So what is Josh Reddick anyway?

[Dojji]

I'm sure we're all grateful that Reddick rose to the occasion this year and is killing the ball as a Crawford replacement.

 

WHen the Ortiz suspension ends this franchise is going to have to make a decision about this kid. There's plenty of evidence that the initial rush he was on has slowed right down, over the course of this month his average has dipped from over .400 (!) to about .347.

 

July line so far .256'/.333/.590, which is a lot closer to his Pawtucket numbers. This is his line after playing every day for several weeks in the wake of the Crawford injury. So the batting average looks like it might be an illusion, but the kid can nonetheless put a charge into the ball when he gets hold of it.

 

THe X factor here of course is that that's an OK line for a right fielder, but as a center fielder, it's absolutely absurd, and Reddick proved he has the range to handle CF if he has to.

 

The comp I see right now for this kid, is David Murphy with more power. Murphy has made a career of being a useful and versatile 3 position outfielder for Texas who can play for weeks at a time at an adequate level if he had to. Throw on another .020 to the SLG ro Murphy's average numbers and what you have, is a starting corner outfielder. all the kid needs to do to be there IMHO is hit .250 or so

 

On the other hand he could just as easily be a lefthanded Jeff Fraocneur. Or if his game at center is legit, or it turns out he can hit .290, he could become a superstar. Or he could be trade bait to a team more patient with prospects. Or he could turn out to be a bust because pitchers figure out some sort of poison pitch. Could go any nf a number of ways.

[Dojji]

I managed to misspell "bait."

 

To hot my not brain good today.

[AtWork]

I really haven't seen enough of him in center to judge if he'd be capable of playing there full time. Defensively, he's a well above league average corner outfielder though so even if he doesn't hit for an .850 OPS he'd be a useful player.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Should of took off "stud" and put "bad ass."

[Dojji]

Consider this.

 

There is no reason whatsoever that they couldn't have DH'd Reddick and played Ellsbury on CF.

[Youk Of The Nation]

A werewolf! I've been saying it for weeks!

 

Also, he's a great option for 4th OF.

[boston22407]

Not special and not bad like drew ,Guy gets the job done

[AtWork]

Consider this.

 

There is no reason whatsoever that they couldn't have DH'd Reddick and played Ellsbury on CF.

 

At first I thought they were showcasing Reddick as a CF for a trade but then a friend pointed out that Ellsbury went 0-for-7 in the 16 inning game the night before and could probably use some rest.

[Station 13]

An Oriole Killer.

[iortiz]

Plain and simple: Bring a damn SP and once and for all give the damn job to the kid. He's not a fluke anymore!

 

In the worst scenario, I don't see the kid batting below .250 as everyday player, now way!

 

Our rotation is shouting for HELP.!

 

We are the BEST offense in all baseball, no more help needed here!. On the other hand, we are the 26th in QUALITY STARTS and the 16th in ERA.

 

Is it really so hard to see? The negative/bad impact would be by far much more if we don't bring a solid SP than don't bring a RF for the rest of the season and Playoffs.

 

BTW... We can gain a lot if the kid shows consistency and if he consolidates with solid numbers ... if that happens, we can focus in cover and sign what we really will need in the offseason.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

You should have put that in the 2011 trade deadline thread

[Palodios]

Consider this.

 

There is no reason whatsoever that they couldn't have DH'd Reddick and played Ellsbury on CF.

 

They gave Ellsbury-- who is probably leading the league in PA-- a day off after a 16 inning game. I think that's a pretty good reason to me. EDIT: On WEEI Tito said the same exact thing.

 

Reddick is trade bait. After all the whining in the gamethreads about Mcdonald getting more ABs, I realized that they're killing Mcdonald's average in order to showcase Reddick against pitchers he is more likely to do well against. Look at the pitchers he has gotten opportunities against. He hasn't faced many lefthanded pitchers.

[AtWork]

They gave Ellsbury-- who is probably leading the league in PA-- a day off after a 16 inning game. I think that's a pretty good reason to me. EDIT: On WEEI Tito said the same exact thing.

 

Reddick is trade bait. After all the whining in the gamethreads about Mcdonald getting more ABs, I realized that they're killing Mcdonald's average in order to showcase Reddick against pitchers he is more likely to do well against. Look at the pitchers he has gotten opportunities against. He hasn't faced many lefthanded pitchers.

 

I haven't checked his splits lately, but isn't Reddick killing lefties?

[Palodios]

I haven't checked his splits lately' date=' but isn't Reddick killing lefties?[/quote']

 

In 15 AB, he has 8 hits. 15 AB.

[RedSox_Ruszkowski]

They gave Ellsbury-- who is probably leading the league in PA-- a day off after a 16 inning game. I think that's a pretty good reason to me. EDIT: On WEEI Tito said the same exact thing.

 

Reddick is trade bait. After all the whining in the gamethreads about Mcdonald getting more ABs, I realized that they're killing Mcdonald's average in order to showcase Reddick against pitchers he is more likely to do well against. Look at the pitchers he has gotten opportunities against. He hasn't faced many lefthanded pitchers.

 

hmmm... i have to agree with you here. if beltran winds up with the pirates, we might see reddick ni a sox uniform after the deadline. i wuold hate to see him go, because i do think with a little more time he can be an everyday RF, but i think the FO has switched their brains to " MUST WIN NOW". i personally don't think we need to go for s SP. once lester gets back, and hopefully clay comes back well, all we need to focus on is october. our 3 will be Lester, Clay, and Josh. and in the bullpen Aceves, Miller, wake, etc?! RF is definitely our top priority, but i think we could still have a decent year if Reddick gets some more time in. I'm all over the place. i just can't wait to see what happens!

