Reynolds strives to keep it simple
New manager is impressed by left fielder’s swing
No need to overthink with his swing
For as much finagling as Derek Shelton will have to do with his Pirates roster between now and the beginning of the season, he feels he can keep his hands off of left fielder Bryan Reynolds.
It makes sense, given Reynolds’ success in 2019, his rookie season. The switch-hitter finished fourth in rookie of the year voting, hitting .314 with 16 home runs and 68 RBIs, solidifying himself as a strong building block for the Pirates future.
Shelton, obviously, hadn’t gotten a good look at Reynolds until joining the Pirates this season. Even still, it hasn’t been a long look with COVID-19 pausing the sport for a good three months.
What Shelton has seen impressed him right away.
“When you watch a lot of Pirate games, this guy’s really good – like really good,” Shelton said. “... If you’re a hitting coach, this guy’s a dream. It’s a lowmaintenance swing. The path to the ball is really good. He hits the ball hard, both sides of the plate. Bryan Reynolds is going to be a good player and he’s going to be a good hitter for a long time.”
The question for a lot of hitters over the past months was what exactly they could work on to stay fresh and maintain an upward trajectory heading into the 2020 season. Live batting practice wasn’t easy to find; open cages weren’t necessarily, either.
Reynolds was lucky, as he and Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings had a group of Major League Baseball players near them in Tennessee, and the crew got together once a week to pitch and hit in live batting practices.
That was pretty much the extent of Reynolds’ worry. In the 2018-19 offseason, he said he focused on seeing pitches early and staying on them through the zone. He is still trying to improve on that.
Really, though, Reynolds knows what he is capable of in the batter’s box. He showed that well enough last season. So whether it’s in offseason workouts or the Pirates intrasquad scrimmage Friday, it’s more about re-acclimating than tweaking any one thing specifically.
“I’m just approaching everything the same that I always have,” Reynolds said Friday. “I’m just going to go out there and play the best I can, do what I can to help us win . ... I’m just trying to get my eyes back and see some pitches coming. Just get back in the swing of things all around.”
In the intrasquad scrimmage, Reynolds ripped a would-be base hit toward left-center field that shortstop Cole Tucker robbed with a leaping grab in the bottom of the first inning.
Those things happen. Reynolds’ approach at the plate seems to be not to think about the results too much. That was made evident when he was asked if he hopes to hit for more power this year, and he shrugged it off.
“I don’t know, just do what I can do, and if I hit homers, I hit homers,” Reynolds said. “If I hit doubles, I hit doubles. It’ll all come. I’m not worried about one way or the other.”
For a man with a low-maintenance swing, in his manager’s words, it seems to be a low-maintenance approach as well.
“If I hit homers, I hit homers. If I hit doubles, I hit doubles. It’ll all come. I’m not worried about one way or the other.”
— Bryan Reynolds
The preparation for the season seems to be simple for Reynolds. He thinks he’ll be ready in the next two weeks, as he gets more and more at-bats against live pitching. He says he’ll be working more in the batting cages against the curveball pitching machine to help him in seeing breaking pitches better.
Perhaps the simplicity of getting ready for the season stems from confidence Reynolds has in his own game. If that’s the case, the confidence is shared by his manager.
“He’s going to be one of those guys that I think people outside of Pittsburgh are going to realize how good of a player he is,” Shelton said. “I don’t think people in the game realize how good this guy is going to be and how much he’s going to hit.”
Exhibition games
The Pirates reportedly are finalizing plans to play the Cleveland Indians for three exhibition games July 18, 20 and 22. The first and last of those three games will be at PNC Park, while the middle one will be at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Under Major League Baseball’s return-to-play rules, teams are allowed to play three exhibition contests, although not everyone plans to play three. The Pirates have been adamant from the start about wanting to play their three. The Pirates open the 2020 season July 24 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.