Few players in the National League are figuring out a way to get on base more frequently than Spencer Horwitz.
Following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, Horwitz’s on-base percentage of .381 ranked 10th in the NL and 22nd in baseball.
Horwitz also went yard in the 7-0 victory, opening up the scoring, and had a clutch, game-tying pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s eventual 10-inning defeat.
SPENCER HORWITZ IS NOT SLOWING DOWN
Solo shot in his first AB of the day
108.0 MPH exit velocity, 365 feet, HR in 28/30 ballparks pic.twitter.com/R2pm4Su76k
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) May 21, 2026
Spencer Horwitz ties it for the @Pirates in the 9th ????☠️ pic.twitter.com/QaLtLXKS0e
— MLB (@MLB) May 20, 2026
For Horwitz, in his second season with Pittsburgh, the recipe for success is easy to pinpoint.
“I think it just goes back to preparation — doing your homework, the scouting reports and then trusting your work in the cage,” Horwitz said.
Whatever the intricacies of Horwitz’s preparation, his approach is clearly working.
Through 44 games, he’s been one of the Pirates’ most consistent hitters, slashing .276/.381/.433 with four homers, seven doubles and 21 RBIs.
In May, Horwitz has been even hotter, as over 50 at-bats entering Thursday’s series finale in St. Louis, he owned a .320 batting average and .414 on-base percentage.
“I just try to be as complete of a hitter as I can be, whether it’s taking my walks, doing damage in advantage count or just going out there and competing,” Horwitz continued. “I think as the season goes on, I can go through stretches of being an on-base guy, being a slug guy or being a (high) average guy. To me, that’s what being a complete hitter is.”
Taking walks is something Horwitz has excelled at so far this season.
In fact, he’s walked (23) slightly more than he’s struck out (21) through 134 at-bats.
Horwitz attributed some of his success at the plate to the increased presence of fellow left-handed batters in the Pirates’ lineup this season.
While Ryan O’Hearn has since gone down with an injury, Horwitz, who has primarily batted seventh (23 games) and sixth (nine), feels he is benefitting from lefties Oneil Cruz, Brandon Lowe sometimes Bryan Reynolds (a switch-hitter) hitting before him.
“It takes a lot of weight off me,” Horwitz said. “I don’t have to be the first one to just kind of get thrown in there and take a guess at what you’re going to get. Instead, I get to see how (a pitcher) is attacking left-handed hitters and also facing guys not for the first time.
“Last year was my first time playing in the National League full-time. Seeing guys the second time, third time, you have an idea of what their ball feels like and what their attack plan is.”
Horwitz was arguably the crown-jewel offseason acquisition by the Pirates heading into the 2025 campaign, as general manager Ben Cherington traded for the now-28-year-old first baseman from the Cleveland Guardians on Dec. 10, 2024.
That same day, Horwitz had been shipped from the Toronto Blue Jays, the club that drafted him in the 24th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, to Cleveland.
Horwitz’s Pirates debut did not go as planned, as he missed the first six weeks of 2025 after undergoing wrist surgery. Upon returning to the lineup, he struggled.
However, Horwitz found his stride and ended the season with a .272 batting average, .353 on-base percentage, 11 home runs and 51 RBIs in 108 games.
In September, he batted .333 to close out the season.
Fast forward to now, and after a slow first handful of games, Horwitz has managed to pick up where he left off late in 2025.
“Spencer was arguably our best hitter last year and has continued that success,” manager Don Kelly said. “I know maybe not the start that he wanted, but he’s been doing a great job of not just hitting, walking, getting on base and playing really good defense at first base. … I think Spence has been doing phenomenal.”
Defensively, Horwitz continues to serve as the Pirates’ primary first baseman, making 37 starts (324 1/3 innings) with zero errors.
Missing time last season, especially when it delayed his debut with a new club, was a negative experience that Horwitz has not forgotten.
Nor does he seek to spend any more time on the injured list.
As he continues a strong season, Horwitz’s overarching goal is to simply remain available for Kelly and his teammates.
“Last year was my first time struggling with an injury and I learned a lot going through that process,” Horwitz said. “I learned I don’t want to do it again. So I’m just taking every step I can to make sure I’m on the field for 162 (games) or as many as I can.”