Cincinnati Reds: The long and hard fall of Derek Dietrich

Through the first two months of the season Derek Dietrich was arguably the Cincinnati Reds most valuable offensive player.  However, Dietrich’s once dynamic bat has gone bitterly cold.

Derek Dietrich‘s opening to the 2019 season was like a story straight out of Hollywood. Non-tendered by the Miami Marlins following the 2018 season, Dietrich signed as a minor league free agent with the Cincinnati Reds on February 19th. Having played all over the diamond, Dietrich gave the Reds the kind of versatility they’ve lacked in recent years from their bench.

Wasting absolutely no time at all, Dietrich endeared himself to Reds Country on Opening Day.  With the Reds trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th, Dietrich hit a pinch hit 3-run homer off the Pirates Richard Rodriguez to give the Reds a lead they would not relinquish. A sold out Great American Ball Park crowd demanded a curtain call and Dietrich enthusiastically obliged.

Luckily for the Reds, Dietrich was just getting warmed up. Due to a slow start at the plate from second baseman José Peraza who was replacing the injured Scooter Gennett, Dietrich suddenly found himself in the starting lineup as Peraza’s replacement.

Through the first two months of the season, Derek Dietrich became something of a folk hero among the Cincinnati Reds faithful. The 30-year-old Cleveland native brought a swagger and style to the game Reds fans haven’t experienced since the days of Brandon Phillips.

Sporting a huge gold chain and a deep admiration of his long home runs, Dietrich was a player the home fans loved and opposing fanbases hated. Whether he was wearing a mustache made from eye-black or pretending to be a beekeeper, Dietrich was much more entertaining than your average ballplayer.

The legend of Derek Dietrich reached on crescendo on May 28th. Blasting 3 homers at GABP against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Dietrich found himself sitting at 17 home runs and slashing .254/.364/.720 on the season. Many in Reds Country were clamoring for Dietz to be a National League All-Star or, at the very least, a representative in the Home Run Derby.

However, since that night, Dietrich has not been the same player.  While some may argue it’s just a natural regression to the mean, his decline has been so profound that Dietrich hardly warrants a starting assignment at this point.

After having an electrifying April and May, Derek Dietrich entered June with 17 round trippers and 36 RBIs. As good as Dietrich was to start the season, he was just as awful in June. Hitting 1 home run with 4 knocked in, Dietrich compiled a horrendous .140/.329/.263 slash line in 74 plate appearances.

Unfortunately, July has been much of the same. Slashing .167/.333/.333 with a home run and 3 RBIs, Derek Dietrich is just a shell of the player that opened the season. As a result, his playing time has been significantly reduced. In June, Dietrich started 17 games and played in a total of 21 contests. For July, Dietrich has appeared in 18 games, but has made just 9 starts.

Granted Scooter Gennett’s return from the injured list was destined to reduce Dietrich’s playing time, but it’s the emergence of Phillip Ervin and Josh VanMeter that may ultimately determine Dietrich’s role for the remainder of the season.

Despite the paltry numbers Dietrich has contributed of late, let’s not lose of sight of the fact that he does have 19 homers, a .350 OBP and 122 OPS+. If you were told before the season that Dietrich would produce those numbers, everyone in Reds Country would have been thrilled.

The Derek Dietrich story has Hollywood written all over it. We’ve seen the flash and excitement at the start and witnessed the downfall in the middle. Now, it’s time for the redemption and a crowd pleasing ending. Here’s hoping Derek Dietrich will let it fly once again.