Reds May 2023 Games Thread

[CJD]

(05-30-2023, 07:27 AM)grampahol Wrote: I might actually hang on to those Senzel rookie cards I bought for my grandkids way back when.. How many Reds fans gave Senzel up for dead? I know I did..

Yea, he's been a pleasant surprise this season. He is hitting the cover off the ball against left handed pitchers to the tune of .463/.500/.659/1.159 in 41 ABs, and he has been clutch, hitting .400/.465/.543/1.008 in 35 ABs with runners in scoring position. 

The only problem is his splits against right handed pitching leaves a lot to be desired .184/.277/.291/.569 in 103 ABs.

For that reason, his ultimate role may end up being as a platoon player. In fact, one platoon that I think may actually work out for everyone would be Senzel + Jake Fraley in LF. Fraley has an even more stark split between left and right handed pitching hitting:

vs Left .048/.125/.095/.220 in 21 ABs
vs Right .286/.375/.452/.827 in 126 ABs
RISP .380/.429/.700/1.129 in 50 ABs

If those two players are platooned, you'd have a far above average hitter in the LF slot against both RHP and LHP as well as a valuable pinch hitting bat on the bench against the respective pitching when relief pitchers come in that may be opposite handed compared to the starting pitcher (for example, Senzel starts vs a left hander, you can pinch hit Fraley for him in a high leverage situation against a right handed reliever in the 6th inning or later).

This would have the added benefit of freeing up 3B for Elly

The more I type, the more on board I get with this plan hahaha.