ONE STEP CLOSER: Jerrick Suiter
Pittsburgh Pirates / West Virginia Power (Class A)
Mequon, WI – Despite proving that he has a bat to be reckoned with, 2014 Lakeshore alum Jerrick Suiter is still a man in search of a position. A quick look at the roster moves of the club that drafted Suiter, the Pittsburgh Pirates (791st overall pick in the 26th round of the 2014 MLB Draft) shows Suiter listed as a right-handed pitcher, right fielder, and first baseman, in addition to working most of the 2015 spring training at third base. One thing the club knows for sure is that Suiter continues to display a solid bat as he improved upon his rookie season average of .279 with Bristol by spending most of the 2015 above the .300 mark for the Class A West Virginia Power. Suiter finished the year at .299 with three home runs, four triples, and 57 RBI and helped lead the Power to the first round of the Appalachian League playoffs.
Lakeshore manager Eddy Morgan still recalls the powerful bat Suiter displayed at Kapco Park when asked about the hardest hit balls he’s seen at Kapco Park. “Jerrick Suiter has some of the best physical tools we’ve seen from a hitter. Some of the shots he hit, whether they were foul or fair, were mammoth,” said Morgan. The challenge for Suiter remains, however, to find a position. Log jams on the Pirates organizational roster have necessitated the changes, but eventually, Suiter settled in as an outfielder. Time will tell if Suiter’s position work will catch up with his bat.
Suiter, a former TCU Horned Frog and native of Valparaiso, IN has been working hard at the TCU facilities but took time to offer these comments about his first two seasons in the minor leagues:
Photo Credit Sam Santilli/ WV Power
1. By far, the best experience I’ve had in baseball has been playing and winning with the guys on this year’s team. I’ve never experienced a locker room celebration after clinching the playoffs before. It was wild!
2. My goal for this year is to get established with a position and make a push for Double AA. I expect to start out in West Virginia, but hope to move up.
3. One of my favorite memories of the season was of robbing a guy of a home run in left-field. I’ve never done that before. We also had a lot of fun at our ball park where they hosted a Pro Wrestling Night and several concerts. We also had this amazing extreme pogo stick group that performed at one of our games.
4. Living arrangements are a bit unique – nothing like the host families we had at Lakeshore. We had several guys sharing a small apartment with just mattresses and a TV!
See if Suiter can get one step closer to the majors this year and follow his career at:
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=607088#/career/R/hitting/2014/ALL
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 22-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 140 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (KC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com.
