Billy Hamilton left the game this afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers after taking a pitch off of his hand while bunting. The tests came back and he has a broken thumb, which will keep him out for the rest of the season. While that is never a good thing, it does present the Cincinnati Reds with an opportunity that they may not have otherwise had. Phillip Ervin hasn’t spent much time in the Majors this season, but when he has played, he’s produced.
Outside of a terrible month of May with the Triple-A Louisville Bats, Phillip Ervin hit well this season. That’s carried into his big league time where he’s now hitting .391/.440/. 696 with two walks and four strikeouts in 25 plate appearances. He took over for Billy Hamilton after he exited the game and went 1-4 with a stolen base. With Hamilton healthy, he was likely to get a large majority of the starts in center, with Ervin likely finding limited action around the outfield or as a pinch hitter or pinch runner over the final month.
Looking forward to the 2018 season, the Cincinnati Reds don’t have a clear backup option in center field. Scott Schebler isn’t a center fielder. Jose Peraza may be capable of being a center fielder, but at least for right now it would seem that unless the team brings back Zack Cozart, Peraza will be the teams shortstop next season. Phillip Ervin has spent plenty of time in center field in the minor leagues. He’s also played in the corners, with more of that time coming in left than in right field.
The organization should, and likely will at this point, take a long look at Phillip Ervin in center field. He’s a 60 runner on the scouting scale, which is plus speed, but that’s true for nearly every center fielder in baseball. It’s a position where plus speed is a requisite. At the Major League level teams have access to the player tracking software that they just don’t have in the minor leagues. While there’s internal scouting that does happen, being able to track exactly how much ground a guy can cover thanks to the system in the Majors let’s you get a better idea of exactly how a player stacks up to other fielders around the league.
At the very least the team should have a better idea of whether or not Phillip Ervin can possibly fill the role next season as a true back up center fielder if needed, if nothing else. With a strong month in the field and at the plate, perhaps it can put him into the conversation next spring as possibly a guy worth taking a real look at as a starting player. This may not be something that they could have done without the injury to Billy Hamilton. Hopefully it will provide the organization with the information they need and let them head into the offseason with a better plan because of it.