Jack Suwinski finding his swing and feeding off the Pirates' hot start

As he headed back to the dugout after striking out for the fourth time in the game, frustration seemed stuck on the face of Jack Suwinski.

The second-year outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who will be 25 at the end of July, had good reason to be upset.

It was the home opener, and Suwinski was the only Pittsburgh player not to record a hit in an explosion of offense for the Pirates, who beat the White Sox, 13-9, on April 7.

Viewing his performance through a wider lens revealed a more concerning trend: Suwinski, who, in his rookie campaign with the Pirates last year was no stranger to slumps, looked to be starting 2023 in exactly that fashion.

Suwinski’s four-strikeout performance against Chicago — a golden sombrero, in baseball slang — sank his seasonal batting average to .071 (1 of 14) through his first four games.

“Sometimes it takes a little longer,” Suwinski said. “(Slumps) could happen at any point in the season, really. But it’s a long season. There’s ups and downs, so just being able to work through that and stay in my faith is the biggest thing (as well as) leaning on my teammates, because they’re always there for me. I know they got me, and I got them, too.”

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Last season, Suwinski split time between the Pirates (106 games), Triple-A Indianapolis (31) and Double-A Altoona (13).

While he showed impressive flashes of power, with his 19 home runs at the major-league level tied for fourth among rookies, Suwinski struck out 114 times and had a .298 on-base percentage.

Suwinski hit eight home runs in June, during which he batted .250 (22 of 88), and over the course of the season, his ability to drive the baseball was evident on a regular basis.

However, Suwinski had a rough May, batting .195, and as the weather warmed over the summer, his average sank even further. In July, Suwinski posted a .108 average in 14 games.

September featured another sub-Mendoza Line performance, and by year’s end, his batting average stood at .202.

Of late, Suwinski has managed to put both his struggles last year and slump to start this season in the rearview mirror.

Entering Thursday night against Cincinnati, the first of four against the Reds as the Pirates begin a seven-game homestand, Suwinski was riding a hot streak, having hit safely in six of his last seven games.

Finding his swing when the defending World Series champion Houston Astros were in town from April 10-12, Suwinski continued to put the barrel of his bat on the ball during the Pirates’ ensuing road trip to St. Louis and Colorado.

After hitting his first home run of the year vs. the Astros on April 11, Suwinski hit three more in Denver — in three straight at-bats — contributing to the Pirates’ 33 total runs over their three games against the Rockies.

Three straight at-bats with a bomb for Jack Suwinski. It’s just the Pirates year. pic.twitter.com/Sj1tM7bxzm

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) April 19, 2023

“Sometimes, it’s just confidence and getting a couple of hits, hitting a couple homers,” manager Derek Shelton said. “He had the (opposite-field) one the other day (in Colorado). Anytime you have, as a young player, just a sense of relief of getting it off, I think that’s really important.

“There’s a sigh of relief with young players like, ‘OK, I’m contributing to the team.’ I think that’s what’s happened with Jack.”

Suwinski entered Thursday against the Reds having gone 8 of 21 (.380) over his previous seven games.

Then, in his first at-bat, Suwinski crushed a 2-1 fastball from Reds starter Luke Weaver over the Clemente Wall an estimated 407 feet, per Statcast, for home run No. 5 on the year, tying Bryan Reynolds for the team lead.

Jack Suwinski - Pittsburgh Pirates (5) pic.twitter.com/xOYAltRjnV

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) April 20, 2023

Suwinski walked and struck out in his other two at-bats Thursday but raised his average to .263, including a .281 clip (9 of 32) in April.

With their win over Cincinnati, the Pirates moved to 13-7. Last season, it took the club until May 11 to reach 13 wins.

Suwinski, as is the case with many players in the Pirates clubhouse, feels like he’s feeding off his teammates and their hot start to the year.

“The energy is great right now,” he said. “Everyone’s been fantastic since the season started. We’ve got a really great team in here. I just love watching these guys play and playing with them.”