North Shore Tavern Mound Visit: How Gorski became a minor-league mega-slugger

ALTOONA, Pa. – The origin of prospect Matt Gorski’s success this year can be tied to what he picked up in the weight room and what he picked up in a major-league locker room.

The 24-year-old outfielder put on about 15-20 pounds this offseason, most of it as upper body muscle. When he got to spring training, he was one of the dozens of minor-league players who would be brought in occasionally to rest starters and finish out nine inning games. When in the major-league clubhouse, the team would lay out bats that former players didn’t want to take with them, in case a minor-leaguer wants to take a hack.

Gorski wanted to experiment with a larger bat and found a couple that he liked: 35 inches, 32 ounces. They were Josh Bell and Colin Moran’s old bats.

“I have like six of them left and I’ve only broken one of them!” Gorski told me with a smile. “Knock on wood those six last me the rest of the year.”

Gorski should take care of those bats, because after a couple years of below average results, the Pirates’ outfield prospect is tied for the minor-league lead in home runs with 23. In all of professional baseball, only Aaron Judge has more (28).

A second-round pick in 2019, Gorski’s first few years with the Pirates were marked by some good stolen base numbers (18 of 19 in 2021), some good defensive work in center and the corners and less than flattering offensive results. He slashed .223/.294/.416 with 17 homers for Class High-A Greensboro in 2021, which would be a fairly good minor-league season for most players, but it was not when factoring in Greensboro’s hitter-friendly environment. His wRC+, or how his offense compares to the rest of the league when factoring in elements like home ballpark, was 89, meaning he produced 11% less offense than the league-average hitter.

As a result, when the Pirates began constructing their 2022 minor-league roster, they opted to leave Gorski behind in Greensboro while most of his teammates advanced to Class AA Altoona. It was a decision that director of coaching and player development John Baker admitted he didn’t know how a young player like Gorski would take.

It turns out that tough love might have been just what he needed, and Gorski was promoted to Altoona in May after clubbing 17 home runs in 37 games for Greensboro.

“It definitely lit a fire under me,” Gorski said. “... I was pissed. Getting back here after a good couple weeks in Greensboro, having the success I did, then coming up here and having more success, it helped me. Maybe it was the right thing for me.”

Gorski has continued to hit the ball hard in Altoona, posting a .906 OPS over his first 28 games there. On the season, he has seen his average exit velocity jump from 88 mph in 2021 to 91 mph in 2022. While that’s not the same as major-league results and exit velocities, but for reference, the league average this season is 88.7 mph. A 91 mph average is close to the top 15% of major-league hitters.

Mentality, confidence, more upper-body strength and the old bats of a couple power hitters are only parts of the equation. This is Mound Visit, after all. Of course there was a mechanical change, too.

For Gorski, the key is his legs. He has a very open stance which he closes up a bit during his swing, allowing him to see the ball with two eyes for a good portion of its flight to the plate. 

That would lead to problems with his back foot, though, opening it up and not giving himself a solid foundation to lean on. This year, he’s worked to keep it more closed and inward to him:

The back foot still moves, but he's definitely cut down on it and he's keeping his body straighter. In the past, he would sometimes buckle himself on just a normal swing.

“Last year, I would lose a lot of power, get very rotational,” Gorski said. “I’ve been trying to stay through the ball and get more extension.”

And when he does properly extend, Gorski doesn’t hit cheap 350-footers. He hits tanks:

There are a couple reasons for skepticism for Gorski’s long-term prospects with the club. He did eat Class High-A pitching alive, but he was also 24. Yes, age might not be as troublesome now as past years because this generation of minor-leaguers lost a season in 2020, but he was clearly more physically advanced. He’s also struck out in 28.4% of his plate appearances with a 17% swinging strike rate, both of which are much higher than one would hope for. 

And Gorski himself admits he has a “weird” swing path, coming down with his hands. That’s a more traditional, pre-fly ball revolution approach. Obviously it can work, but it’s something to keep in mind when monitoring his ground ball rates (it’s under 40% so far this year at both levels).

There’s a chance those holes hold him back, but one can’t ignore that Gorski has excelled in a year where the organization challenged him. If he keeps performing like this -- and maybe keeps those new bats in one piece -- he’ll find himself on the major-league radar.