Andrew McCutchen

The Pirates are going with Tommy Pham and Andrew McCutchen in the outfield corners today. Suwinski is just 3-for-20 with one RBI and a 10/3 K/BB to date. He hit the ball hard in the opening series against the Marlins, but he didn't have much to show for it then, and he's typically gone down swinging since. Still, for the most part, he belongs in the Pirates outfield against righties.

Right field, specifically. Because Reynolds is trying to play through the injury, McCutchen, who is quite the liability in the outfield these days, was out of the lineup for Pittsburgh's previous three games. It might be best for everyone if Reynolds just took a seat and tried to heal up, since he hasn't helped while slugging .226 in 33 plate appearances.

That's five straight starts for Suwinski, and it feels clear that he is a regular starter, with Andrew McCutchen filling more of a part-time role against right-handed pitching. However, this could also be the Pirates just giving Suwinski an early opportunity to prove he belongs on the MLB roster. After a strong spring training, Suwinski has gone 2-for-15 with six strikeouts and two walks in his first four games.

The Pirates likely are better off using Jack Suwinski over McCutchen against righties, especially since it means improving the outfield defense (Bryan Reynolds is DHing for the second time in three days). Still, it's surprising they're doing it often already. McCutchen didn't look great this spring, but he has four hard-hit balls and a couple of walks in 13 plate appearances thus far.

Meyer looked good on Sunday, averaging 95.6 mph on his fastball, which is almost two mph up from last season. He also got 10 whiffs on his slider and was able to pound the strike zone with his new sinker and sweeper. The deeper pitch mix led to a 30 percent whiff rate and 34 percent CSW on 93 pitches. The only real blemish was a solo home run to Andrew McCutchen in the 2nd inning, but then a throwing error by Eric Wagaman allowed an unearned run to score in the fifth as well. Meyer has a tough outing next week against the Braves, but he's at least worth a roster spot in most formats right now.