Rebild of outfield, coming??

[*bengalfan74*]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/the-cincinnati-reds-need-to-rebuild-their-outfield/ar-BB1pGN7C?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=ASTS&cvid=abecb78b0dcf45d183fbfad6ae66738a&ei=9

Like the article says: Remove Steer from outfield stats and our production is horrible. I still believe Elly to RF is the move to make. But ?? Can Friedl stay on the field at CF ??

If and it's a bigger if than I thought in the spring, they can all develop. Marte 3B, McClain SS, India 2B, CES 1B, Steer LF, Friedl CF, Elly RF And yes we need way better depth in OF than Benson.

[Goalpost]

Pretty much hoping that LF Charlie Condon falls to them at pick 2 in the draft.

In the minors, there is still some faint hope for Jay Allen who has been injury prone but has high upside as a CF.

[CJD]

Outfield has been the one major weakness in the Reds farm system, which is why people were surprised when they signed Jeimer Candelario this off season instead of someone like Teoscar Hernandez, Michael A Taylor, Adam Duvall, or even Tommy Pham for a year or two, who was on the market all the way until April 16th. The OF market this past off season just wasn't that great once it became clear Jorge Soler was no longer capable of playing OF.

It seems like the strategy was just "hope Benson can hit lefties and no one gets injured."

Rece Hinds had a good debut, but it was not at all representative of what he's done in the minors to this point. I mean, the 450 ft homer is. He has insane power. But normally, those 450 ft HRs come paired with 3 strikeouts, not a double and a hard hit grounder that would have been a hit 95% of the time. I do not expect him to keep this up.

I still think Elly is a shortstop. Especially since that's what he wants to be. If we want to re-sign him to a long term deal, you should want to make him happy. And he's performing there. According to statcast, he is tied for 16th in the majors with a fielding run value of 6, and a lot of that has come in the last 2 months after a rough start to the year. His arm and his range are rare when combined with a body that has the quick twitch ability to react at shortstop. It's easier to find a good defender in the outfield than it is to find a good defender at SS, in my opinion.

Especially since right now our infield is going through it. Injuries to CES and McLain and Marte being shit makes our depth on the infield just as bad as the outfield haha. Moving Elly to RF would just mean Santiago Espinal would be starting every night until McLain is healthy!

I am hopeful that Charlie Condon will be the new #1 prospect in the Reds organization after this coming Sunday, as he could be in the majors as soon as the beginning of the 2025 season (similar to Wyatt Langford for the Rangers). I think that's our best chance at resolving the outfield depth issue for 2025. That, plus one more free agent outfielder with a history of production would be spectacular.

[TecmoBengals]

I'd be happy with Condon at pick 2 in the draft and then hope his power bat can fast track to the big leagues. I agree with Elly and his cannon of an arm moving to RF.

[*ochocincos*]

I've liked what I've seen from Hinds these past couple games.
He has the power and arm to be a good RF and power hitter.
His main concern is strikeouts/OBP long-term.

SS and CF are the typical positions that have worse hitters.
Corner IF and corner OF are usually the better ones on the team.

Reds have the IF depth to potentially try EDLC at CF.
CES, McLain, Candelario, India, Marte with Arroyo coming up too in a couple years.

A potential OF of Steer, Hinds, Friedl, Fraley, and potentially EDLC could be solid.
I agree though that right now, OF has little depth if any injuries.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(07-10-2024, 01:26 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Reds have the IF depth to potentially try EDLC at CF.

Yeah, I also think that EDLC's future is probably at CF. He's played about a full season worth of innings at SS now, and he has 29 errors. He's right around 1 error every 20 opportunities at SS. So putting that speed out in CF could really help.

[*bengalfan74*]

(07-10-2024, 01:26 PM)ochocincos Wrote: I've liked what I've seen from Hinds these past couple games.
He has the power and arm to be a good RF and power hitter.
His main concern is strikeouts/OBP long-term.

SS and CF are the typical positions that have worse hitters.
Corner IF and corner OF are usually the better ones on the team.

