The All-Star Break, being the dividing line of the regular season, seems to separate the big 2nd half stories from bleeding over into the 1st half. So if you debut right at the end of the first half, you need to make sure you make enough of an impression to still be a factor after people return from the break. And I think this year you had people that figured that out.
Right before the Reds went to break, everyone started talking about Rece Hinds. Not only did he debut with a bang, he debuted with some of the biggest exclamation points of any rookie in years. His first game featured a massive homer, then he cracked another one a game later. And he just kept going. At the moment, through his first nine games, Rece Hinds has a .353 average, 11 RBIs, 5 home runs, and a whopping 1.359 OPS. The man is not only hitting, he is mashing, and he's absolutely annihilating baseballs. Considering that in Louisville he'd only had 13 homers in 77 games, and was only hitting .216, this is a wild development.
It's also wild that Hinds was the Reds rookie that took to the majors so quickly. Jacob Hurtubise got a shot, but he hit .185. Blake Dunn got his opportunity, but he only had 1 hit in 12 games. Even second-year Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who was given the starting 1B spot out of camp, only hit .190 before getting injured. Of all the Reds hitters to make their way up, Rece Hinds was the big winner, and he did so in a way that commanded the attention of the league right before the ASG break. It's a fantastic turn of events.
It's not certain that this start will mean anything for the rest of Hinds' career. It would be nice to think that this is just how frequently he'll power hit going forward. He has been quieter since coming back from the break. I kinda want him to keep going, though. Screw it, it'll be fun.
Then, as the Padres continued their push to compete in mid-camp, they traded for Dylan Cease, sending Thorpe to the White Sox, meaning he never even got to develop in the Padres' system. He made Spring Training starts for the Padres! And then he's off to Chicago. So it's wild that he gets to be a factor in their major league picture at all but, you know...they need guys. Everyone's either hurt of leaving for the White Sox, they need guys. And so he get called up in late June and gets to start some games.
Thorpe has had a pretty nice start for the Sox, going 3-1 with a 3.58 ERA and 19 Ks. He's had a really quick learning curve to the majors, he's not drowning under the weight of pitching for the worst team in the league, and he's coming off as confidently as he did in the Yankees' minor league system. This is extremely good for the White Sox, as they're already thinking about life after July, and how things will go if Crochet, Fedde or both get dealt.
The weird part is that as terrible as the White Sox have been this year, the rotation of Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde, Jonathan Cannon, Chris Flexen and Drew Thorpe has honestly been pretty damn good. The closest thing to a pure innings eater is Flexen, and even he's got a 0.8 WAR, which is good for this team. Cannon and Flexen are just good at staying in and preventing complete meltdowns, while Fedde and Crochet are generally very good. Obviously taking them out of the equation will result in poorer results, as...I mean, does that mean Chad Kuhl and Nick Nastrini have to start games? Thorpe will at least ensure it's not a complete wash, but Crochet and Fedde are ensuring this hasn't been a 17 win team, even if 27 wins isn't lovely either.
Thorpe definitely has legs, and needs to just keep performing to this level even as the team gets worse. This is not what he thought he'd be getting last year in Scranton, but this is the reality, and he's good enough to ensure it's not always this dire.
Coming Tomorrow- A guy who hit four homers against my team last weekend.
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