Guillermo Heredia Making the Most of Summer Camp Opportunity
Last week, the Pittsburgh Pirates found out that they would be without their starting right fielder at the beginning of the season. Gregory Polanco was diagnosed with a positive test for COVID-19 and will be away for the Pirates for the start of the season. This opened up the question of who was going to be in right field on Opening Day in St. Louis? Names like Jose Osuna, JT Riddle, and even Cole Tucker have been bounced around as options. However, the guy who was given the opportunity in the first two exhibition games is off-season signing Guillermo Heredia, and he has been making the most of those opportunities.
In the first two games of the three-game series with the Cleveland Indians, Heredia has gone 2-4 with a home run and three RBI. He has also played good defense in the outfield, using his speed to make a couple of nifty grabs. If the lineup stays the way it is, Heredia projects as the team's number nine hitter, and if he can use this momentum, he could be just the spark the Pirates need in the number nine spot. With the 2020 season being unlike any other in history, it is going to take all hands on deck, and it is good to see Heredia producing the way he has in the first two exhibition games.
Last season, Heredia was with the Tampa Bay Rays and served as a fourth outfielder for the team. He is mostly known for his defense and can play all three outfield positions at a high level. He committed just three errors last season and has average arm strength picking up one outfield assist. On the offensive side of the ball, he is a light hitter batting just .225 with five home runs and 20 RBI. Heredia has not had the chance to use his speed on the basepaths as much as he would like to but he did go 2-2 in stolen bases last season. The Polanco illness might be the opening that Heredia needed and it's time to see if he can take advantage of the playing time.
Spring Training 2020
Prior to the COVID-19 shutdown, Heredia was putting up numbers that looked typical of the rest of his career. He appeared in nine games for the Pirates and hit just .190 with one home run and two RBI. He wasn't being very patient at the plate and that was getting him into trouble as he struck out five times in those 22 at-bats. Because he wasn't getting on base as much as he wanted, he was unable to use his speed on the base paths. He had an on-base percentage of just .272 and did not look good at the plate. However, his defense definitely made up for it as he made some nifty plays in the outfield.
In those nine Spring Training games before the shutdown, he was perfect on defense. He played in both centerfield, left field and right field and did not commit an error in 50 innings played. He showed higher arm strength than he had in the past with two outfield assists and 18 putouts in the outfield. Most of his play came in centerfield, where he made seven starts, as he was trying out for the fourth outfield spot on the team. However, the shutdown happened and Heredia and the rest of the Pirates were sent home. Since returning for Spring Training 2.0, Heredia continued to try for the fourth outfielder spot before Polanco went down with the illness.
Exhibition #1: July 18th, 2020
Heredia got his first chance as a starting right fielder in the Pirate's first exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians. He batted in the number nine spot, and not many people were expecting much out of the 29-year-old. Right from his first at-bat, he showed more patience than he did in the first Spring Training games. He took two pitches low in the zone to start the at-bat and fouled off another to get ahead in the count 2-1. Then, Zack Plesac changed eye level, throwing a high fastball, and Heredia ended up getting underneath the ball for a pop out. Please jammed Heredia on the inside corner, but Heredia would adjust for his second at-bat.
He came up again in the bottom of the fifth inning and this time was way more aggressive swinging at the first pitch. Plesac tried to jam Heredia like he did in the previous at-bat, but this time Heredia was able to handle it lining it up the middle for a base hit. It brought home two runs for the Pirates and gave them a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth. It was a big boost for the bottom part of the lineup, that wasn't projecting to look good this year, and showed that they can generate some offense. It was also good for Heredia's sake because he showed that he can handle the bat a little bit and not be a defense-only type player.
Exhibition #2: July 20, 2020
Last night, Heredia got another chance as the team's starting right fielder and had success once again. He played solid defense in right field, as he did in the first game, but showed a new side of his game generating some power. His first at-bat went much like his first at-bat in the first exhibition game. Indians starter Mike Clevinger gave him a heavy dose of his slider, throwing it on all three pitches. Heredia took the first two and the count was even at 1-1 on two pitches on the outside part of the plate. On the third pitch, Clevinger brought the slider in more towards the middle of the plate and Heredia hit it off the bottom of the barrel for a measly pop-out.
Heredia's next at-bat came in the fifth inning and with no one on and no one out, Clevinger changed his approach. He showed Heredia all fastballs and got the first one low in the zone for strike one. He tried to go back there on his next pitch but ended up elevating it too much. Heredia took advantage, blasting a solo home run to the right-centerfield seats to tie the game at 3-3. It was a line-drive shot, that off the bat looked like it was going to go off the wall, but it had just enough carry to tie the game. It was his third RBI of the short Summer Camp exhibition series, and the momentum is coming at the right time with Opening Day just three days away.
Getting Ready for the Season
As it sits right now, Guillermo Heredia is set to be the Pittsburgh Pirates starting right fielder when the season opens. Whenever Gregory Polanco comes back, he will move back to the fourth outfielder role. However, this recent string of success is a good sign for the Pirates showing they might not miss a beat during the first two weeks of the season. I don't think that Heredia has the firepower to keep up the success all season, but if he can do it in Polanco's absence that would be huge for the team. There is still one more exhibition game to go for Heredia and the Bucs to get ready for St. Louis on Friday.
Heredia and the Pittsburgh Pirates have one more exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians before the Friday opener. They will battle the Indians at PNC Park on Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm. Derek Holland will start for the Pirates against Aaron Civale for the Indians.
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