Reds March/April 2025 thread

[CJD]

(04-21-2025, 10:03 AM)ochocincos Wrote: Some guys are (or might be) starting to come along, which is nice to see.

Right now, I see the locked heavy contributors are EDLC, McLain, Friedl, Lux, Fraley, Trevino/Wynns.
Hays showed a lot in the few games he's played, so I expect he'll get in there often as well.
I like what I've seen in Espinal from a contact standpoint as a utility guy.

The guys who still need to get going are Candelario (occasional HR won't change my mind), CES, and Steer.
Marte as well, but yesterday's game helped him a ton stat-wise.

Once Stephenson comes back, you have to wonder if he may end up claiming 1B/DH a decent amount too, as there's no reason to relegate Trevino and Wynns to the bench.

CES and Steer need to worry about potentially getting demoted to AAA if they don't start picking it up soon.

CES drives me crazy as a prospect. His entire minor league career indicates that he should have success in the major leagues.

The one major outlier he had in the minor leagues was he was a notorious "bad ball hitter." He swung at balls out of the zone at a disproportionate rate. It worked in the minors because he was facing inferior pitchers, but the caveat attached to him was always that he'd have to improve his eye in the majors because it is much harder to get quality contact on pitches outside the zone against major league pitchers.

It is evident that he has not been able to make that adjustment.

Or, alternatively, he is just injured all the time. He looked good in spring training and in the first 3 games of the season before (again) being hit in the hand in game 4. It makes me wonder if that is affecting him either physically, mentally, or both.