Cincinnati Reds: New hitting coach Turner Ward brings the lumber

If Turner Ward installs the same philosophy with this new team that he employed in Los Angeles, Cincinnati Reds fans will see lots of base runners and home runs.

Earlier this week the Cincinnati Reds made another eyebrow-raising staff hire when they named Turner Ward as their new hitting coach.  Ward, who spent the past three seasons with the two-time defending NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers,  joins pitching coach Derek Johnson as the first two additions to manager David Bell‘s staff.

Offensively the Dodgers have been unrivaled the past two seasons in the senior circuit.  When you take a close look at the numbers it’s easy to see why.  During the 2018 campaign, Dodger sluggers lead the league in both home runs and slugging percentage. The Dodgers were also the only NL team to post an OPS+ above 100.  Once again leading the league by a wide margin.

Finally, Los Angeles hitters have also been the league leaders in drawing base on balls the past two summers.  The formula LA used is a pretty simple one.  Get guys on base and rack up extra-base hits.

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Will this recipe work in Cincinnati?  I believe so. One of the areas in which the Reds offense excels is their ability to reach base.  This past season the Reds finished 4th in the league with .328 on-base percentage.  Any line-up featuring Joey Votto and Jesse Winker is going to provide plenty of RBI opportunities for Scooter Gennett and Eugenio Suarez.

However, the Reds were slightly below league average in slugging percentage during the 2018 season.  This is one of the reasons why the Reds must find a consistent power source deeper in the batting order.

Perhaps the power source to truly make Ward’s offense dangerous is currently on the roster in the form of Josè Peraza.  Last year the Reds shortstop had career highs in both doubles and homers.  Also worth mentioning is Ward has a history of turning unlikely candidates into feared hitters.

Kike Hernández spent three years under Ward’s tutelage and to say he became a different hitter is a massive understatement.  In the 2016 season, Hernández slashed an abysmal .190/.283/.324 with 7 round trippers.  Fast forward to 2018 and Hernández slashed .256/.336/.470 with 21 bombs.  If Ward can extract similar power numbers from Peraza the Reds offense could become a juggernaut.

Another hitter who could flourish under Ward’s guidance is the aforementioned Jesse Winker.  For a player entering only his second full season in the Majors, Winker has a veteran’s knowledge of the strike zone.  Over the course of 334 plate appearance in 2018 Winker produced a .405 on-base percentage.  But can Ward find an untapped power to add to the young left-handed hitting outfielder’s arsenal?

If Ward’s work with Justin Turner is any indication the answer is a resounding yes. Before Turner Ward took over the hitting duties Turner had never hit more than 16 home runs or slugged over .493.  The past three seasons in Hollywood has seen Turner transform from an average utility infielder to one of the most feared hitters in the league.

During that time Turner has averaged a .312/.406/.518 slash line.   He has also hit as many as 27 home runs and slugged .530 in a season.  It’s not impossible to imagine similar numbers for Winker in the near future.

While Turner Ward won’t have the depth of sluggers in the Queen City as he enjoyed in Tinseltown, he has more than enough offensive firepower to leave the base paths smoking. The Cincinnati Reds appear to have made another great hire with the addition of Turner Ward.