Why Pirates' power surge from young players is a positive sign for future

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Jack Suwinski had watched video on Rays southpaw reliever Jalen Beeks, trying to get a feel for the lefty's unique motion. Standing right on the edge of the rubber from the third base side with a straight back and forward arm motion, it can be a tough angle for a lefty hitter to get a feel for.

After getting ahead in the count, Suwinski changed his mindset.

"I was just sitting [for a pitch in] a small zone," Suwinski explained. "Just be short and compact."

Suwinski did just that and launched a 443-foot blast, the longest by a Pirate hitter this year:

For a long time, it looked like it would be the winning hit, though a Rays two-out rally against Pirates closer David Bednar, who blew the save and took the loss in a 6-5 decision Saturday at Tropicana Field.

It was a rare hiccup by the club's best pitcher, one that shouldn't overshadow what has been a recent power surge from the Pirates' young players. It started Sunday with Suwinski's three homer game against the Giants. 

Another person seeing the ball well right now is Diego Castillo, who homered for the fourth time in six games. After slumping, Castillo says he's staying back on the ball a little bit more, which is helping him turn on balls like this:

"I'm not focusing on getting hits, but getting barrels a little bit more," Castillo told me.

In the month of June, Suwinski leads all rookies with seven home runs. Castillo is right behind him in second place with five. As a team, the Pirates' 24 home runs from rookies lead the majors.

Those homers have been key for getting the Pirates out of the league cellar for power. After finishing dead last in homers in 2021 and no higher than 25th since 2016, the Pirates are currently 17th in the league in homers.

Let's expand it a bit further beyond just rookies. So far this season, 27 of the Pirates' 72 home runs as a team have been hit by a player 25 or younger (12 for Suwinski, seven for Castillo, three for Ke'Bryan Hayes, two for Cal Mitchell and Tucupita Marcano and one for Rodolfo Castro). Oneil Cruz, who was promoted this week, will surely contribute to that total as well.

That's 37.5% of the team's homers. For reference, the last time the Pirates had that many large a percentage of their homers from players 25 or younger was 2010-2012, the preamble to what would be three straight playoff berths. Before that, it was 1998 -- one year after the Freak Show -- and then 1990 and 1987-88.

If you're looking for a positive sign, home run surges from young players usually results in playoff berths in the following years. That's not to suggest this team is close to a finished product. They've still got a long way to go. But it's a sign.

"We just continue to see these guys grow, continue to see these guys get better," Derek Shelton said. "There's gonna be bumps, there's going to be good things. We saw some good things out of our young kids today."

The key, according to Castillo, is to not think about the age disadvantage. Just go out there and compete.

"Once the game starts, we forget that we're rookies," Castillo said. "Whatever baseball it is, majors or minor leagues, we're playing the same way. The key is to forget about, 'oh, I'm in the big leagues,' because if you don't, you're gonna be f---ed.

"If you play hard, good things are going to happen."

GETTY

Isaac Paredes delivers the walk off hit Saturday.

• It was close to being a 1-2-3 frame for Bednar, and he came one pitch away multiple times from protecting a one-run lead.

He didn't get it done. After walking a pair with two outs, Bednar got Luke Raley to bounce one back to him but couldn't snag it. After failing to corral it, he decided to eat it rather than try a bang-bang play at first because he didn't have his footing.

"I just didn't want to throw it up the line," Bednar said. "Just get a chance to go after the next guy."

Bednar then got ahead 0-2 to Isaac Paredes, but he flared a high-and-away 98 mph four-seamer the other way, winning it for the Rays:

"Just frustrating. [JT] Brubaker pitched his ass off," Bednar said. "... Not finishing it up is tough for sure."

• Like Mitch Keller Friday, Brubaker got some poor batted ball luck early in his start but battled back to give the Pirates some length. He wound up giving up nine hits over six innings, but with no walks and six strikeouts, he limited the damage to just three runs.

"Just stay with the same game plan," Brubaker said on his approach after allowing a pair of runs in the first. "[There were] some soft hits that fell in and stuff. There was no need to flip the script and jump off the game plan. Just continue to attack them and go right after them."

• Suwinski didn't just contribute with the homer, but with one of the better catches of the year, falling over the short wall in left:

"I think I landed right on top of that guy," Suwinski said afterwards.

Based on this photo, he probably did:

• Ok, in fairness for all of the inevitable "Oneil Cruz hit a double X mph" posts that are going to fill out these bullets for the rest of the year, here's a hustle double on a ball that left the bat at 69.9 mph:

It's even now, right?

• Hayes was absent from the lineup a second straight game, but he fielded pregame ground balls. He said his left shoulder is feeling better than he did Thursday and Friday, and is getting some extra attention in the trainer's room right now. He has yet to swing a bat.

Talking about the collision at home Thursday, he said he realized too late that Willson Contreras was blocking the plate and that he couldn't stop coming home.

• Factoid of the game: Bligh Madris went 3-for-4 with a double, his second three-hit game in his first five major-league contests (the other being his debut June 20). He is the fifth Pirate to ever record three knocks twice in his first five games, joining Jack Merson (three times in 1951), Fred Kommers (three times in 1913), Bobby Del Greco (1952) and Andrew McCutchen (2009).

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: OF Ben Gamel (hamstring), 1B Yoshi Tsutsugo (lumbar muscle strain), Josh VanMeter (finger)

• 15-day injured list: RHP Zach Thompson (forearm), LHP Dillon Peters (back)

• 60-day injured list: SS Kevin Newman (groin), OF Jake Marisnick (thumb) OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery), Roberto Pérez (hamstring, out for season)

• COVID injured list: INF/OF Tucupita Marcano, RHP Duane Underwood Jr.

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Oneil Cruz, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Michael Chavis, 1B
4. Daniel Vogelbach, DH
5. Bligh Madris, RF
6. Jack Suwinski, LF
7. Diego Castillo, 2B
8. Michael Perez, C
9. Hoy Park, 3B

And for Kevin Cash's Rays:

1. Taylor Walls, SS
2. Josh Lowe, RF
3. Randy Arozarena, LF
4. Ji-Man Choi, 1B
5. Vidal Bruján, 2B
6. Luke Raley, DH
7. Isaac Paredes, 3B
8. Francisco Mejía, C
9. Brett Phillips, CF

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates will try to prevent the weekend series sweep Sunday at 1:40 p.m. Roansy Contreras (2-1, 2.89) will take on Shane McClanahan (7-3, 1.81).

THE CONTENT

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