Matt Gorski Holding Up His End of the Bargain with Indianapolis
Since being taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Matt Gorski has been one of the more underrated prospects in the organization.
Despite a quad injury that he dealt with in 2022, Gorski still managed to have a breakout season that year, as he connected on 24 home runs, stole 21 bases, and put up a very strong .956 OPS. The Pirates made the surprising decision to not place Gorski on the 40-man roster, which exposed him to the Rule 5 Draft, where he was not selected.
Gorski spent a majority of last season playing with the Altoona Curve, and spending the remainder of it for the Indianapolis Indians. Combined with both clubs, he posted a batting line of .231/.291/.434, in 461 plate appearances. However, Gorski had another 20/20 (20 HR; 23 SB), even though he battled through a hamstring issue. Once again, Gorski was left unprotected for the Rule 5, but not chosen.
Heading into this year, Gorski had lost some prospect luster, as MLB Pipeline didn’t include him in their ranking of Top 30 Pirates prospects. While injuries have played a certain role in that, the other reason, maybe even bigger, is Gorski being an older prospect at 26.
Indianapolis is where Gorski returned to begin 2024. His month of April was okay, as he slashed .269/.296/.462, although having only one home run.
In May, Gorski went on an absolute hitting spree, posting a line .280/.330/.720 line, which included nine long balls. During the month, he reached base safely in 18 of 23 games.
Gorski had another good, offensive showing on Sunday at Victory Field against the Omaha Storm Chasers, hitting an opposite field, two-run homer, for his 11th of the season, in an 8-5 loss.
Here are Gorski’s current stat rankings in the International League:
.611 slugging percentage (3rd)
.924 OPS (14th)
11 home runs (tied 9th)
40 RBI (tied 4th)
5 triples (1st)
One would expect Gorski to receive a big league call up at some point this season, but the question now becomes when?
Although Rowdy Tellez has struggled immensely, the Pirates remain optimistic that he’ll turn things around at the plate. As for center field, the overall offensive production there has been abysmal, with Michael A. Taylor, registering a .500 OPS. Ji-hwan Bae, who was recalled on May 21st, only has an OPS of .477. So stop and ask yourself - Could Gorski be any worse?
This year was considered important for Gorski, in terms of not getting lost in the prospect shuffle. To this point, he has done what the Pirates have asked of him to do at AAA, and more importantly, staying healthy in the process.
Gorski is deserving of an MLB promotion, and it’s one that he hopes to get sooner rather than later.