photo courtesy of masslive.com
Darnell McDonald, who has hit all of .143/.217/.286 this year in 23 plate appearances, was placed on the disabled list today, according to Peter Abraham. Tim Britton of the Providence Journal says it’s McDonalds’ left quad that has sent him packing; to replace him, the Red Sox have called up Josh Reddick from Pawtucket.
Reddick may see a fair amount of playing time during his stay, as J.D. Drew is expected to sit out a few days, but, as always, it’s tough to know what to expect from him. He destroyed baseballs left and right in April, slugging .636 for the month, but he is down to .248/.344/.527 after a more subdued May. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that line, and, unlike previous showings from Reddick, this one includes the possibility that he will actually draw a walk or wait for a pitch to hit while in the majors.
Reddick has 26 walks in his first 195 plate appearances, compared to the 25 he drew all of last year, over the course of 481 plate appearances with Pawtucket. His lack of patience and his inability to wait for a pitch to drive has led him to hit just .182/.208/.331 in his major league career, as pitchers exploit his expanded strike zone, leaving him helpless at the plate.
Keep an eye on his walk and strikeout rates, as well as his aggressive nature at the plate. His original promotion to the majors seemed to be what caused his strike zone (which was never small to begin with) to the point it was at last year–if he succumbs to those bad habits again, it will be a short and fruitless trip to the majors for the 24-year-old prospect.
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While you’ll be missed elsewhere, here’s to hoping you’ll still be writing here regularly (or perhaps even more)!
Not to speak for him, but Marc will be around these parts for a good while longer. We’re lucky to have him. Something RSB has over BP.
Good to hear!
Good luck to Marc on whatever’s coming next!
That .248/.344/.527 line would be just fine if he put it up in the majors, but it doesn’t translate so well from AAA. His strikeout rate doesn’t look bad though, so has he just encountered a dip in BABIP?
So far, it’s strikeouts 1, walks 0. Come on, walks! You can do it! We believe in you!
Were very happy for you.Good luck,say hi to your dad for us.We’ll keep watching.Go Josh. Mike & Andrea
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