[AtWork]

In 15 AB' date=' he has 8 hits. [b']15 AB.[/b]

 

It doesn't make sense that they'd hide him against lefties considering he's never had a problem hitting lefties. He's a career .440/.481/.630 hitter against lefties in the majors. And here are his split in the minors for every level in which he got 100+ AB.

 

2010 AAA

vs. L - .274/.310/.430

vs. R - .262/.303/.482

 

2009 AA

vs. L - .279/.351/.524

vs. R - .259/.377/.552

 

2008 AA

vs. L - .241/.371/.552

vs. R - .214/.267/.417

 

2008 A

vs. L - .348/.370/.640

vs. R - .336/.376/.570

 

2007 A

vs. L - .310/.337/.530

vs. R - .306/.366/.536

[SoxSport]

Reddick and Kalish will battle it out next year for RF. Longer term, CF may become open for Kalish or Crawford if Ellsbury leaves. Reddick has hit well before in Boston, and may be for real. Some guys are just more motivated playing in the Show. You stay with this kid. He's playing well.

 

The Sox have some depth in the OF long term. They should not piss it away for a Beltran or other quick fix.

[msubulldogs21]

I'm really liking what I'm seeing from Reddick. Now that Crawford is back and Ortiz will be back off his suspension on Friday, Reddick needs to be playing consistently in RF and bench Drew. It certainly looks like Drew has slipped a lot offensively and I don't think he's going to return to the player he was from recent years, so play Reddick in RF and keep the hot bat in the lineup.

[iortiz]

It doesn't make sense that they'd hide him against lefties considering he's never had a problem hitting lefties. He's a career .440/.481/.630 hitter against lefties in the majors. And here are his split in the minors for every level in which he got 100+ AB.

 

This!

 

Agreed.

[Palodios]

It doesn't make sense that they'd hide him against lefties considering he's never had a problem hitting lefties. He's a career .440/.481/.630 hitter against lefties in the majors. And here are his split in the minors for every level in which he got 100+ AB.

 

I wasn't arguing that they'd platoon Reddick. I was arguing that they'd trade him for someone to platoon with Kalish/Crawford.

[SCM33]

You cant discount how badly he struggled in 2009, 2010 and 2011 before he was called up.

 

MLB pitchers will eventually figure him out.

[ORS]

You cant discount how badly he struggled in 2009, 2010 and 2011 before he was called up.

 

MLB pitchers will eventually figure him out.

You can if he continues to play at a high level in MLB. Just look at Hanley Ramirez. He was scuffling a bit in AA (.720 OPS in his last year), got traded to the Marlins who have no qualms about playing young players, and he was a perrenial MVP candidate. Sometimes something clicks, even if that click only happens at the highest level.

[Dojji]

Reddick was Working On Things in the minors. We know the team doesn't pay a lot of attention to minor league numbers, they look for tools and skillsets. Reddick was trying to improve a skillset that the FO had let him know was a bit of a dealbreaker -- in this case, Reddick was working on his hitting discipline, which has significantly improved from a guy with an ISoD of like .030 a few years ago in A ball.

[SCM33]

You can if he continues to play at a high level in MLB. Just look at Hanley Ramirez. He was scuffling a bit in AA (.720 OPS in his last year)' date=' got traded to the Marlins who have no qualms about playing young players, and he was a perrenial MVP candidate. Sometimes something clicks, even if that click only happens at the highest level.[/quote']

 

Point taken sir!

[Dojji]

Reddick looks very natural in the 5 hole.

 

Tito has to be thinking of the best way to keep this kid in the lineup. He's not blind and stupid.

[AtWork]

I wasn't arguing that they'd platoon Reddick. I was arguing that they'd trade him for someone to platoon with Kalish/Crawford.

 

You stated that you believed they were keeping Reddick from facing lefties to make his numbers look better.

[Palodios]

You stated that you believed they were keeping Reddick from facing lefties to make his numbers look better.

 

Ah, sorry, I'm definitely confusing a handful of arguments. But I still stand by that, simply because there is zero reason why McDonald would start ahead of him against lefties, if that wasn't what they believed as an organization.

[AtWork]

Ah' date=' sorry, I'm definitely confusing a handful of arguments. But I still stand by that, simply because there is zero reason why McDonald would start ahead of him against lefties, if that wasn't what they believed as an organization.[/quote']

 

I imagine they're giving McDonald starts because they're trying to evaluate if he's worth keeping on the roster going into the trade deadline or if they need to replace him. I imagine they start McDonald against lefties because he's a .111/.200/.148 hitter against righties this year.

[Palodios]

I imagine they're giving McDonald starts because they're trying to evaluate if he's worth keeping on the roster going into the trade deadline or if they need to replace him. I imagine they start McDonald against lefties because he's a .111/.200/.148 hitter against righties this year.

 

I just want to make my point clear by emphasizing some of the lefties that Reddick has sat for while Mcdonald has played

 

David Price(x2), Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Ricky Romero, Zach Britton, Randy Wolf, Shaun Marcum(RHP)

[mvp 78]

He's a very poor defensive CF. He's a nice 4th OF here, but could be a good option as an everyday guy for some other team.