The Reds’ offense has failed all season — as have many players in this game — entering Thursday’s play with a .226/.307/.372 slash line that is 10% worse than league average, per wRC+. Cincinnati ranks 13th in the majors in runs scored and 17th in home runs, but that has been a career hit. Overall, Reds hitters ranked 27th in batting average, 19th in on-base percentage and 21st in slugging percentage. They have baseball’s seventh-best batting average, but also the game’s sixth-best strikeout rate.
Injuries played a big role. Matt McLain he is out for the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery. TJ Friedl he was only able to take 80 plate appearances due to bad luck breaking (one on his right wrist, the other on his left thumb). Christian Encarnacion-Strand he struggled with his health and is now dealing with both a fracture and tendon damage to his hand, which could cost him the remainder of the season.
Another key factor in the Reds’ struggle has been the absence of a third player Noelvi Marte, who was hit with an 80-game suspension this spring after testing positive for a banned substance. Marte is preparing for a comeback, however. The Reds have played 68 games this season, and the 22-year-old Marte recently came off a Triple-A assignment to prepare for his return to action. He appeared in two games and went 3-for-10 with a trio of singles and a triple so far.
Of course, any time a player is hit with a PED-related ban, his past offensive performance creates some skepticism among fans. Marte, who hit .316/.366/.456 (120 wRC+) with three homers and seven doubles in 123 plate appearances as a rookie, will have his share of doubters. But he has long been ranked among the game’s most promising prospects and has remarkably consistent results from the minors up. Marte hit between .271 and .281 at every stop from Low-A, to High-A, to Double-A to Triple-A. His on-base percentage for each of those stops fell between .356 and .369 (matching his .366 OBP in last year’s MLB debut). His batting average, likewise, ranged between .451 and .464.
Marte will be eligible to return to the team later this month and could provide an immediate boost to a team that has seen its third basemen combine to hit .215/.275/.407. Much of that has been the case Jeimer Candelario (.226/.294/.494 at the hot corner), though a utilityman Santiago Espinal he has played in the hot corner and struggled when he was there.
Candelario recently spoke with MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon about his slump earlier this season, preaching the importance of staying calm and positive as he embarks on a difficult season. The veteran hitter hit just .189/.282/.379 at the end of April but has been on a roll since. In his past 153 trips to the plate, Candelario is slashing .292/.333/.563 with nine homers, ten doubles, three triples, a 5.2% walk rate and a 17.6% strikeout rate.
The manager David Bell he praised Candelario’s good character and strong stance in the face of April’s problems, telling Sheldon that the glowing review of Candelario’s personality and demeanor played a role in the group’s admiration for him. “Everyone we talked to about Jeimer had nothing but positive things to say,” said Bell. “Most importantly, not only the character he plays in the clubhouse but being a hitter, the stability he provides for our program.” A hunter Tyler Stephenson he praised the same for what Candelario said to his colleagues.
When Marte returned, Candelario could slide across the diamond and grab first base, step in for the injured Encarnacion-Strand and push. Spencer Steer returning to the outdoor arena regularly. That would make for a deep and consistent list.
The attacking side of the game is not the only area where the Reds have improved, however. A potential shoulder problem for the lefty Brandon Williamson and notable struggles from the righty Graham Ashcraft it created uncertainty after the first rotation as well. While swingman Nick Martinezwho inked a two-year, $26MM contract at the start of the season, always an option to step into the starting role, it looks like the club will give the young righty a chance. Carson Spiers in the near future.
Bell said this week that the Spiers will enter the game on Monday (X via link via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer). The 26-year-old Spiers has appeared in five games for Cincinnati this season but has worked in a relief role. In 19 1/3 innings, he earned a 2.33 earned run average with a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate against a 5% walk rate. He performed similarly in a first base role at Triple-A Louisville. In nine appearances (eight starts), the 6’3″ righty is sporting a 2.51 ERA with a 25.4% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate.
It’s not clear yet whether Spiers will be offered a long-term interview or will be released should Ashcraft turn the corner in Louisville after being drafted, but the 2020 undrafted free agent will have some control over his future. when he took the mound Monday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh to face the rival Pirates.
Source link
