The Cincinnati Reds have called up outfielder Phillip Ervin from Triple-A Louisville. He will be taking the place on the 25-man roster of outfielder Scott Schebler. He was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury after running into the wall before the All-Star break.
Phillip Ervin has been on an absolute tear over the last month for the Louisville Bats. In 100 plate appearances the outfielder has hit .384/.450/.663 with five doubles, two triples, and five home runs. He has also walked 10 times with 17 strikeouts in that stretch.
The Reds are in an interesting situation right now. Billy Hamilton has been hitting the best he’s hit all year over the last few weeks. The Reds realistically should be trying to trade Billy Hamilton right now, but we’ve heard rumors all year that Bob Castellini would prefer that the team keeps him. If the team is being told to keep him, then the Reds need to plug Phillip Ervin and his hot bat into center field multiple times over the next week and see what happens. If the team is given the ok to trade Hamilton in the right deal, then that complicates things as you want to keep him on the field and showcasing him a little bit.
Billy Hamilton isn’t the future in center field for the organization. That likely falls to either Taylor Trammell or Jose Siri. Both of those guys are still a little bit away from the Major Leagues, though. And to be fair, it’s certainly possible that Phillip Ervin should be in the conversation, too. He’s had some offensive struggles – mostly struggling to hit for average over the years. What Ervin has done, though, is draw walks, limit his strikeouts, and run the bases very well. This season, at least in the minors, he’s been able to hit for a good average. And that’s led to a very high on-base percentage and a good slugging percentage.
The last thing the Reds should do is call Phillip Ervin up and not play him, or use him as a pinch hitter twice in a week and then send him down to Triple-A when Scott Schebler returns. They should use this time to play him in center field multiple games, let him get somewhat comfortable out there, and see what happens.
Teams scouting Billy Hamilton have been scouting Billy Hamilton for his entire career. They aren’t going to get some new, unknown information on him between now and the next 11 days. He is what he is and everyone knows that. If they wanted to acquire him on Monday, they’ll still want to on July 29th. I wouldn’t outright bench Billy Hamilton. I’d mix him in. But what I wouldn’t do is just start Billy Hamilton every single day in center and keep Ervin in the corner once a week to sit Adam Duvall for a rest, or Jesse Winker against a tough lefty.