Cincinnati Reds Top Prospects: 2B Ty Washington

For all 2016 Prospect Ranking Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out one a day over the offseason).

The season opened up for Ty Washington with an 0-3 effort that included a walk and a sac bunt, but he followed that up with back-to-back two-hit games. In the second week of the season he managed to play in just three games, going 3-12 (.250) with a walk. The final week of April went well for the infielder, going 8-28 (.286) with three doubles and two triples. He finished the month with a .269/.321/.423 line in 57 plate appearances to go along with four walks and 11 strikeouts.

The first week of May got out to a hot start, including three multi-hit games. Washington would go 9-27 (.333) with a double and a home run. The second week continued down the same path as the then 21-year-old went 8-23 (.348) with a double, five walks and three steals. On the 16th, Washington went 0-4 and was replaced in the 9th inning. He would miss the next six weeks with a shoulder injury. In 13 games before being injury, Ty Washington hit .315/.383/.407 in 60 plate appearances with six walks and nine strikeouts.

The infielder returned to the field on June 28th, starting a three week rehab stint with the Arizona League Reds. In his first six games he would hit just .188 as he got back into the swing of things, but he hit .444 over the next five games for the Reds.

On July 18th he returned to the Dayton Dragons with a 1-4 game that included an RBI. In the first week back he would hit just .231, but drew four walks and had three extra-base hits. The final four games of the month would be rough for Washington as he went just 2-14 (.143).

August began with a 1-4 game against South Bend that included a walk on the 2nd. His next game would come with the Daytona Tortugas on the 5th. He finished up the first week of August by going 3-7 with a double for the Tortugas. The second week would see the infielder go 3-15 (.200), but he drew five walks to post a .400 on-base percentage on the week. Playing time slowed down over the final three weeks of the season as he got into just 11 games for Daytona, going 6-39 (.154) with four walks and two doubles. The final five weeks were a struggle for Washington as he hit .200/.307/.262 with 10 walks and 17 strikeouts in 75 plate appearances.

The shoulder injury made the 2015 season a tale of two seasons, essentially. After he returned from his rehab stint, Ty Washington hit just .200/..311/.276 in 31 games. His plate discipline remained strong as he walked 16 times and had just 25 strikeouts, but the hitting wasn’t quite there. Prior to the injury he posted a .292/.353/.415 line with 10 walks and 20 strikeouts.

Ty Washington Scouting Report

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Hitting | Washington has an average hit tool that may play up slightly because of his speed.

Power | He’s got below-average power, both now and in the future. His bat speed could allow for some future growth, but his power is likely to remain below-average in the future.

Running | He shows off above-average speed out of the box, but is still learning to use it on the basepaths.

Arm | His arm is slightly below-average, but is plenty strong enough for second base, though it’s stretched at times on the other side of the bag.

Defense | He’s got solid range at second base and is able to move to both sides well.

Nothing really jumps out at you with Ty Washington, but he’s solid across the board with the exception of power. He’s got a good understanding of the strikezone, a quick bat and a smooth line drive stroke. Defensively he’s spent most of his time at second base, but did get a limited amount of action at third while in Dayton. His arm strength is going to limit him to second base as an every day player, but if used in a utility role in the future it could work just enough to also get some time at third. The shoulder injury seemed to sap his hitting in the second half. A return to Daytona in 2016 should see better returns than the first go-around.

Spray Chart

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