Reds have the IF depth to potentially try EDLC at CF.
CES, McLain, Candelario, India, Marte with Arroyo coming up too in a couple years.

A potential OF of Steer, Hinds, Friedl, Fraley, and potentially EDLC could be solid.
I agree though that right now, OF has little depth if any injuries.

(07-10-2024, 05:14 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Yeah, I also think that EDLC's future is probably at CF. He's played about a full season worth of innings at SS now, and he has 29 errors. He's right around 1 error every 20 opportunities at SS. So putting that speed out in CF could really help.

Agree RF or CF would be a much better position for Elly.

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

I say RF because the combo of Friedl and Fairchild already play good CF and RF is where you always put your strongest arm. A LF hardly ever throws across the field to 1st base but a RF often gets called on to make a throw to third base.

Here's Giesenschlag and LeCure chatting up the Reds from about an hour ago.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(07-10-2024, 07:23 PM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: I say RF because the combo of Friedl and Fairchild already play good CF and RF is where you always put your strongest arm. A LF hardly ever throws across the field to 1st base but a RF often gets called on to make a throw to third base.

Here's Giesenschlag and LeCure chatting up the Reds from about an hour ago.

I am starting to believe that Friedl can't stay healthy enough, and Fairchild can't hit enough. Plus both will be heading into their age 29 season next year.

Not against a RF Elly, though, just keep him out of SS. Lol

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

(07-10-2024, 08:10 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I am starting to believe that Friedl can't stay healthy enough, and Fairchild can't hit enough. Plus both will be heading into their age 29 season next year.

Not against a RF Elly, though, just keep him out of SS. Lol

I could go with Steer in Left, Hinds in Center and De La Cruz in RF on some days to kick up the offense.

After recalling watching Senzel slam into the wall so much(mostly due to poor pitching), and the impact with the wall on a few of Fairchild's great catches, I'm not really 100% sure that I want Elly's speed added into the collisions with the outfield wall.

I'm not opposed to this infield in 2025
1B Encarnacion-Strand
2B Marte/India
SS McLain
3B De La Cruz

Add in
C Stephenson
LF Steer
CF Friedl
RF Hinds
DH Candelerio

[SladeX]

Fraley? Is the knock on him health? Because my perception this season is that the lineup is much better with him present.

[*ochocincos*]

(07-11-2024, 09:25 AM)SladeX Wrote: Fraley? Is the knock on him health? Because my perception this season is that the lineup is much better with him present.

The knock on both him and Friedl.

Fraley is batting .278 but only 194 ABs.
Friedl's been down at the plate overall this year compared to the previous years, but he also only has 97 ABs.
Meanwhile, you got guys like EDLC, Candelario, Steer, and India with 297+ ABs.


And I'm not a fan of the depth the Reds have in OF right now, other than maybe Hinds.
And the Reds have A LOT of quality IF guys, so a move to OF for EDLC may make sense.

[samhain]

It's not just about the figuring out the everyday outfield. I think Friedl is about as important a player to this team is there is, so he's the CF until you get a better athlete that can improve on his defense. His effort really sets a tone when he's healthy.

Otherwise, I think Steer, despite his incredible work ethic is probably better suited to the infield, probably at first. The rest of the guys like Fraley and Benson are very platoon-sh. Plenty valuable, and Fraley is worlds better than Benson at the plate, but still the same outcome: lack of a RH power bat.

The real problem is the lack of pop in the middle of the lineup. We have a lot of players that are good at getting on base, but we lack a legit run producing hammer. Elly could be that guy, but he isn't quite there yet. Candy has never been that guy and Steer likely won't be, either. Outside of EDLC, you've got a lot of guys that are going to hit 20-25 bombs and get 90 RBIS, but no real 40-110 threats.

They also have a ton of infield talent. This means the logical place to add the bat is RF or LF. He doesn't have to hit 300 or be an all-world fielder. He could even be a DH if necessary. Either way, that's the way forward if this team wants to get serious. Teoscar Hernandez was a prime opportunity, but they missed it. Hopefully they learn their lesson this winter.