle into the gaps or something I could stay on top of."

Since joining the team, Suwinski has routinely hit in front of Martin in the order which judging by his .261 average is no surprise, but something that does jump off the stat sheet is his ability to steal bases of which he's stolen seven on the season. Should Suwinski be able to hit for power and use his speed both in the field and on the bases, Cherington and company could have a very intriguing prospect on their hands moving forward.

• Altoona Curve pitcher Roansy Contreras is now throwing from about 75 feet as he works his way back from a forearm injury. It's expected he will be back mid to late August with a call to Triple A soon to follow once healthy. Shortstop Oneil Cruz has been taking grounders and fly balls before games, but just recently has added having a catch as he also works back from a forearm injury.

• With the addition of catcher Abrahan Gutierrez, Bradenton catcher Eli Wilson earned a well-deserved call up to Greensboro after hitting .328 with 38 hits in 39 games splitting time with Endy Rodriguez behind the plate.  has now reached base in 21 straight games which includes a now 6-straight games with a hit to go with it. 

Prior to the draft and trade deadline, the farm teams of the Pirates weren't deep prospect wise at catcher, now they'll have Henry Davis, Gutierrez, Rodriguez and Wilson all working their way up through the organization by the end of the summer.

• Greensboro first baseman Matt Fraizer is on fire for the Grasshoppers slashing .355/.448/.710 for the month of July including this absolute missile over the weekend. 

It was his 20th of the season for Greensboro and with 300 at-bats at High A it begs the question of when not if he will be promoted. For now, though, he makes up part of a lineup with High A player of the week Liover Peguero who belted five homers and 12 RBIs this week for the Grasshoppers.

• We're moving and expanding our rankings section to a separate article. Keep an eye on that.

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YOUR TURN: We'd love to hear from you, too, especially if you make it out to see any of these prospects and affiliates play. Feel free to file your own original scouting reports and other observations in comments.