Peguero's trust, gift to just go out and play the game, leading to power

NEW YORK -- It was just under a month ago that Liover Peguero just cleared the left field wall at PETCO Park for his first major-league home run. That July 24 line drive was a load off his mind, and rounding the bases in San Diego that night, he couldn't believe what he did.

On Tuesday at Citi Field, he pushed that total to five major-league homers, all in just over three weeks' time:

Mix in a walk during a six-run seventh inning and a base hit earlier and Peguero continued to stay white hot on offense, helping the Pirates to a 7-4 win over the Mets.

Hey, rookie. Are those homers starting to feel real yet?

"What can I say?" a smiling Peguero asked. "I can't even explain the things that are going on right now, but I'm really glad they happened. The hard work I've been putting in, it's showing up on the field."

Being with his teammates was far from guaranteed not too long ago. The 2022 season was bumpy, both at the plate and in the field. He had tools that made him a top 10 prospect in the system, but tools weren't enough anymore. As the minor-league season was about to begin, Peguero was one of the best notable prospects repeating a level rather than moving to the next level with the players he had been alongside for decade.

The team was far from giving up on him, but it was time for a push. Message received. Now he's having one of his best months swinging the bat as a pro, getting the barrel out in front and swinging at the right pitches, and it's translated to very good results. Sure, he has only 72 major-league plate appearances under his belt this year, but five home runs, and .832 OPS and a 121 OPS+ is more than enough.

"We knew organizationally that he had the ability to impact the ball, and he's only 22," Derek Shelton said. "So we're seeing him start to grow into it."

There is some pop there, and it's not just because Peguero is fastball hunting. Sure, he entered the evening with a much higher batting average against fastballs compared to breaking balls (.364 compared to .150, though we are looking at a sample of just 20 at-bats for the latter), but his homers were primarily against the secondary pitches:

The pitch location of Peguero's home runs.

A cutter, a knuckle curve, a slider and a sweeper. Now you can add a homer to that mix, and one that isn't just center-center. That pitch was low and in, but Peguero was able to get the barrel to it, something he's done plenty of of late.

"I think it's building on it, and adjustments we made this year when he was in Double-A and Triple-A," Shelton said. "And it's a credit organizationally of identifying some things and being able to adjust, and now we're seeing it to start to translate."

Those adjustments made have been held pretty close to the chest. In conversations with Peguero this season, he has brought up a change in approach, trying to be more patient and going after the pitch he wants rather than the pitch the pitcher wants him to swing at. Ever since he got his timing down in the majors, he's been able to stick to that mindset.

And those homers?

"Honestly, I'm just swinging the bat and the ball's going out," Peguero said. "That simple."

We likely won't get a complete answer from the team or him, so off to the film room. Comparing some video from Peguero Tuesday to last September, he is setting his hands up higher now. While this is coming from an amateur eye, it also looks like there's less hand motion and that his load doesn't take him back as deep. To speculate, that could explain why his contact point is out in front more consistently and why he's been pulling more of his fly balls:

The biggest difference for Peguero, though, is mental.

"I feel the thing that's been showing up the most is the trust I've got in myself and the trust I've got in this clubhouse," Peguero said.

Peguero is one of the more colorful characters in that clubhouse, someone who is hardly ever seen without a smile on his face, either talking to or right next to a teammate. He's come up through the minors with many of these rookies now on the team. It's easy to see where his trust in there comes from.

The trust in himself? Well, it wasn't exactly a crisis in confidence, but pushing out other things from his mind, like that second turn in Altoona.

"I've got to control the things I can control," Peguero said. "This game is very hard. There are times when even when you do your very best, still, not being able to do the things you want to do. When I said trust, it's being able to not think about anything. Just go out and do your best and just let things happen."

You can see that joy, that free-ness on the field. And it can't help but be infectious.

This is how Liover Peguero wants to play baseball.

"The feeling I feel is just crazy and unbelievable," he said.

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THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: 2B Ji Hwan Bae (ankle)

• 15-day injured list: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (elbow), RHP Dauri Moreta (lower back)

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Andrew McCutchen, DH
4. Connor Joe, 1B
5. Henry Davis, RF
6. Liover Peguero, SS
7. Josh Palacios, CF
8. Jared Triolo, 2B
9. Jason Delay, C

And for Buck Showalter's Mets:

1. Brandon Nimmo, LF
2. Francisco Lindor, SS
3. Pete Alonso, 1B
4. Francisco Arraez, C
5. Jeff McNeil, RF
6. Mark Vientos, DH
7. Jonathan Araúz, 2B
8. Danny Mendick, 3B
9. Tim Locastro, CF

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates will try to take the rubber match of the series Wednesday when Johan Oviedo (6-12, 4.42) takes on Tylor Megill (6-6, 5.64). First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. I'll have you covered.

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