Patience is paying off for Peguero
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The player Liover Peguero was when he made his Major League debut last June is much different than the player that suits up for the Altoona Curve this year.
There's been growth, development both on the field and off the field as a leader in the clubhouse.
"I feel like everybody is always expecting something out of me because I'm a very energized guy," Peguero said. "I feel like I need to do something all the time. I need to be there for the teams and things like that. But one thing that always keeps me in the game is to stay present in the moment no matter what situation I'm in, to stay present in a moment and do something good."
With great pressure comes great responsibility, and at times early in the year, Peguero struggled. His batting average dropped to .221 on May 10, though there's more than meets the eye when it comes to a player's batting average.
Peguero was stringing together good at bats, but the results weren't quite there, though his walk rate was improving up from 5% last year to 10%, signaling a breakout was near.
Since May 10, his average has grown to .268 up 47 points by hitting safely in 12 of the 14 games played since then.
A major part of that improvement at the plate has been his patience and his approach, but also not letting mistakes and a lack of success get the better of him.
"One thing that's been helping me a lot is how to be patient at the plate," Peguero said. "Wait for my pitch and do my job, but I'm also just trying to stick to my routines and stuff like that. The most important thing right now at the plate for me is how to slow things down even if the pitchers are trying to work fast with me."
His approach is paying off as 13 of Peguero's 27 hits have gone for extra bases, including four home runs and a triple. That ability is what's helped make him one of the top prospects in the Pirates' system.
"I feel like I'm just a regular guy who knows. I really I don't really put that in my head, l me being a top prospect or something like that," Peguero said. "One thing that I always put in my head is that I need to give my effort every day. Do that and put that 100 percent stuff into everything. I'm trying to do the best I can to control the things I can control. Those are the top things that keep me on my feet all the time."
Peguero might not be the top prospect in Altoona this year as that goes to Henry Davis, but as a top prospect who has made it to Pittsburgh, he's a guy those in the clubhouse have looked to as a leader.
"Last year I was more like laughing more, doing a lot of fun things, but I was not paying attention to the little things like how to be focused on the right moments and stuff like that," Peguero said. "I feel like that was my biggest takeaway from last year."
For now, Peguero is focused on making the most of his time in Altoona and getting back to Pittsburgh and staying there.
"I really can't wait to be up there again and, and prove to the people what I got," Peguero said. "I'm going to try to do my best every day, work hard and do anything I can to get back to Pittsburgh again."