The start that Phillip Ervin got out to this season with the Daytona Tortugas was about as impressive as you can imagine. He hit .346/.429/.692 in the month of April with six doubles and seven home runs.
Things slowed down after that as the outfielder hit just five home runs in the next 88 games with Daytona before being promoted to Double-A Pensacola. In his first game with the Blue Wahoos he went 0-3.
The next game he would go hitless, but walked twice in four plate appearances. On Saturday he would hit his 1st home run with Pensacola, going 2-4.
On Sunday he followed up with another home run, this one even longer than the first. Ervin went 2-3 on the day with his second home run in two days and put himself back in the organization lead with 14 home runs on the season.
In the four games since joining the Reds Double-A affiliate he’s posted a .333/.429/.917 line, good for an OPS of 1.345. For the second time this year, the outfielder has gotten out to a great start at a new stop.
The Florida State League has a way of holding hitters down, the league average OPS currently sits at .650. By comparison, the Southern League where Pensacola plays has a league average OPS of .701. Making the jump up to more friendly hitting environments could play out very well for Ervin over the final two weeks of the regular season. With Daytona he showed strong plate discipline and plenty of power, especially considering the league (he was leading the league in home runs when he was promoted).
The overall hitting environment held back the numbers though, at least at face value. We know he was above-average compared to the league, but the Southern League and in particular Pensacola’s home stadium could play quite well for the right handed hitter. Left field is about as power friendly as you can imagine and as a right hander with his power to the pull side, Ervin could really put together a strong stretch run.