‘A big part of our team’: Reds’ Naquin continues turnaround
In the Cincinnati Reds dugout on May 9, even though outfielder Tyler Naquin was hitting .197 at the time, he could sense that a recent adjustment he had made at the plate was working.
Naquin later admitted that he was slumping, but the adjustment to fix his timing was starting to lead to more consistent contact. So that day in the dugout, Naquin told Reds manager David Bell, “It’s coming. I’m going to get hot.”
Naquin was right about the adjustment and right about his prediction. Entering Friday’s game, Naquin had 14 hits and was batting over .410 over his past nine games. And in this week’s series against the Cleveland Guardians, Naquin carried the Reds offense in a two-game series sweep.
“To my eye, it just looks like his bat speed is really great right now,” Bell said. “I know there are reasons for that, a lot of little adjustments he has made along the way. But he can hit, we know that. (He’s) a big part of our team.”
In the four-game series vs the Guardians, he went 8 for 15 with two doubles, three home runs, four RBIS and seven runs scored.
After Thursday’s game, Naquin won the Ohio Cup Most Outstanding Player award for the series.
“I didn’t know it was a thing until they brought it in here,” Naquin said. “It’s cool. I’ll take all the trophies I get. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a fun team, we’re hitting our stride and playing some good ball.”
Bell said Naquin has been swinging the bat as well as he has all year.
“We’ve seen him do it before, it’s no surprise,” Bell said. “He’s a big part of our lineup, really, no matter where he hits. It’s been good to see him really swinging the bat.”