Cincinnati Reds: Derek Dietrich’s hot bat has come to a screeching halt

Derek Dietrich exploded onto the scene after his Opening Day homer help give the Cincinnati Reds the win. Over the last month, however, Dietz has really struggled.

From his first at-bat of the season, it looked like Derek Dietrich could do no wrong. The left-handed slugger became a Cincinnati Reds legend overnight with his home run on Opening Day that led to the team’s first win of the season. However, Dietrich has struggled of late and his anemic bat has become a liability.

Earlier this season, it looked as though Dietrich was an unstoppable force. Not even a swarm of bees nor a power outage could slow down the Reds utility infielder. But the wheels appear to have come off and Dietz is mired in a horrific slump. After leading the Reds in home runs throughout most of the season, Dietrich hasn’t seen a ball leave the yard since June 18th.

Since that time, Dietrich has played in 15 games and is 5-for-33 (.152) with 1 RBI and 13 strikeouts. For a player who seemed to be entrenched in the heart of the Reds’ batting order, he’s been hitting like someone who belongs in the No. 7 or 8 hole.

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Both Eugenio Suárez and Yasiel Puig have passed Dietrich for the team lead in homers. Suárez and Puig each have 20 long balls to their name while Dietrich is still sitting on 18. While Dietrich still leads the squad in slugging percentage and OPS, those numbers have definitely taken a nosedive.

Dietrich’s OPS was sitting at 1.085 following his 3 home run performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ever since then, it seems like Dietrich has struggled to find his swing. Since that heroic performance on May 28th, the Reds’ slugger is slashing .169/.326/.273. He has 26 strikeouts during that timeframe and more hit-by-pitches (9) than extra-base hits (5).

Reds Country has fallen in love with the Ohio native, and include me in the group of fans who love what Derek Dietrich brings to the team. Dietrich brings versatility, power, and athleticism to this Reds squad. Furthermore, he brings a swagger that borders between humble and confident. Whatever you want to call it, Dietz brings personality to the Reds clubhouse.

I firmly believe that Dietrich is part of the Reds’ plans beyond the 2019 season. He’s under team control for one more year and David Bell seems to salivate over players with the type of versatility that Dietrich brings to the game. Dietrich would be the perfect compliment to Phillip Ervin in left field next season, with Bell being able to exploit lefty/ righty matchups.

Hopefully Derek Dietrich rebounds to begin the second half of this season. With the Cincinnati Reds’ infield now at full strength following the return of Scooter Gennett, Dietrich may occupy the role he was supposed to play when he was signed during the offseason.

I don’t expect Dietrich to play at the level he was back in May. During that stretch of games, Dietz was on an unbelievable hot streak. However, I do expect Dietrich to get back to the type of player he was in Miami and look to raise his batting average. During his last 3 seasons with the Marlins, Dietrich hit .264. He’s currently sitting on a .221 batting average.

David Bell has a plethora of talent to choose from and Derek Dietrich is definitely on that list. However, the excessive amount of talent allows Bell to play the hot hand. Right now, Dietrich is not amongst that group. Let’s hope we see Dietrich let it fly during the second half of the season.