Cincinnati Reds’ prospect Jesse Winker still considered an elite hitting talent

While Jesse Winker has remained in Triple-A for much of the Cincinnati Reds’ 2017 baseball season, it isn’t due to lack of talent.

The Cincinnati Reds called Jesse Winker up early in the 2017 season to give a look at MLB baseball. They have been talking about testing the waters for three years with Winker. They did the same thing for Phil Ervin. Winker appears ready, but Ervin does not.

Winker played in two games getting two at-bats. He had a two-RBI double and a strikeout. Then he returned to Louisville to stay, for now. There is nothing to worry about there.

Ervin played in three games, getting three plate appearances. Ervin walked once, but did not get his first MLB hit. His season at Louisville has likewise been difficult.

Winker is leading the Louisville Bats in batting average and is tied for the team lead in games played. Winker is second on the team with a .383 OBP. He is also third in slugging among players with at least 20 games played, despite his controversial low number of home runs.

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Winker only has a pair of home runs in the suddenly big playing Louisville Slugger Field. The team lead is Brandon Dixon with five. The Bats are not currently looking like sluggers as a team.

Jesse Winker has put together an impressive minor league career as one of the Cincinnati Reds’ top prospects.

More from Reds Prospects

Twice this season Winker has had a four hit game. That included a four run, two-run home run venture. The talent is there.

At every stop, aside from his first taste of Double-A, Winker batted above .280. That stop was also the only stop in which his OBP dipped below .375. The other thing that stands out about that stop is that he hit more fly balls than ground outs.

Over six minor league seasons, Winker has batted .297 with a .397 OBP. He also has a respectable .451 slugging percentage and 848 OPS. However, he has only had more than 60 RBIs once in his minor league career.

The most alarming stat is that he has topped out at 39 extra base hits in every season. With a high OBP Winker needs to have more risk for the pitchers to avoid the better defense at the MLB level. He also has an exceedingly high batting average of balls in play, which is likely not sustainable.

Next: Who does Jesse Winker remind us of?

Overall, Winker is a corner outfielder that should end up resembling the Saint Louis Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter. He has negligible power, but can hit like few others. As long as he continues to mature, Winker will continue to be an elite prospect for the Reds.

While Jesse Winker has remained in Triple-A for much of the Cincinnati Reds’ 2017 baseball season, it isn’t due to lack of talent.

Jesse Winker has put together an impressive minor league career as one of the Cincinnati Reds’ top prospects.

More from Reds Prospects

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