The Cincinnati Reds are calling up outfielder Rece Hinds and he’s starting in right field tonight against the Colorado Rockies. How long Hinds will be up is unclear, but we do know that Austin Slater, who the team acquired in a trade late last night, isn’t expected to join the team until tomorrow. That could leave tonight as Hinds only chance for now to get on the big league field as he could be optioned back to the minor leagues upon the arrival of Slater.
This season has been a bit of a struggle for Hinds in Triple-A. He’s played in 77 games for the Bats this year in Louisville and he’s hit just .216/.290/.409. The power output has been there. The 23-year-old has 14 doubles, two triples, and 13 home runs. It’s the rest of the stuff at the plate that’s been lacking to this point. He’s struck out 126 times in 328 plate appearances this year and it’s really limited what he’s been able to do offensively.
Of course, there’s more to the game of baseball than just hitting. Hinds has speed, far more than you would expect when you see him. He’s an above-average runner and he’s stolen 32 bases and been caught just nine times in 186 games played over the last two seasons between Double-A and Triple-A. In the field he’s a good defender in right field and he has plus arm strength. He has 20 assists over the last two seasons while playing in 156 games (he was the designated hitter in the other games, just in case you picked up on the discrepancy in games played in that paragraph).
No matter what pitch is thrown, Hinds has a tough time making contact with it by comparison to your average player. But there are some pitches he has more success against than others. He’s hit the best against the 4-seam fastball this year, with a .351 average and a .742 slugging. The 2-seamer is another pitch he’s done well on, hitting .346 and slugging .527. Hinds has also been good against the cutter, hitting .267 and slugging .567 on them.
He has struggled against all other offerings, though. He’s hitting .191 against the change up, .159 against the slider, .119 against the curve, and .167 against the splitter. Tonight’s starter for Colorado, Ryan Feltner, throws both a 4-seamer and a 2-seamer about 50% of the time (combined). But he leans heavily on his slider, too, using it 30% of the time.
The Other Moves of the Day
While Rece Hinds getting called up for his big league debut is the biggest news among the transactions for the day, there were more than a few moves. Hinds is being called up because Stuart Fairchild is heading to the injured list with a back injury. Austin Slater, as noted above, is not in town yet and so that left the Reds in need for an additional player.
Cincinnati is also calling up reliever Yosver Zulueta. Like Hinds, he may only be up for a day. The Reds sent Graham Ashcraft back to Triple-A, clearing a spot for Zulueta on the roster. But manager David Bell noted to the media this afternoon that Nick Lodolo is expected to start tomorrow for Cincinnati and that means the Reds will need to send a pitcher back down to make room for him.
For Zulueta, it will be his second time in the big leagues. He was called up last month and allowed a run in 3.0 innings out of the bullpen during his lone outing – which also happened to be his big league debut. He was sent back to the minors following the game. That run he allowed in that game for the Reds was one of only two that he’s given up in 26.0 innings since May 10th.