Pirates rookie Tucupita Marcano providing pop at top of order, solid defense at 2B

Tucupita Marcano has found himself in new positions for the Pittsburgh Pirates, playing left field when there was a shortage of outfielders before moving to second base when the infield was in need.

Against Atlanta, it was at the top of the order.

Batting leadoff just ahead of Bryan Reynolds the past two games, Marcano produced the first three-hit game of his young career in the 5-3 loss to the Braves on Sunday at Truist Park.

Marcano and Reynolds combined for five of the Pirates’ seven hits and their only two for extra bases. Marcano’s double put Diego Castillo in position to score on Reynolds’ sacrifice fly in the third inning, and Marcano singled in the fifth and scored on Reynolds’ homer.

“He had good at-bats throughout the series, him and Bryan both,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Marcano, who was 6 for 12 with seven total bases in three starts at Atlanta. “Tuca’s a baseball player. He had good swings and did a nice job at the top of the lineup.”

Marcano is proving adept at hitting, no matter where he bats in the order. Through 15 games with the Pirates after being called up from Double-A Altoona, Marcano is hitting .311/.367/.511 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBIs.

It was on the West Coast road trip that Marcano showed he could be a productive hitter in critical situations. He drew a ninth-inning walk to get on base for Ke’Bryan Hayes’ three-run homer in the 4-2 win over San Diego on May 28.

Marcano then homered in the second inning in back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a three-run shot in the 6-5 win May 30 and a two-run blast in the 5-3 win May 31, when he also had a sacrifice bunt in the ninth inning to put Tyler Heineman in position to score on a Reynolds double.

Marcano believes he’s merely reaping the fruits of his labor.

“I’m constantly reviewing tapes and film, checking out the pitchers, studying and evaluating the pitchers,” Marcano said through team translator Mike Gonzalez in a postgame interview. “I feel like that’s what’s giving me a lot of success right now, just doing my homework and remaining focused and coming to the plate ready and prepared.”

The 22-year-old Marcano has combined with outfielder Jack Suwinski, who leads National League rookies with eight home runs, to provide strong early returns on the trade of All-Star second baseman Adam Frazier to the Padres last July.

“We traded a good player to get two players we expect to be part of our future,” Shelton said. “Anytime you do that, it’s a bonus. It’s tough trading players, especially everyday players, but when you start to see the results of the guys on the back side it’s a really good thing.”

Marcano, whose first name is after his hometown in Venezuela, is teaming with a countryman, rookie shortstop Diego Castillo, to provide solid defense up the middle for the Pirates since Josh VanMeter went on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left ring finger and Rodolfo Castro was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Marcano’s play at second base has ranged from solid to spectacular, especially the belt-high basket catch he made on an Adam Duvall pop fly to shallow center Saturday. He also blocked second base with his knee and executed a perfect tag to catch Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. in an attempt to steal in Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Braves.

None of those plays came by accident, as Marcano credited his family for “constantly cheering for me, supporting me, speaking life into me” and instilling the work ethic that has led to his good fortune.

“I’m very grateful that God’s given me the health and opportunity to play and just the success that I’m having,” Marcano said. “The basket catch and just defensively, this is stuff that I work on. I’m constantly putting in some work in practice. It happened during the game and I was able to come out and execute, and those are things that are giving me success right now.”