Conversations with the Herd: Pirates First Baseman Spencer Horwitz

By: Brian Frank

Spencer Horwitz was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2019 out of Radford University. He worked his way up through the Blue Jays’ system, and made his major-league debut with Toronto in June of 2023, collecting a single in his first big-league at-bat. After hitting .265 with 12 home runs and a .790 OPS in 97 games for the Blue Jays last season, the Blue Jays delt Horwitz to the Cleveland Guardians in the offseason along with minor-league outfielder Nick Mitchell for infielder Andrés Giménez and pitcher Nick Sandlin. The Guardians quickly flipped Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for reliever Luis Ortiz and a pair of minor-league arms, Michael Kennedy and Josh Hartle.

“It's a first,” Horwitz said of having to adjust to a new organization. “It's new. It's just the little things that you don't think of that are normal at your first place are different here. It's been an adjustment period, but it's been going well.”

Horwits is in his first season with the Bucs.

Horwitz’s start with the Pirates was delayed, when he had to have wrist surgery in mid-February. After his recovery and rehab, he finally was able to join the big-league club on May 17.

“Definitely not ideal,” Horwitz said of not being able to start the season on time. “But injuries are part of the game, and hopefully that's in my past now and I can just keep moving forward.”

Horwitz got off to a slow with his new team. Through his first 21 games, he was slashing only .205/.284/.301 with one home run and a .585 OPS. However, he caught fire over the last month. Since July 21, He’s slashing .326/.388/.506 with three home runs and an .893 OPS. That stretch includes a two home run, six RBI game at Colorado and an incredible series in a sweep of the Detroit Tigers, in which he went 7-for-12 with a grand slam, two doubles, a walk, and seven RBI.

“Just being healthy and continuous work,” he explained of his success. “Hopefully I can keep that going for the last month or so of the season.”

Taking infield at PNC Park. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

A connection Horwitz has in Pittsburgh to his Toronto and Buffalo days is his hitting coach—Matt Hague. Hague, who was the 2015 International League MVP with the Bisons, was also Horwitz’s hitting coach with the Bisons in 2023 and was Toronto’s assistant hitting coach in 2024.

“Having not only a familiar face but also a friend is huge,” Horwitz said. “I can't imagine being here without him. It would have made the transition way harder, and he's made it way easier for me.”

One advantage of playing for Pittsburgh is getting to play behind 23-year-old phenom Paul Skenes every fifth day. Skenes leads the National League with a 2.16 ERA, has struck out 174 batters in 154 innings pitched, and is the odds-on favorite to win the N.L. Cy Young Award.

“He's unbelievable, the way he works before he's on the mound—and then what he does on the mound is really special,” Horwitz said.

Horwitz is slashing .326/.388/.506 since July 21.

Horwitz was looking forward to the Blue Jays' visit to PNC Park to take on the Pirates this week, because the team is loaded with players he came up with through the minor leagues and broke into the big leagues with.

“I was most excited to see my friends,” he said of playing against Toronto. “I know it'll be a little weird, because I haven't played against a former team before. I've never done that, so, yeah, I think it'll be a little weird, but at the end of the day, it's just baseball.”