Pirates Prospect Watch: Swaggerty’s Double a Rare Bright Spot on Saturday

Outside of Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Travis Swaggerty, not much went right for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in their 12-1 blowout loss to the Omaha Storm Chasers on Saturday afternoon.

The Indians fell to 0-2 on the season with each loss coming in different fashions. On Friday, the Indians had an early 5-0 lead and took a lead into the ninth inning before a bullpen meltdown cost them the game.

On Saturday, Indianapolis was flat out whooped.

On the bright side, if there was a bright side in the game that is, Swaggerty recorded a double for the second-straight game and scored the club’s lone run. The outfielder finished the game 1 for 4.

Swaggerty, of course, is coming off of a very strong spring training. The 25-year-old hit .379 (11 for 29) with a .471 on-base percentage, a .690 slugging, three home runs and 10 RBIs in 19 games. The Pirates’ prospect scored nine runs and stole a base during the spring slate.

Swaggerty had a strong case to crack the Pirates’ initial 26-man roster, but the Pirates’ brass opted to send him down to Triple-A to begin the season.

Now, Swaggerty will look to carry over his spring performance into the regular season for Indianapolis. The former first-rounder is off to a decent start with a pair of doubles in as many games.

In Other News…

Right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski came in out of the bullpen for his first appearance of the season in the contest. He was charged with one earned run (two total) on two hits, one walk and one strikeout.

While no other Pirates’ prospects for Triple-A Indianapolis had performances, Nick Gonzales and Malcom Nuñez were each hit by a pitch. Both players are coming off a multi-hit performance from Friday’s game.