After an outstanding debut season in 2016, Nick Senzel packed his bags for Daytona to kick off 2017. Things got out to a quick start as he went 6-19 in the first four games. After that, it slowed down some. From April 10th through the 25th, the third baseman hit just .218 for the Tortugas. The month would end on a high note for Senzel, though, going 9-23 (.391) with four doubles in the final five games. The finish would lead to a respectable .278/.333/.402 line with seven walks and 20 strikeouts in 24 games.
That hot streak to end April carried into May. Over the first week of the month, Nick Senzel hit .429 with more walks than strikeouts. While the rest of the month wasn’t quite as good as that, it was a step forward from the previous month. In total he would hit .317/.378/.505 with Daytona. In those 26 games he walked nine times with 25 strikeouts to go with 14 extra-base hits.
The first three weeks of June couldn’t have gone much better for Nick Senzel. They would be his final three weeks in Daytona and he didn’t hold back in the pitcher friendly league. Over 12 games (the All-Star break fell in this time) he hit .333/.429/.563 with eight extra-base hits, seven walks and just nine strikeouts. Three days later he was in Chattanooga to play in Double-A with Pensacola. Things began slowly with the Blue Wahoos, hitting just .200 over the first eight games to end the month.
July couldn’t have gotten out to much of a better start. After getting hits in the final two games of June, Nick Senzel ran off another 14 straight games with a hit before his 16-game hitting streak came to an end on July 17th. He would hit .370 the rest of the month as he put up his best month of the year to that point. In 27 games he posted a .358/.414/.575 line for Pensacola.
Nick Senzel carried that hot bat into August to continue demoralizing Southern League pitchers. From the start of the month through the 24th he played in 22 games and hit .359/.451/.641 with six home runs, 13 walks and 13 strikeouts. Unfortunately, though, his season ended on August 24th. After singling in the first inning he was checked out by the trainer. He remained in the game, but after the inning didn’t take the field. Eventually he was shut down after being diagnosed with positional vertigo. It would cost him about two weeks of games to end the season.
For all 2017 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).
Nick Senzel Spray Chart
Nick Senzel Scouting Report
Hitting | He shows the ability to hit the ball to all fields and can do so with authority. His speed also allows him to leg out infield hits, which lets his above-average hit tool play up a notch.
Power | While he’s like most other hitters who have more pull-side power, Senzel can hit the ball out to all fields. He can drive the ball out to the right-center gap now. He hit 14 home runs along with 40 doubles in 2017 and there’s more power waiting to come out in the future.
Running | The most underrated part of his game. He’s an above-average to plus speed guy.
Arm | He shows an accurate, strong throwing arm at third base that would play fine anywhere on the field.
Defense | He shows good reactions and athleticism at third base where he can make all of the plays.
There’s some question looming right now as to where Nick Senzel will eventually play for the Reds. With the breakout year of Eugenio Suarez in the big leagues in 2017 at third there are a lot of options. If it’s going to be Senzel that moves to another position, he appears to have the ability to slide to second base or to either of the corner outfield spots if the organization does decide to test those waters. For now, though, he projects as a high-average, quality defender at third base with plenty of pop in his bat and a chance to steal 15-20 bases. While it’s likely that he begins the 2018 season in Triple-A Louisville, there’s a good chance he’s in the big leagues before midseason.