Cincinnati Reds 2014 Season Review: Kyle Waldrop

For the first time in his career Kyle Waldrop would repeat a level that he had played at before. The outfielder didn’t let repeating with Bakersfield get to him as he began the season with four straight multiple hit games as he went 10-21 in that span. While he would slow down some the rest of April it wasn’t much and he would finish April quite strong, riding a seven game hitting streak where he went 14-32. April was arguably the best month of his career as he hit .406/458/.547 with 10 walks and 24 strikeouts in 120 plate appearances for the Blaze.

The first day of May saw his hitting streak through the end of April end with an 0-4 effort against Stockton. That didn’t matter too much as he began another streak the next day that lasted for six games, but things slowed down after that. From May 8th through the end of the month the Blaze outfielder hit .253/.318/.278, though he complete the month with three straight two-hit games. Waldrop would  finish out May with a .269/.328/.370 line. It was a step or two backwards from where he was in April thanks to the slump in the middle of the month.

Carrying a three game hitting streak into June had the 22-year-old had him moving back in the right direction and things just kept going from there. From the start of the month until the 13th he extended his hitting streak to 13 games dating back into May. After hitting .476/.500/.810 in the 10 games to start June the Cincinnati Reds promoted Waldrop to Pensacola. He would have hits in three straight games with the Blue Wahoos to extend his hitting streak to 16 games before it came to an end. He would finish with 10 games in Double-A to end the month. Overall between his two stops he put together the best month of his year, hitting .397/.438/.630 with six walks and nine strikeouts in 80 plate appearances.

The first half of July didn’t go well as Waldrop hit just .225 through the 17th of the month though he did slug .500 in that span. Over the final 13 games of the month he would turn things around as he went just one game without a hit to finish out the month. In that span he would hit .346, but the power did drop off as he slugged just .462. Despite the slow start July turned out as a solid month with a .293/.333/.478 line to go with six walks and 20 strikeouts in 99 plate appearances.

The final month (and one game in September) didn’t start out well. In the first eight games of the final stretch Waldrop hit just .185/.267/.259. The slump didn’t last long though as from that point forward he would hit .390/.420/.695 that included an 11-game hitting streak. In the 28 games to end the season he finished things just like he started them, on fire. Waldrop hit .339/.381/.587 for Pensacola in 119 plate appearances.

Overview

The 2014 season was a breakout for Kyle Waldrop as he hit a combined .338/.385/.516 between Bakersfield and Pensacola. The outfielder made adjustments to his approach in the offseason and it really paid off for him. With a group of crowded outfield prospects all vying for the potentially open left field spot on the big league club in the next few seasons the big steps forward came at the best possible time as he put his name into the conversation.

To view more 2014 Season Review articles, click here.

Season Stats