The Cincinnati Reds could be calling up top prospect, Nick Senzel, later this week according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Per MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, Senzel is expected to be added to Cincinnati's roster when the team returns home Friday to face the San Francisco Giants, Heyman adds.
Senzel, MLB.com's No. 5 overall prospect, will most likely take over as the Reds' everyday center fielder, a position he moved to during spring training after appearing as an infielder (second, third base) for the majority of his baseball career.
The Reds reassigned Senzel to minor league camp after he went 12-for-39 (.308) with six doubles, three RBI and four stolen bases in 12 spring training games. After the decision, Senzel's agent, Joel Wolfe, told ESPN's Jeff Passan that the move was "a simply egregious case of service-time manipulation." Reds president Dick Williams responded, telling The Athletic's Trent Rosecrans that the decision was not tied to service time. Senzel was sidelined with a right ankle sprain to start the Triple-A season, but he picked right back up where he left off and is slashing .296/.345/.444 in six games for Triple-A Louisville.
The Reds are most likely hoping that a Senzel call-up can help improve their struggling outfield. Senzel, the No 2 overall pick in the 2016 MLB draft, is a pure hitter whose makes consistent hard contact. The Cincinnati outfield combo of Jesse Winker, Scott Schebler, Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig have put up really lackluster numbers to start the season. Senzel could replace Schebler, who is batting .135 with 26 strikeouts through 27 games. In right, Puig is hitting .200/.228/.368 while Kemp (.200/.210/.283) and Winker (.239/.316/.534) have spilt time at left, both with not much better results.
Entering the final day of April, the Reds sit at the bottom of the National League Central with a 12-16 record. Cincinnati will continue its four-game series against the Mets on Tuesday at Citi Field -- fans can stream regionally via fuboTV (Try for free).
