The 2015 season was a bit of a lost one for Aristides Aquino. After being named the top prospect in the Pioneer League by Baseball America in 2014, the outfielder went to Dayton and struggled at the plate in a big way. After a very slow start he was hit by a pitch and broke a bone in his lower arm, near his wrist, and missed two months. When he returned the struggles at the plate continued. At seasons end, the then 21-year-old had a .234/.281/.364 line for the Dragons.
Despite the struggles of the 2015 season the Cincinnati Reds showed confidence in Aquino and promoted him to Daytona. It turns out that the organization knew exactly what they were doing.
The 22-year-old Dominican outfielder has been hitting the cover off of the ball in the Florida State League, especially over the last two months. While his OPS through May was 70 points better than the league average, since June began his .313/.354/.633 line equates to 213 points better than the league average OPS.
Given the absolute tear that he’s been on, I’ve been looking forward to seeing him play for the first time since last August. Last night was my first game in Daytona this season and Aquino didn’t disappoint. In batting practice he stood out above most of the players. That was expected, as I’ve seen him take batting practice many times before and the ball jumps off of his bat.
In the game he went 2-4 and added his 20th outfield assist of the season. TWENTY. The two hits that he had? A home run and a double. Here’s the video of the home run.
Watch that again. Look at the adjustment he makes there. He’s out front a little bit as he starts his swing, but holds back his hands for a split second then gets the barrel to the ball. It was a very impressive swing adjustment.
After going 0-18 from July 13th through the 17th, Aristides Aquino has been absolutely murdering the baseball. Think about the old Baseball Tonight home run highlight reel with the screaming baseball – that’s pretty much how the baseball feels right now when Aquino is at the plate. In his last six games he’s had four doubles, two triples and two home runs. He’s slugging 1.043 in that span with just two strikeouts in 23 plate appearances. His nickname, The Punisher, is absolutely earned.