PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pirates welcome back a first-overall draft pick, an outfielder with 26 MLB home runs, a 32-year-old reliever and infield prospect while losing players to injuries and to being a father.
Henry Davis
The 2021 first-overall draft choice Henry Davis takes the spot of catcher Grant Koch, who was designated for assignment. In 23 games at AAA, Davis was hitting .296 with seven doubles, seven home runs and 17 RBI. His on-base percentage is .436, back to where we’ve seen it previously, and the OPS is 1.078.
“Just the overall adjustments he's made, the commitment he made to it,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Davis. “I think you're gonna see a setup that's very similar to what we saw last year, an approach that we saw last year. I really feel confident in the fact that we sent him down with a solid message and he bought into it and did a really good job.
What are the adjustments going to mean in potential results?
“I think they've allowed him to have the freedom to get the barrel where it needs to be,” Shelton said Tuesday before opening a series with the Dodgers. “I think we saw him tied up a little bit more than he wanted to be, than we wanted him to be. Now he just looks more like the Henry Davis we drafted and the guy that came through the minor leagues and into the big leagues last year.”
Suwinski returns
Up to play centerfield as Ji-Hwan Bae went on the injured list with a right wrist injury is Jack Suwinski. It’s not like the 25-year-old had figured it out in AAA, but it’s more about the circumstances.
“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.”
In seven games with Indianapolis, Suwinski had seven hits in 28 at bats with a triple and home run being the extra base hits.
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Peguero back, likely briefly
An odds-on favorite to be the starting second baseman before came began, Liover Peguero makes his first triple to the majors this year. The right-handed hitter has a .272 average with 12 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 34 RBI in 51 games.
Peguero is here for centerfielder Michael A. Taylor, who went on paternity leave. It appears to be a brief trip, however Shelton said stranger things have happened.
“We just needed to make sure that we continue to cover ourselves roster-wise,” Shelton said. “It's a good opportunity to get him up here because at some point he's gonna be up here during the season and help us.”
New bullpen arm
Pirates also sent left-handed pitcher Jose Hernandez to AAA and selected the contract of right-handed reliever Ben Heller from Indy. In 18 games at AAA, the 32-year-old Heller was 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA with 18 appearances, 22.1 innings, eight walks and 42 strikeouts.
“He's kinda gone through all the test points in Triple-A in terms of multi-inning, back-to-back, pitching three of five, so it's just another opportunity to add stuff that we like to our bullpen,” Shelton said.
Other moves
· Pirates also reinstated catcher Jason Delay from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to AAA.
· Left-handed starter Marco Gonzales went from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list