Travis Swaggerty was about to get dressed for Saturday’s game when Class AAA Indianapolis manager Miguel Perez told his recently resurgent outfielder to stop. That wouldn’t be necessary.
Perez later explained to the Pirates’ 2018 first-round pick that instead of playing against the Omaha Storm Chasers, he should pack his things and prepare for a 6 a.m. flight Sunday to Pittsburgh, where Swaggerty will make his MLB debut.
“I don’t even know how to feel right now,” Swaggerty told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by phone. “I’m so excited that I can barely talk. I’m just in awe. Amazing.”
The promotion comes after a terrific stretch for Swaggerty, a 24-year-old, left-handed hitting outfielder, at the plate.
Swaggerty got off to a tough start this season, hitting just .164 with a .506 OPS and 21 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances through 15 games in April. But after returning from a mild concussion in mid-May, Swaggerty began to catch fire.
From May 12 through Friday, Swaggerty hit .357 with a 1.030 OPS in 18 games, accumulating four doubles, two triples, three home runs and 15 RBIs. Of those 18 games, Swaggerty had at least two hits in 10 of them.
“Everybody says to trust the process,” Swaggerty said. “It’s cliché to say, but that’s exactly what I did.”
A first-round pick out of the University of South Alabama in 2018, Swaggerty played just 12 games a year ago before requiring season-ending shoulder surgery. He felt his body and swing were both in a good place, but the injury threw Swaggerty for a loop.
It took Swaggerty ... well, time to get his timing back. He also struggled early while making mechanical adjustments and probably thinking a little too much in the process.
Eventually, about three or four weeks ago, Swaggerty said he made a concerted effort to chill out, stop thinking so much and trust his body.
“One day I said, ‘You know what? I’m not gonna think about my body. I’m gonna trust that it’s gonna move correctly.’ That helped me.
“That first month I’d be searching for a feel in the cage and worrying about how my body’s moving. Now I’ve conditioned my mind to think about less when I’m hitting.
“I’d get in the box, I’d start thinking about how my body is moving, and I’d be late. I was like, ‘Screw that, I’m gonna try to hit everything hard.’
“I’m pulling the trigger on everything that looks good and finding barrels. I feel like I’m in a good place right now.”
Funny thing about places. Swaggerty’s wife (Peyton) and daughter (Sutton) were actually supposed to meet him in Indianapolis on Monday. Now, they’ll have to join other members of his family who will be looking to change travel plans and make it to PNC Park in time.
“Cancel that flight, baby,” Swaggerty joked.
The amazing part about Swaggerty’s promotion and how he found out was when it occurred. As he sat in the Indians clubhouse, the speedy outfielder with surprising pop stirred, unsure of what to do.
Should he go watch his teammates or pack his things? Should he stay at the ballpark or go home and try to get some sleep?
“The game’s starting right now,” Swaggerty said. “I don’t know. I might go watch a little bit. Not much I can do.”
At that point Swaggerty was asked about what’s been going right now for him lately. His voice trailed off.
“Ooh, Oneil Cruz just hit a lead home run,” Swaggerty said, “in case you wanted to know.”
That’s the other important part here. Swaggerty isn’t the first to earn a promotion and won’t be the last. He’ll actually be the seventh Pirate to make his MLB debut this season, and it’s barely June.
The Pirates won Saturday because Roansy Contreras dazzled, and Jack Suwinski hit a walkoff, two-run homer to beat the Diamondbacks.
They, like Swaggerty, are important pieces of the future. Swaggerty and Suwinski were added to the 40-man roster together this offseason. Cruz, the home run-mashing, 6-foot-7 shortstop is another prospect fans are eager to see again. They all offer hope.
Enjoying the best stretch of his career thus far, Swaggerty can’t wait to join the party.
“I just want to do everything I can for this organization,” Swaggerty said. “Things are starting to take shape. I’m excited that my best friends are getting chances.
“There are more coming, I promise. There are more coming. There’s a lot of talent down here. The future is gonna be something special.”
Corresponding move
According to sources, the Pirates will send Rodolfo Castro back to Class AAA Indianapolis to make room for Swaggerty. Castro has hit .197 this season while committing five errors in 19 games in the field, including one Saturday.
The biggest mistake Castro made against the Diamondbacks, however, was failing to run out a pop up in the second inning, which resulted in a double play. After the game, manager Derek Shelton was not happy with Castro’s effort — or lack thereof — on the play.
“Errors are gonna happen. That’s a physical error,’ Shelton said, talking about Castro’s miscue in the sixth inning. “The running situation was a mental error.
“Rudy and I had a conversation about it. It’s not acceptable. We were in a situation where, with [Daniel Vogelbach] being on the bench, it wasn’t a situation where I was gonna take him out because of using ‘Vogey’ later with [Diego] Castillo. But it’s not acceptable. It’s not how we play.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: June 5, 2022, 12:56 a.m.
Updated: June 5, 2022, 1:50 a.m.
