Jack Suwinski, a left-handed slugger the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired in the Adam Frazier trade, has made himself into quite the breakout star in 2023. After being called up in an emergency injury situation in 2022 from AA Altoona, Suwinski has caught the eyes of everyone across baseball, and has done nothing but hit. What helped Suwinski get to this point? What changes did he make from the 2022 season to turn himself into a breakout star in 2023? Today, we’ll be looking over all the changes Suwinski has made over the past year, and breaking down his game.

2022: Emergency Call-up Turned Rookie Slugger

As previously mentioned, Suwinski was promoted from AA Altoona to the MLB after an injury in 2022. Suwinski was solid in his rookie campaign, slugging 19 homers, 11% BB%, 30.6% K%, .311 wOBA, 100 wRC+, and a 1.7 fWAR. Again, these numbers are all really solid, but his incredibly high strikeout rate earned him a demotion back to AAA during the season.

Although he hit 19 homers in 2022, Suwinski overall did not see the baseball well. Suwinski maintained good barrel rates, as he would be in the top 14% of all of baseball. But, Suwinski would rank in the bottom 85% of all of baseball when it came to whiff%.

Suwinski would see fastballs the most, and would hit them somewhat decently, but he would significantly struggle against breaking balls and offspeed pitches. Suwinski would whiff over 37% of the time against breaking balls, which would be a full 10.9% higher than his whiff percentage against fastballs. Suwinski also posted an abysmal .247 xwOBA against breaking balls, 28.2% put away percentage, and just an 86.9 MPH exit velocity against breaking balls. Suwinski would also significantly struggle against off-speed pitches, as he posted a .271 wOBA, 30.6% whiff percentage, 79.9 exit velocity, and a launch angle of 2.

So, to summarize Suwinski’s rookie campaign, we can take away the fact that Suwinski significantly struggled against breaking balls and off-speed pitches, and also when it came to plate discipline. But, Suwinski showed encouraging signs when it came to his barrel rates. Now that we’ve established his weaknesses, it’s time to take a look at his 2023 season so far, to see just where he’s improved.

2023: A Breakout Start

After making the opening day roster in 2023, Suwinski has really impressed and opened a lot of eyes this season. So far, Suwinski has homered 6 times, 16.7% BB%, .421 wOBA, 164 wRC+, and a 1.2 fWAR. Suwinski has also displayed plus defense and plus speed, both which help make him one of baseball’s most well rounded outfielders. Suwinski currently ranks in the top 10% or better in all of baseball in, average exit velocity, max exit velocity, hard hit percentage, xwOBA, xSLG, barrel percentage, BB%, and chase rate.

Another important area Suwinski has improved in is his barrel percentage. Suwinski has had a 10% increase in barrel percentage, (12.2%-22.2%) which is the 8th highest barrel percentage increase this season. Suwinski has also seen a 4.7 MPH increase in average exit velocity, a 4.2 degree increase in launch angle, a 12% increase in sweet spot percentage, hard hit percentage increase of 11%, 5.7% increase in BB%, and more. All of this is incredibly impressive, especially considering this is just Suwinski’s first season at the MLB level to start the season.

But what has contributed to all of these significant steps forward? Well, there’s been a lot of obvious factors so far. To start, Suwinski’s chase% has improved significantly, from 27.4% to 16.7%, a very, very impressive step forward. Not only has this been a significant step forward, but Suwinski has also shown to have seen breaking balls, and off-speed pitches much better than previously mentioned. Suwinski has seen a xwOBA increase of .233 when it comes to breaking balls, which brings his xwOBA to .541 this season. Along with the xwOBA increase, Suwinski also had a whiff percentage decrease of 6.6%, which is also really impressive.

With improvements to his chase rate, and other metrics as previously mentioned, it’s safe to say Suwinski’s eye is improving at the plate. Something else I’ve notified when it comes to Suwinski’s game? A slight stance adjustment. Suwinski seems to be less compact, and more comfortable at the plate, all factors that could lead to the more consistent barrel rates, and decreases in chase rate like we’ve seen. With Suwinski’s swing path also looking better this season, it’s safe to say this may be a contributing factor to the success he’s been having.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Jack Suwinski has had a lot of encouraging changes in his numbers and changes in the rest of his game so far this season, giving Suwinski a great chance to prove to be one of baseball’s best young sluggers. Is his season sustainable? Yes, no doubt. The changes I have seen in Suwinski’s season thus far have proven to me that he can truly become one of baseball’s most advanced hitters, as we’re already seeing that level of maturity this year. Currently, Suwinski is on pace to hit around 44 homers this season, which would be an incredible leap forward. Jack Suwinski truly has an incredible future ahead of him, and 2023 is truly just the beginning for the young lefty.