Cincinnati Reds Should Push Jay Bruce With Kyle Waldrop
By Robb Hoff
@NFLNostradamus
Getty Images
The Cincinnati Reds thought Jay Bruce could be counted on to deliver the run production needed by the team after he hit at least 30 home runs and drove in at least 97 runs in each of the three years before 2014, but Bruce failed so bad in 2014 that the Reds should now have another player on their opening day roster who can push Bruce right away in right field — a player like Kyle Waldrop, who will be 23 years old at the start of the 2015 season.
Bruce hit .217 in 493 at-bats in 2014 with just 18 homers and 66 RBIs. The drop-off in production was so steep and so alarming that the Reds can’t afford to watch Bruce tank out of the gate in 2015. A young player like Waldrop could force the issue, even though Waldrop split the 2014 season between High-A ball and Double-A.
The left-handed hitting Waldrop is climbing through the Reds’ farm system with another promising left-handed hitting outfielder in Jesse Winker, but Waldrop is better suited for right field than Winker. While both prospects are coveted for their bats, Waldrop hit .338 with a .905 OPS in 2014 and is currently hitting for the second highest average in the Arizona Fall League with the second most RBIs behind Winker.
Winker is just 21 years old and probably should be allowed to develop at least another year in the minors, unless he earns the chance to be the Reds’ everyday left fielder for 2015 during spring training.
The Reds could also consider Donald Lutz as the right fielder to press Bruce into performing better, but Lutz has failed to produce in his stints the last two years with the Reds. Like Waldrop, Lutz had only completed a split season between High-A and Double-A before he was called up to join the Reds in 2013.
Robb Hoff is a Cincinnati Reds writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @NFLNostradamus, like him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.
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