Cincinnati Reds’ Adam Duvall is having the same issues as he did last year

The Cincinnati Reds have handed the clean-up spot to Adam Duvall, but he hasn’t corrected his issues.

Despite being the lone All-Star for the Cincinnati Reds, Adam Duvall didn’t have an elite season in 2016.  Duvall struck out 164 times to go with an OBP of .297.  Those are not All-Star numbers.  When he first came over, it appeared that he could be a number two hitter.

Duvall has found a niche on the Reds.  He is a slugger on a bad team.  He gets to bat fourth and hit home runs because management doesn’t see other, better options.

To start the 2017 season Duvall is doing more of the same.  He has an OBP of .269 with 22 strikeouts in 19 games.  Despite these mediocre numbers, Duvall is second in home runs and RBIs behind the suddenly resurgent Joey Votto.

With so many strikeouts often comes a correspondingly high number of walks.  For Duvall this is not the case.  The only other two members of the Reds’ Opening Day starting eight with fewer walks are catcher Tucker Barnhart and second baseman Jose Peraza.

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Three of the batters ahead of Duvall in walks are a bit surprising.  Scott Schebler usually collects a good amount of walks, but he is batting .191 and pitchers have no reason to pitch around him.  More alarming is the fact that Duvall is behind a pair of notorious wild swingers in Billy Hamilton and Zack Cozart.

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The Cincinnati Reds have already brought Phillip Ervin and Jesse Winker to Cincinnati for a taste of the big leagues.

The Reds are not being the same old conservative team that they have been in the past with young talent.  In the outfield there has already been a pair of MLB debuts for top prospects Phillip Ervin and Jesse Winker.  If Duvall and Schebler cannot turn things around, they may end up on the bench or in Louisville themselves.

Winker looked poised to make the Opening Day roster after the Brandon Phillips deal, but Patrick Kivlehan beat him out or he may already be in Cincinnati.

Duvall knows the secret to turning things around.  He did so the second half of last season.  That is what he needs to do again now.

Post All-Star Game last year, Duvall ratcheted back the home runs and slugging a bit to gain OBP.  It wasn’t a complete success as it cost him some batting average as well.  That, however, is the approach the Duvall needs to emulate.

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If Duvall can keep him strikeouts in line and his OBP respectable, the Reds can leave him alone in left field.  Then Ervin and Winker can battle it out to replace Schebler in right.  Otherwise, the regulars in the outfield for the second half of the season may not include a single starter from the Opening Day line-up.