Gorski hopes home runs, playing 1st base make a lasting impression on Pirates

BRADENTON, Fla. — All of Matt Gorski’s hits in spring training games had been home runs, so Derek Shelton was surprised when the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder had to settle for a sacrifice fly.

When a 400-foot shot fell short of clearing the center-field fence, the Pirates manager made the case that only the wind prevented another Gorski dinger in the ninth inning Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles at LECOM Park.

Gorski has made a powerful impact so far, leading not only the Pirates but the entire Grapefruit League with three home runs and 10 RBIs for a whopping 2.194 OPS through his first four games. He added another extra-base hit — his first non-homer — with a double in Thursday’s 12-1 win over the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers.

“It’s really important to showcase not only power, but just ability to stay in the zone, the ability to stay versatile,” Shelton said. “I mean, we’re four or five games in, whatever we are. So, there’s a lengthy time here. But, overall, good first impression.”

Gorski wants to leave a lasting impression. At 27 and in the final year of his minor-league contract, he knows this might be his best and, perhaps, last chance to make it to the majors with the Pirates.

As much as his bat is his carrying tool, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder understands his defensive versatility could go a long way. He plays all three outfield positions and has been taking grounders and doing bag work at first base while Spencer Horwitz is recovering from wrist surgery.

Gorski played primarily at first base as a freshman at Indiana and saw action there in 48 games for Indianapolis last season, so the Pirates contacted him about playing the position this spring. He was ready to go upon arriving at Pirate City.

“Definitely feel comfortable,” Gorski said. “Obviously, need to learn more about the ins and outs — the cutoffs, the relays, all of the PitchCom stuff. It’s the little stuff you don’t get at the minor-league level. Just learning those little intricacies is big.”

So is Gorski’s bat, and he’s taking strong swings at the opportunity. He hit a two-run homer and a grand slam for six RBIs in the 10-5 win over Baltimore in the Grapefruit League opener Saturday in Sarasota, then added another two-run homer and the sacrifice fly for three more in a 7-3 victory Wednesday.

Gorski realizes he took advantage of pitches left over the middle of the plate in the late innings of early spring training games, but he’s also taking aggressive swings and making solid contact.

“It definitely builds confidence, and I think hitting is at least half confidence,” Gorski said. “Everybody that makes it to this level has ability and they have a good swing, but that confidence piece in the box is huge. So just having confidence early is big for me.”

After hitting 24 homers across three levels in 2022, Gorski was a top-20 prospect for the Pirates. But he batted .238/.296/.414 with 17 homers, 54 RBIs and 101 strikeouts at Double-A Altoona in 2023. His prospect status slipped as he went from rising star to being stuck. Last season, he batted .257/.319/.522 with 23 homers and 67 RBIs but had 124 strikeouts at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Gorski credits his success to changes he made to his approach in the middle of last season. He moved his hands to a different spot by holding the bat higher, which allows him to look down on the pitcher and see the pitch on a different plane. As a result, he’s had a better swing.

“He looks like he’s more in line,” Shelton said. “He’s more aggressive. He’s in the zone. I think you can see the maturation of him as a player, and we’re seeing it early in the spring of the contact he’s making.”

In his spring debut, Gorski drilled a 1-1 pitch off Corbin Martin for a two-run homer to left field for 5-3 lead in the sixth inning. He later hammered Dylan Heid’s pitch in the ninth for the slam and a 10-5 lead.

“It was really cool,” Gorski said. “You had those first-game jitters. You’re waiting for your turn for the first six innings. Obviously, things are going good for me right now.”

Gorski sent Matt Bowman’s 1-1 sinker 354 feet to right field for a two-run homer in the sixth inning Thursday. In the ninth, he connected on a Rodolfo Martinez 1-2 cutter at the top of the zone at an exit velocity of 107.5 mph on the sac fly.

Hitting right-handers has been a boost for the right-handed hitting Gorski, who batted .246 against righties last season compared to .287 against lefties at Indianapolis.

“It’s just building some confidence,” Gorski said. “I know there’s some really good baseball players in this locker room, all over the place. Young, old, veterans. Gaining confidence for me has been big. Knowing that there’s spots for me to help this team have been big.”