'My job is to beat the pitcher': Pirates DH Daniel Vogelbach a must-hear voice on hitting

From the end of the dugout where Derek Shelton watches games, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager can hear the constant chatter coming from their biggest player, in terms of size and volume.

With every pitch, Daniel Vogelbach is earning a reputation as hitter’s hitter, someone who analyzes everything from a pitcher’s repertoire to his sequencing to the spin of the ball in search of an advantage. The 6-foot, 270-pound designated hitter has become a must-hear voice for the Pirates, whether or not it’s by choice.

“Vogey’s so damn loud that he is it for everybody because everybody can hear him,” Shelton said, with a laugh. “The one thing that really stands out — and Vogey came as adverstised — is that he pays attention to pitching, to sequence, to what the ball does.

“He’s got a really good awareness of the strike zone. When he takes a ball and he’s pretty adamant about it, it’s usually a ball. If you’re around Vogey at all, he’s very effusive in wanting to talk about it. Because he’s loud, everybody hears it. It’s like having someone on there that’s constantly talking about the approach.”

Vogelbach was one of six Pirates to draw a walk in the 1-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday at PNC Park, when Hunter Greene and Art Warren combined for a no-hitter over eight innings. When the Pirates saw Greene was starting to tire after 100-plus pitches in an electric outing, they stayed patient and forced him to throw strikes. Greene and Warren walked the bases loaded, and Ke’Bryan Hayes beat out an infield single to score Rodolfo Castro for the winning run.

In Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Reds, Vogelbach sandwiched a pair of walks around a 433-foot blast to dead center.

Vogel-bushes pic.twitter.com/4JKceQ5mCo

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 14, 2022

Since signing a one-year, $1 million contract (with a second-year option at $1.5 million) in mid-March after a strong endorsement by new hitting coach Andy Haines — who coached him in Milwaukee — Vogelbach has become one of the Pirates’ most efficient hitters. He leads the team in home runs (six) and OPS (.838), is tied for second in RBIs (13) and ranks third in batting average (.260), on-base percentage (.348) and doubles (five).

Vogelbach loves to not only talk hitting but study the subject. He chats with outfielder Ben Gamel about how to attack pitchers before arriving at the ballpark, watches video before games and pays attention to every pitch while looking for any cues that can help his cause.

“My job is to beat the pitcher,” Vogelbach said. “I’m trying to get any tip I can, any sequence. I’m trying to get the best approach I can before I go up to the plate. (Pitchers) are making adjustments, and it’s our job to make adjustments, as well.”

Shelton has found that Vogelbach and Gamel, who both worked with Haines as Brewers, have become a helpful extension of their hitting coach by echoing his messaging to Pirates hitters. One of Haines’ regular refrains that Vogelbach takes to heart is hitters have to go under water and stay there until October, his way of saying that they can’t afford to ride the waves of highs and lows during the season.

“Any piece of advice helps,” Gamel said. “There’s so much information out there that you’ve got to sift (through to find) what works for you and what doesn’t. Vogey does a good job of being detailed but also keeping it simple and not overcomplicated.”

That can be especially helpful to rookies such as infielders Castro and Diego Castillo and outfielder Jack Suwinski, who are seeing some major-league pitchers for the first time, but also to veterans such as All-Star center fielder Bryan Reynolds.

“He really knows hitting and understands pitchers, so he brings a lot to the table,” Reynolds said of Vogelbach. “If you want it to be a conversation, it will. If you just want to listen, you listen. If I haven’t faced a guy before and he has before, I’ll go talk to him. Sometimes, that’s better than just looking at a piece of paper.”

For now, Vogelbach is just swimming under water with the current. He was an All-Star with Seattle in 2019, when he hit 30 homers and had 76 RBIs, and has been traded and designated for assignment. So Vogelbach is looking for every and any edge, and willing to share what he finds.

“That’s just how I’m wired,” Vogelbach said. “I try to watch every pitch, try to pick up on things that may benefit me or benefit the team as hitters. That’s just how I am during the game. Obviously, I want to help and give information to guys. Some guys want more information. Some guys want less information. I’m here for an outlet for those guys, for what they need and what they want. I want to help as much as I can.”