They Call Him Rake

 

Usually, player names fall on the side of negative irony. There's a ton of those. Reliever named Aaron Bummer. Unsuccessful reliever named Scott Blewett. Oft-decked pitcher named Homer Bailey. Oft-injured pitcher named D.L. Hall. More and more, funnier and funnier. Only occasionally does a player name turn out to be positively ironic. This season, Pittsburgh has a pitcher named Holderman that's racked up a ton of holds. 

And in Cincinatti, they've got a guy named Jake, who they call Rake, because that's exactly what he does. It's that simple.

I think it's a little unfair to compare Jake Fraley to the typical Reds all-or-nothing power hitter. He's not Adam Dunn, he's not Adam Duvall, he's not even Jesse Winker, the guy he was ironically traded for. Fraley is a little more well-rounded, and he's currently known more for his 32 RBIs than he is for his 5 homers. But a guy like Fraley cranking the ball does a lot to improve the mood of a team that's had so much trouble recently. The Reds currently don't have Joey Votto, and they're without T.J. Friedl for a little while, and a lot of their best players [India, Senzel, Stephenson, now Steer and McLain] aren't traditionally known for hitting power. They do have somebody like Fraley, and that's why his power numbers have made him a clubhouse favorite. It seems like more often than not, the dugout celebration, complete with viking hat, is centered around Fraley, and I kinda dig that.

Trouble is right now, only four position players sit in the top 12 Reds in terms of WAR; Fraley, Friedl, Senzel and India. Looking around at people like Wil Myers, Jose Barrero, Curt Casali and...the since-DFA'd Jason Vosler, and you see a lot of missed opportunities and disappointment. I wasn't thinking Myers would have much left, but they signed him to be a veteran bat to help the team out, and that really hasn't happened. The only older players who seem to be doing any sort of help are people like Luke Maile and Kevin Newman, who aren't really starters anyhow.

I'd really like Fraley to keep his offensive work going, because while the Reds will continue to make the news thanks to pitching, and that rotation, I don't want people to completely give up on the lineup. I saw these guys in Cincinnati 5 years ago, and even then they had a pretty solid lineup, where guys like Winker and Suarez could do something cool when they wanted. It sucks that after years and years of strong Reds lineups, we've graduated to one with barely any power and gigantic holes. Hopefully that changes soon enough, and hopefully the young guys like Steer and McLain play some integral roles in this change.

Coming Tonight: In the category of unlikely closing standouts...