Suwinski 'ready to go,' but might only be replacement for Taylor

Perhaps sooner than anticipated, Jack Suwinski has a renewed shot in the major leagues.

Suwinski was called up from Class AAA Indianapolis Tuesday as the Pirates placed Michael A. Taylor on the paternity list, among a list of other moves. Suwinski was sent down May 23 to work on adjustments to his approach and swing -- in a similar reasoning why Henry Davis had also been sent down -- and improvements were just starting to show.

"Really not trying to make too many mechanical adjustments," Suwinski said before Tuesday's game at PNC Park. "I think that's just a byproduct of the work. ... For an opportunity like this where Mike's out and they need someone, I'm grateful and ready to go."

The work resulted in a .250 average with a home run, two RBIs and seven hits in 28 at-bats across seven games. Suwinski led off the bottom of the first inning of Thursday's game against Omaha with a home run and had an RBI single in Saturday's game.

On Sunday, he made a pair of defensive plays that saved extra-base hits, including this diving catch:

Suwinski is hitting .174 with a .268 on-base percentage, four home runs, 13 RBIs and four stolen bases in 49 games with the Pirates. He is batting ninth and playing center field for the Pirates in Tuesday's game against the Dodgers. 

Derek Shelton said though Suwinski is here in Pittsburgh, he still has things to work on at the plate.

"Sometimes the circumstances of what happens -- Michael's on paternity and (Ji-Hwan) Bae being hurt -- Jack still has things to work on and we will continue to still work on those things," Shelton said. "It's important that we have someone to play center field. The other thing is, Jack has performed at the major-league level. Is it quicker than we thought? Yeah, sometimes circumstances happen, but I think there's also confidence in the ability that he's had success at the major-league level and we can continue to work on those things."