Brandon Dixon got out to a slow start for the Louisville Bats in 2017. In 18 games in the month of April he hit just .185/.229/.338. That came with just four walks and 20 strikeouts over 71 plate appearances. His walk rate was a tad low, but the strikeout rate of 28.1% was way higher than you would like to see.
Things began to turn around in May for Brandon Dixon. The infielder hit .261/.323/.443 on the month over 27 games played. In those 99 plate appearances he walked seven times and struck out 24 times. The walk rate went up and the strikeout rate went down. It was a nice step in the right direction for the 25-year-old.
June has been another step forward for Brandon Dixon. He’s played in 17 games on the month for the Louisville Bats. Over that span he’s hit .291/.427/.491. That’s come along with 12 walks and just 14 strikeouts in 68 plate appearances. The walk rate has really jumped up during the month and his strikeout rate has also dropped for the third straight month.
Over the last two seasons, Brandon Dixon has played 20+ games at first base, second base, third base, center field and right field between his time in Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Louisville. There’s a lot of position flexibility from Dixon. Offensively there’s plenty of pop in his bat and while he’s not going to be confused with Billy Hamilton, he’s got a little bit of speed and he’s used it well on the bases in the minor leagues. He’s stolen 51 bases in 63 attempts over the last three seasons. That’s an 81% success rate. Perhaps he could be a very useful utility player in the near-term future for the Reds if he keeps on hitting like he has the last two months in Louisville.
Doug Norman expected to sign
The Cincinnati Reds are expected to sign 25th round pick Doug Norman according to TigerRag.com. The right handed reliever barely pitched in 2017. He tore his UCL in late February and underwent Tommy John surgery. The Reds were undeterred by the idea of Norman recovering from the surgery.
With everything that’s happened with me and the cards that I’ve been dealt, they made me an offer that’s just too good to pass up
While he hasn’t signed yet, he’s expected to be in the fold before the deadline rolls around at 5pm ET on July 7th. The typical recover time for Tommy John surgery is anywhere from 12-18 months. It’s not likely that we will see him in April of next season, but at some point during the year, assuming there are no setbacks, it’s likely we will see him on the mound somewhere in the organization next summer. You can read what I wrote about him on draft day here.