New Pirates Outfielder Jake Mangum Looking for More in Year 2 After Surviving Rookie Season
Jake Mangum had to wait a while to reach the big leagues for the first time.
The new Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder is a strong defender with experience at all three outfielder spots and is likely the leading candidate to be the Pirates’ starting left fielder on Opening Day against the New York Mets in Citi Field.
He’s also part of the improved lineup that pushed the Pirates’ futures betting to 77.5 projected wins, even as the betting research is still primarily based on last season.
Mangum, who attended Jackson Prep in Mississippi — the same high school as Pirates top prospect Konnor Griffin — was selected by the New York Mets in the fourth round of the 2019 draft out of Mississippi State University.
Mangum grinded through five minor-league seasons with three different teams — the Mets, Miami Marlins, and Tampa Bay Rays — before ever getting called up to the big leagues.
“It’s weird, I was in Triple-A for a while. My first full season as a pro baseball player was 25 years old, so I had a late start,” said Mangum. “But you know, when you’re playing in Triple-A and having some success, you think like, ‘Man, just give me a shot. I feel like I can do it.'”
Mangum finally received the call he’d been waiting for on March 29 when the Rays promoted him just after Opening Day. Other than a month-long stint on the injured list due to a groin strain, Mangum remained on the active roster the rest of the season.
“I feel like I had a hot start when I first got [called up] and I got hurt [in late April]. I had a great April, I got hurt and I’d just say sometime in April while I was rolling a little bit I was like, ‘Man, I can do this. I can help the team win in a bunch of different ways,’” Mangum said when asked when it started to feel real.
Mangum concluded his rookie season having finished fourth on the Rays with 118 games. He ended the year with a .296 batting average, which ranked 10th in baseball among players who recorded at least 400 plate appearances. He totaled 18 doubles, one triple, three home runs, 40 RBI, 27 stolen bases and finished with a 96 OPS+.
Mangum played to his strengths by putting the ball in play and using his speed to put pressure on opposing pitchers and defenses. He struck out in only 15% of his plate appearances and hustled down the line when he made contact.
“Last year, when I got up as a 29-year-old rookie, my goal was to survive,” he explained. “I knew my ability to survive was best with touching the baseball and running as fast as I can to first base.”
Having one year in the big leagues under his belt, Mangum is looking to do more damage in his second big-league season and his first with the Pirates. Pittsburgh acquired Mangum from the Rays as part of a three-team trade that also included the Houston Astros.
Mangum, who turns 30 in March, has been focused on other ways to try to impact the game this offseason.
“I was able to stay up all last year, so now I’m just trying to progress as a baseball player, whether that be driving the ball in the gaps better, whether that be working more walks, lowering the chase rate,” he explained. “There’s a lot of different ways to do it.
“This offseason is kind of a mix of that. It’s trying to be a little more selective at the plate, understanding when to take shots, understanding when to take an a-swing as I call it to try to do damage, and understanding whenever I just need to tone it back down and do what I’ve always done, which is kind of touch the baseball and get on base.”
Now with his fourth different organization over the last five seasons, Mangum is looking for a little more stability with the Pirates now that he’s established himself as a big-leaguer.
“I’m very grateful to be a part of this and am gonna give it everything I got.”
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Let him lead off and play left field. Gives the Password a nice cushion ahead of him, esp if Cutch is still around. He’s an excellent glove, always gives 100%, and hit 20 pts higher than every Bucco last year, with few strikeouts. Give up your pride and let Suwinski go. We’ve now got some new lefty long-ball hitters, and have already blown way too many chances to develop Jack. A great guy, but it is way past time to move on.