Pirates Promoting Outfielder Matt Gorski to Altoona
by Tim Williams
from www.piratesprospects.com
The Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting outfielder Matt Gorski to Altoona, Pirates Prospects has learned.
This move comes on a day when Gorski hit three home runs — including a walk-off in a 4-3 Greensboro victory. It also follows a week when Gorski hit eight home runs total, extending his system lead to 17.
Putting that in perspective, Gorski now has more home runs than any two prospects in the farm system — or any three of his Greensboro teammates. We’ve talked about the offensive-friendly environment in Greensboro, but what we’re seeing from Gorski extends well beyond park factors.
After his home runs today, Gorski has a .294/.377/.754 line in 126 at-bats. He’s got nine stolen bases in ten attempts, to go with the 17 homers. His season numbers would be strong over the course of a full year, but it has only been two months, making this promotion well-deserved.
The most impressive thing has been how Gorski has done this while reducing his strikeouts and increasing his walk rate from last year. He’s repeating the High-A level, after a .710 OPS in his first full pro season in 2021. We’ll have a further breakdown of what worked for Gorski this week on Pirates Prospects.
This promotion will give a big test for the 24-year old, who was taken in the second round in 2019. Gorski can play strong defense in center field, but has also gotten work at first base, where his power would absolutely play. He’s been valued as a power/speed center fielder with concerns about his contact ability. Gorski could enter the discussion surrounding the future outfield scene if he keeps hitting in Altoona, which would be likely if the contact improvements carry over to a higher level.
Here’s a look at that game winner today:
The walk-off home run from @matthew_gorski7 after already hitting 2 earlier. Oh yeah, it was the first pitch he saw! pic.twitter.com/7vQ9USn2Sg
— Greensboro Grasshoppers (@GSOHoppers) May 22, 2022