'Jack's in a good spot:' Shelton has faith in Suwinski amid bumpy spring

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- All the competition talk this spring, especially with the outfield, inspired the question.

There's playing time to be won in the Pirates' outfield, even with Bryan Reynolds, Andrew McCutchen and Jack Suwinski -- one of the team's more pleasant surprises last year -- in the mix. The team has made that incredibly apparent. They also have a couple of outfielders who have been terrific this spring in Canaan Smith-Njigba and Travis Swaggerty. Both would pick up RBIs in the Pirates' 7-5 win over the Red Sox at JetBlue Park Monday, and Smith-Njigba would end up getting three hits on the afternoon.

While not definitive, it seems unlikely both Smith-Njigba and Swaggerty could make the opening day team. Given the team's options of utilitymen, it just doesn't seem logical to break camp with three left-handed outfielders, once one includes Suwinski. 

Well, should Suwinski be in that mix? He's had his problems with the sun, dropping more than his fair share of fly balls. He's also struck out 18 times in his 14 games played. His .785 OPS is far from terrible, but it pales in comparison to what Smith-Njigba (.939 OPS) and Swaggerty (1.109 OPS) have done.

But when asked if Suwinski is also in that outfield competition, Derek Shelton more or less shot the idea down.

"Jack's in a good spot," Shelton said. "I think the big thing is, and you guys have all been long enough to know that there's a lot of competition. There's also a lot going on what you did previously. I think we all know spring training stats can be inflated very quickly, especially playing the back half of games when it's guys that are going to be in the minor leagues. So we have to be aware of what has been done and what he's done. The fact that Jack came to the big leagues last year, hit 19 homers, got better defensively [matters]."

Shelton's answer seemed to be as close as he could get to saying that Suwinski is making the team without using those exact words. Suwinski made a mark in 2022. He's being given the runway to make another one in 2023.

"There is competition, but there's also different levels of competition because of what you've done recently at the major-league level," Shelton said.

It's certainly a different position than Suwinski was in last spring training. In 2022, he had yet to make his major-league debut and was never in consideration for the opening day team. He would start in Class AA Altoona before getting a surprise call-up to the majors in April because of a COVID-19 scare on the team, and he would go on to spend most of the season in the majors, hitting 19 home runs with a .709 OPS over 372 plate appearances.

If he could build on that while improving his splits -- most notably home/road and pitcher handedness -- he could be an impact player. It's why he's not stressing over the positional competition.

"You don’t want to put all that pressure on yourself," Suwinski said. "Every pitch, every play you still want to go out there and free your mind so you can be the best player you can be. At the same time, you just want to be able to go out there and compete, try and not get caught up in the past. That helps build your confidence. You can revert back to that. But while you’re doing it, you don’t really want to be thinking too far in the past or too far out in the future. You want to stay in the present, stay clear-minded. That way I think you’re going to be loose and your unconscious ability is going to come out."

It's been an up and down spring, but one that Shelton sees positive signs. He made a diving catch in center field Sunday against the Orioles and nearly robbed a home run. The team wanted to give him more reps in center field this spring so they could occasionally move Reynolds to left. His swing has been a work in progress, but a triple Monday showed that he can still drive the ball.

Shelton's point being that there's only so much you can take from spring results.

"You definitely have to have those conversations, because you can go back and look at spring trainings where guys are tried and true big leaguers that have had terrible springs and then start the season and are unbelievable," Shelton said. "You also have guys who hit .750 in spring training and start the year and [struggle] or go back to the minor leagues because of the fact that they haven't played as much as we need them to play."

That swing has been a focal point all winter. He came into camp with a new, more upright stance, and it has since be tinkered with now that he has live pitches to pull information from.

"Some of it has been pretty good," Suwinski said. "Obviously it’s going to be a work in progress. There’s some of it we’re working with, like setup- and approach-wise. There’s gonna be something every day, but for the most part it feels good and feels like it’s getting better."

Now Suwinski getting a vote of confidence does not guarantee a season-long job. If the defensive struggles and strikeouts continue when out of the Florida sun, it could potentially spark a shift to Swaggerty, Smith-Njigba, or someone else.

For now, though, it seems like Suwinski should see his name in that lineup card in Cincinnati on March 30.

"There is competition," Shelton said, "but there's also a situation of what you've done in the majors leagues is really important, and Jack did a good job for us last year."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Luis Ortiz got his first game action since the World Baseball Classic and allowed two runs over three innings on three hits and two walks, striking out two.

When asked pregame what Ortiz needs to do to establish himself, Shelton brought up the main theme for Pirate pitchers this spring: He needs to throw strikes.

"When we've seen him have trouble, it's because he hasn't been in the zone," Shelton said. "When we've seen him be in the zone, it's been really good and it's been really hard to hit. So the strike throwing component is something that's really important, as it is for all young kids."

• Also before the game, Shelton said that Ortiz and Roansy Contreras are probably not going to be as far along as some of the other Pirate starters once camp breaks because of their involvement in the World Baseball Classic. Contreras threw three innings against the Orioles Sunday and then a simulated inning afterwards.

Going based off how the Pirates normally build up starters late in spring, it seems reasonable to assume Contreras will get five ups in his next start, which should put him in the 5-6 inning range for his first start of the regular season.

• After building up a 7-3 lead, Angel Perdomo and Cody. Bolton both were nicked trying to close out the game, but got the job done in the eighth and ninth.

Smith-Njigba also stole a base in addition to his three hits, while Ji Hwan Bae had a couple hits, Rodolfo Castro stole a base and Miguel Andújar launched his first home run of the spring.

Shelton has, unprompted, brought Andújar's name in conversations this week. The results aren't there, but the Pirates are noticing that he's hitting the ball hard.

• The sun was murder for the Red Sox outfielders today, as Adam Duvall and Raimel Tapia both dropped fairly routine fly balls that resulted in runs. So it's not just a Suwinski or Pirates thing this spring.

• The Pirates could go into the season without a set second baseman. No one has run away with the job this spring, and Shelton said a rotation could be the answer. Something to keep in mind with Castro, Bae, Mark Mathias and Tucupita Marcano, depending on who out of that mix makes the opening day team.

He added a rotation could be in play for several positions, though he didn't go into specifics. First base, designated hitter and the outfield seem like possibilities.

"We're built a little bit differently than we have been in the past, in terms of what we've added and how we function left-right [hitters] now," Shelton said. "We have to some abilities to play some matchups. But it doesn't necessarily have to be one person. It could be, but it doesn't necessarily have to be one person."