PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The month of March was one to remember for Pirates utility player, Pablo Reyes. In addition to receiving news that he and his wife are expecting their first child, Reyes’ productive spring earned him a spot on the Pirates opening day roster.
After pinch-hitting in the first two games of the season, Reyes lived a dream that he and many others have always had, starting in right field for the Pirates in their home opener on Monday. For Reyes, the experience of starting in his first MLB home opener was one he will never forget.
“This is my first opening day in the big leagues, so I was very excited,” said Reyes. “It was something that I’ve been waiting for since I was a kid. I have always wanted to play in the big leagues and now with this opportunity, it is very fun.”
Reyes made his MLB debut for the Pirates last season as a September call up. In just 18 games, Pablo was able to gain the attention and respect from the front office, his teammates along with many fans thanks to a strong performance at the plate, where he slashed .293/.349/.483.
In the field, Reyes was just as solid. In the short time he spent with the Bucs, his versatility allowed Hurdle to place him in different spots throughout the lineup to give him a chance to prove his worth. Reyes played games at second and third base along with both corner outfield positions and showed little signs of struggling at any of them.
With a big month of September under his belt, Reyes knew that he had to build off of his success in order for him to start 2019 in the major leagues.
“I took a lot of stuff from what I learned from last September with me in the off season,” said Reyes. “I worked at a lot of different things in the Dominican. I also learned some stuff from (Corey) Dickerson, (Starling) Marte and (Francisco) Cervelli. I took all of that to the Dominican this off season and used it to keep pushing myself forward for this year”
While he is in the major leagues now, Reyes knows that he still has a great deal of work to do if he wants to stick around. However, one thing that he does have going for him is the fact that he is one of the few true utility players in the Pirates organization. For Reyes, the key to being a serviceable utility player at the big league level comes down to one thing: preparation.
“Every day I prepare myself to play by coming to the field early,” said Reyes. “I go out, take a few ground balls at third base, short stop and second base. Then I work on my fielding at all three spots in the outfield. Even if I am not playing at a certain position a lot, I still practice everywhere. If I know that tomorrow I will be starting at short stop, I will still practice for all the positions before the game too.”
Reyes continued saying, “I know as a utility guy that even if I start the game at short stop but there is always a chance I could get moved to second base in the middle of the game, so I have to be ready for everything. That’s how it is being a utility guy. You have to be ready to play any position at any time.”