The Pirates placed first baseman/designated hitter Spencer Horwitz on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring, per a team announcement. Infielder Jack Brannigan has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill his spot on the roster. He’s not in the lineup today but will make his big league debut the first time he takes the field.
Horwitz has somewhat quietly been one of the league’s most productive hitters for nearly a calendar year now. Over the past 11 months or so, the 28-year-old has stepped to the plate 514 times and batted .295/.393/.492 with a huge 13% walk rate and as tiny 13.6% strikeout rate. He’s connected on 19 homers, 27 doubles and a triple along the way. By measure of wRC+, he’s been 46% better than a league-average hitter in what’s close to a full season’s worth of at-bats.
Suffice it to say, losing Horwitz even for a short spell is a substantial blow to Pittsburgh’s offense. The team has yet to specify just how long he’s expected to be sidelined. However long Horwitz is on the shelf, Ryan O’Hearn will likely play first base every day. He indeed gets the nod there today, hitting fifth, with rookie Esmerlyn Valdez starting in right field (O’Hearn’s primary position this season).
As for the 25-year-old Brannigan, he’ll make the jump straight from Double-A to the majors. Pittsburgh’s third-round pick back in 2022, Brannigan missed time early this season after suffering a broken nose during spring training when a screaming grounder took a wild short-hop and caught him in the face. Since returning, he’s taken a total of 173 plate appearances and slashed .231/.347/.517. Like Horwitz, Brannigan boasts a huge walk rate (13.3%), but he’s been far too prone to swinging and missing. He’s fanned in 39% of his minor league plate appearances this season and punched out at a 26.2% clip in Double-A last year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery (labrum repair).
Brannigan’s hit tool has always been his biggest question mark. Scouting reports peg him as an average runner with above-average power, a plus arm and sound defense at either position on the left side of the infield. He’s also played a fair bit of second base. That versatility will give Pittsburgh skipper Don Kelly some options to mix and match around the infield at a time when standout rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin is on the injured list. Jared Triolo has seen the majority of shortstop reps in Griffin’s absence but is hitting only .225/.299/.268 in 159 plate appearances this season.
Pittsburgh selected Brannigan to the 40-man roster this past November in order to protect him from December’s Rule 5 Draft. As such, he’s in the first of three minor league option years. Griffin is locked in at shortstop over the long haul after signing a nine-year extension, and former top-10 pick Nick Gonzales has settled in as a productive hit-over-power option at the hot corner this season. He could move back over to second base next year, where he’s better suited defensively, depending what happens with slugger Brandon Lowe in free agency this winter. Whether at second or third, there could be an opportunity for Brannigan and other young infielders in future seasons, but Brannigan will need to significantly cut down on his strikeouts to have a real shot at carving out a role in the Pirates’ long-term infield picture.
