Reds: Hitting streak suggests Nick Senzel is ready to return

Nick Senzel has been on a rehab assignment with the Louisville Bats since the end of July, and over the last six games, the former No. 2 overall pick has caught fire. In 25 at-bats, Senzel is hitting .360 with three doubles and a triple. The Cincinnati Reds could use Senzel’s hot bat in the everyday lineup.

Where Senzel fits into the lineup may be a question, the majority of the 26-year-old’s starts in Louisville have come in center field. Senzel has also spent a little bit of time at shortstop, but with David Bell looking to get Eugenio Suarez and Mike Moustakas in the lineup at the same time, you’d have to think that the majority of the former first-round pick’s starts would come in the outfield.

Senzel is on a six-game hit streak with the Louisville Bats. The right-handed hitting Senzel has only struck out twice during that time and has two multi-hit games in that span as well.

Nick Senzel should be wrapping up his rehab and returning to the Reds lineup.

It seems like it’s only a matter of time before Nick Senzel is back with the Cincinnati Reds. In fact, I’d wager that there’s a great chance we see No. 15 back in the outfield grass at Great American Ball Park this week when the Chicago Cubs come to town.

Since Senzel has been out of the lineup, we’ve seen Bell go with the combination of Aristides Aquino, Tyler Naquin, and Shogo Akiyama in center field. There’ve been mixed results with that trio. Since August began, Naquin has played much better, hitting .323 and posting a 151 wRC+.

Naquin also ended his homer-less streak this past week after laughing a deep ball into the seats on Thursday in Atlanta. Before that, Naquin hadn’t hit a home run since July 3rd versus the Chicago Cubs.

Akiyama has grabbed several starts in Senzel’s absence as well. The Japanese outfielder is hitting .294 since the month began and owns a 26.1% walk-rate during that time. Akiyama actually has more walks (6) than hits (5) during that timeframe.

The Cincinnati Reds should be eager to get Nick Senzel’s bat back in the lineup, and we should expect to see the former Tennessee Volunteer back in the outfield grass at GABP very soon. Let’s hope that Senzel can remain healthy for the remainder of the season; something the third-year player has yet to do since his arrival in the big leagues.