Where are the Cincinnati Reds Minor Leaguers hitting for power?

One of my favorite things I work on each year is breaking down the batted ball data for the players. That leads to all kinds of information, but the favorite part for me is looking at how much power each player is hitting for to various parts of the field. Every player has more power to their pull side, but the real power hitters tend to also be able to hit for power to the opposite field. Then there are guys like Jose Buatista and Edwin Encarnacion who have essentially gone to approaches to just try and pull everything to let that natural power play.

Some parks are certainly better than others for pull or opposite power and some places are very tough on those things, so before we dive into those numbers let’s be sure to understand how each of the parks play out.

Which players showed the most pull power in the 2015 season?

Three of the names on this list aren’t surprising. James Vasquez led the Arizona League in home runs and slugging percentage. He’s an older guy for that league and he absolutely dominated the circuit. He’s no surprise. Taylor Sparks has some of the best raw power in the system and was among the league leaders in home runs in the Florida State League. No surprise there. Juan Duran is known for his massive amounts of raw power, so his inclusion isn’t surprising either.

Zach Vincej had 15 extra-base hits on the season and slugged all of .329 on the season. So how does he make this list? Well, nearly all of his extra-base hits were pulled and he hardly ever pulled the ball. When he did pull it, he did damage, but he went to center and the opposite field 79% of the time, pulling the ball into the outfield just 21% of the time.

Cory Thompson had 11 extra-base hits in 51 games with Dayton in 2015. He slugged .299. Nearly all of his extra-base hits came on pulled hits though, with no extra-base hits to center and just one double that went to the opposite field. Unlike Vincej, he pulled the ball more than he went to the opposite field, but he did go to center field more than any other area. His overall splits on pull/middle/opposite was fairly even.

Who were the top five guys when it comes to opposite field power?

There really is only one surprise on this list and it’s the guy at the very top of the list. Jose Siri has a giant lead over the other guys on this list. He did have 19 extra-base hits in just 43 games between the AZL Reds and the Billings Mustangs (he had just 43 hits). His Isolated Power for the season was strong at .194, so perhaps it shouldn’t have been so surprising. Still, he’s a 19-year-old kid who weighs in at 175 lbs. So, how did he lead this list? Five of his 19 extra-base hits went to right field, including a home run and a triple. Combine a small sample size of just 46 games and good power output and he found himself at the top of the list.

Juan Duran, as noted, has some of the best power in the minor leagues, so it’s no surprise he’s there. James Vasquez, as noted above, just dominated the Arizona League so he’s no surprise here. Yorman Rodriguez is known for his opposite field power. KJ Franklin had a .438 mark in 2014 and he improved on that in 2015 as he had a rebound season.

Here is the full list for the Reds minor leaguers and how much power they hit for and where they hit it to.

[private_subscriber]

[/private_subscriber]