The big news on Friday is that Joey Votto is heading to the 10-day disabled list for his knee injury. The opposite side of that move is that outfielder Aristides Aquino is being called up to replace him on the roster. He had been in Double-A Pensacola all season.
For Aristides Aquino, whenever he gets into a game, it will be his Major League debut. The 24-year-old was spending his second season in Double-A during the 2018 season. On the year he is hitting .249/.313/.452 in 107 games. That line, however, hides what he’s been doing of late.
In the first 62 games of the season, Aristides Aquino hit .231/.288/.417 on the season. That came along with 15 walks and 67 strikeouts in 234 plate appearances. That’s a walk rate of just 6.4% and a strikeout rate of 28.6%. Those are not ideal rates and they were holding back some of the hitting tools that Aquino possesses.
However, in the 45 games since, dating back to June 26th, Aristides Aquino has hit .272/.346/.500. In 182 plate appearances he’s walked 18 times and struck out just 36 times. That is a 9.9% walk rate – 50% higher than in the first part of the year, and a strikeout rate of 19.8% – a 31% decrease. It’s been a big improvement and led to a much better performance in the second half of the season.
Whether there will be much playing time for Aristides Aquino or not is going to be interesting to see. The Reds outfield is missing Jesse Winker and Scott Schebler. But, it’s still got Billy Hamilton in center, along with Preston Tucker, Phillip Ervin, and Mason Williams. The team has also gotten time in the outfield for Dilson Herrera and Brandon Dixon. All of those players have played, and found success in Triple-A – something that Aquino hasn’t to this point in his career. While I’m sure he’ll get into a game or two, I wouldn’t be rushing to add him to your fantasy baseball roster just yet. I’d expect him to be limited in playing time.
With all of that said, if he does get into a game, there are some things to watch for. He’s got a very strong arm in right field. While the 28 outfield assists that he had a few years ago in Daytona may have oversold his arm strength a little bit, his arm is most certainly above-average to plus and runners should be wary of testing him. The arm, however, is a bit better than the defense itself is. Not that he’s a poor defender, but he’s not a stand out defender in the corner.
At the plate the power is very real. The ball explodes off of his bat when he gets into it. He’s made some mechanical changes that have helped him this season – but it’s tough to say how that will transition immediately to the Major Leagues. It’s a big jump from Double-A pitching to Major League pitching.