Two sides to the Reddick story
Hope is for OF to play every day, but he has to be able to hit lefties
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Josh Reddick’s playing time against lefthanded pitchers will be a story line to watch this season and throughout his four years with the Astros.
Reddick’s career splits suggest he’s best utilized almost exclusively against righthanders. But the Astros didn’t give the eightyear veteran the most lucrative contract of Jim Crane’s ownership tenure to be a $52 million platoon player.
Performance ultimately will dictate how often Astros manager A.J. Hinch writes the lefthanded-hitting Reddick’s name into the lineup against samesided pitchers. Judging from Hinch’s comments this week, it sounds as if he plans to play Reddick against lefthanders more often than not.
“I want to look at him against some lefties. I want him to be an everyday player,” Hinch said. “Obviously, I’ll have to mix and match and try to get Jake (Marisnick) in there when I can.
“The more I’ve looked at Josh’s swing and his comfort level against lefties … I’ll choose stylistically based on type of pitcher. There are some lefties that are tougher on lefties than others. It’s not just you see a lefthanded pitcher and all of a sudden throw in all of your righthanded guys.”
Stylistically, lefthanders who can “move the ball both directions” with a sinker or a wipeout breaking ball are those who give same-sided hitters the most trouble, Hinch said. Batter handedness isn’t as much as a factor against fastball-predominant lefthanders, he added.
So while Reddick might not be in the Astros’ lineup against Chris Sale and the Boston ace’s filthy slider, he should play against American League West foes like Seattle’s James Paxton and Oakland’s Sean Manaea, each of whom threw fastballs nearly 60 percent of the time last season.
The expectation is the 30-year-old Reddick will play right field and likely bat sixth against righthanders and shift to left field and perhaps drop in the batting order when he plays against lefthanders. His career platoon splits are drastic — .270/.330/.457 against righties as opposed to .218/.280/.360 versus lefties — so he will need to improve against same-sided pitching to ensure he stays in the lineup against them.
Beltran a factor
How often the switchhitting and soon to be 40-year-old Carlos Beltran is able to play left field also will be a factor. Hinch has said he would like Beltran to play 30 to 40 games in left this season. Left fielder Nori Aoki is expected to play only against righthanders.
“Obviously, the better (Reddick) does and the more comfortable he looks, the more at-bats (against lefthanders) that come with it,” Hinch said. “He’s not going to be a strict platoon guy right out of the chute.”
Reddick’s struggles against lefthanders came to a head late last season when, while with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he fell into a platoon with Yasiel Puig. Of the Dodgers’ 11 postseason games against Washington and the Chicago Cubs, Reddick started all but the three matchups against lefthanders Gio Gonzalez and Jon Lester.
Reddick said his mindset has always been he expects to play every day “regardless of who’s on the mound.” He said the Astros told him when he signed that when he played left field it would be against lefthanders and that he would play his natural right field when facing righthanders. He was pleased to find his name in the lineup March 6 when the lefthanded Sale pitched against the Astros.
“I’ve got to improve on facing those guys and work harder and just be a better hitter against those guys so I don’t have to worry about that anymore,” he said. “Just force their hand to put me in the lineup.”
2016 a struggle
Results will determine playing time, especially on a roster with arguably the deepest position player group in the AL and a high degree of positional flexibility. Last season was Reddick’s worst against lefties — he batted a woeful .155 without even one extra-base hit in 97 at-bats — and also the least he played against them since he became a major league regular in 2012 with Oakland.
“It seemed like I only had one chance to succeed at it, and when I failed, I wasn’t given that chance anymore, especially when I went over to L.A.,” he said. “Hopefully, that’s something I can rebuild on this year — get with (Astros hitting coach Dave Hudgens) about working on hitting lefties, getting in the cage, and maybe even getting some lefthanded curveball machine and working on standing in the box right there.”
Reddick has managed only one hit in his 10 atbats against lefthanders in spring training while struggling offensively in general. With six games remaining on the Astros’ schedule before they break camp Wednesday, Reddick is batting just .205 (8-for-39) with zero extra-base hits. Hinch insisted he isn’t “the least bit worried about him being prepared for the season.”
Reddick said he discovered recently he was flying open too early in his stride. He studied video and worked on fixing the issue before the Astros’ game Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals in which he singled in each of his three plate appearances. He hopes for more repetitions against lefthanders before the regular season.
“I’ll talk to (Hinch) and see if we do have any specific lefties that are starting, and hopefully, I’ll get thrown in there,” he said. “If not, then I’ll get out there and work on the machine and (see) all the angles I can from a lefthander as much as possible.”