Nick Senzel is the Cincinnati Reds top prospect. He’s one of the best prospects in any organization – ranking inside the Top 10 of nearly every prospect ranking we’ve seen all offseason. He was originally drafted as a third baseman. In his time in the Minor Leagues he has played third base a lot.
But with Eugenio Suarez entrenched at the hot corner for the Reds, a move had to come. After the 2017 season the Reds though that second base could be an option, so Senzel spent the offseason working on shortstop and second base. When the year began he was at second for Louisville in Triple-A. Scooter Gennett continued to rake in Cincinnati, and Senzel eventually saw his season come to an end with a finger injury in June that required surgery.
While Scooter Gennett will be in his final year of his contract in 2019, he’s still around. That led the Reds to think that finding another spot on the field for Nick Senzel was once again a high priority. And with Billy Hamilton no longer in the organization, center field became an option. It was going to be a spot that team organization was going to send Senzel to the Arizona Fall League to work on. That plan didn’t happen, though, as Senzel wound up undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow that began causing discomfort. After recovering from that, he spent the entire winter in Goodyear at the Reds complex working on learning the position.
And here we are. Game three of the spring. Nick Senzel is finally going to take the field in games, even fake ones, in center field. He’s going to hit leadoff, too. Manager David Bell has already seen him play out there. And he’s noted that Nick Senzel is the favorite to win the job. What’s even better, at least for those of us who actually like watching baseball, the game on Monday afternoon against Seattle is available to watch. It will be available on MLB.tv live, and on MLB Network at 4pm on a 1-hour delay.
It’s only one game. But what’s behind that one game is very important for the Cincinnati Reds. If Nick Senzel can actually play center field well enough to start there in the Major Leagues it would be huge for the organization. Without the ability to play center field, it’s tough to see where he will play in the Majors in 2019. Left field and right field already have to find time for Jesse Winker, Yasiel Puig, Scott Schebler and Matt Kemp. On the infield, as noted, he’s behind Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett. Even in a “super-sub” role, there’s not exactly an easy path to regular playing time.
But if he’s capable of handling center field, that changes everything. Not only for Nick Senzel, who has done everything asked of him and more since being drafted, but for David Bell and the Reds who will have to juggle playing time less. And it’s not as if the offense, which is already good, wouldn’t benefit by adding Senzel’s bat to it. Since being drafted in 2016 he’s hit .314/.390/.513 in the Minor Leagues over 213 games played. In the upper minor leagues he’s been even better. In 428 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A he’s hit .326/.397/.537. He’s ready. That is, assuming there’s a spot for him to play. Today we all get our first look to see if that spot can be center.