Red Alert
This kid is silly. He’s unbelievable. So far, he’s made the majority of the major league players look like amateurs by finding ways to dissect pitching the way a middle school kid would tear apart a frog in science class. He’s an animal.
So get this. In six games at the top level of baseball, the peak of performance, the granddaddy league of them all, Jay Bruce has shown the world that the Reds should have probably had him on the roster from day one of the 2008 season. But nonetheless, his time has rolled around and we all are getting a glimpse of a prospect with some of the heaviest weight on his shoulders. The expectations are unfathomable.
This offseason, Bruce’s name was included in trade rumors throughout the Cincy papers almost as frequently as Bengal players’ names popping up for being arrested. His potential is beyond comparison of any other player making his way through any major league system.
He’s finally reached the major league level and so his production shouldn’t be surprising. But I don’t think anyone really expected him to start off on such a tear. Very rarely do rookies get called up mid-season and immediately have an impact on their team’s performance, especially a position player.
Well Jay Bruce is apparently not any normal “end of May” call up. In his first six games, Bruce has gone 13 for 22 posting a .590 batting average. He’s hit 2 homeruns, one of which has been the walk-off game-winning variety, he’s drawn 6 walks, and has 6 RBIs. He’s begun to argue that he deserved to be a 1st round pick.
Of course, one can say that it’s still early in his career. So many players have gotten off to great starts like the one Jay Bruce has shown. Shane Spencer began his career by being the life saver of the Yankees as they forced their way through the AL playoffs. His name will forever be remembered (or forgotten) as the rookie who had the clutch homers. Except that his career consisted of very little else.
The differences between Spencer and Bruce are clear-cut. For one, Jay Bruce has been projected as a superstar from the beginning. The Reds drafted him with every intention of him making his way through the minor leagues quickly and developing into a game changing player. As well, Bruce is batting in a lineup that doesn’t consist of the power hitters that the Yankees had. He’s surviving without support, and for that he’s on a whole different level.
Sure, he’s only been in the league for all of 6 games. It’s true, there is no way around arguing that he has been in the league more than 6 games. But in those 6 games he’s shown that he belongs in the majors.
He has a walk off home run, proving that regardless of his inexperience, he succeeded in a situation which included high pressure as well as self-control in order to do his job. Going up to bat with the game on the line in extra innings is far from a normal at-bat. He found his focus, he controlled his excitement and nervousness, and delivered.
He’s walked 6 times in 22 at bats. That’s more than a walk per game. Let me know if I’m wrong but, as a rookie player coming into the league, patience is something that is hard to come by. Players that are called up to the major league squad are going to swing at pitches that they know aren’t hittable in an attempt to prove that they are worth keeping around. It’s hard to teach fundamentals to young kids. And when it comes to fundamentals, choosing which pitches are worth swinging at and which ones aren’t is the most difficult. Some of the best players in the league aren’t fundamentally sound with this concept. But through 6 games, Bruce has shown patience at the plate. He has done more than enough to prove that he is willing to take each plate appearance as seriously as a bottom of the 9th, 2 out, bases loaded World Series situation.
6 walks in 22 at bats by a rookie… you’re crazy if you think that’s not an amazing stat.
Any way you look at it, Jay Bruce has shown that his intentions of becoming an elite MLB player are well on their way to developing. He’s proving to fans across the nation that the Reds did themselves a favor by keeping him in the organization. And while the team has a lot of work ahead of them to become contenders again, Jay Bruce is a player that they need to build around. He’s going to be unstoppable. I’m sure even Shane Spencer agrees.
Tags: Baseball, Bengals, Draft, future, home runs, Jay Bruce, minor leagues, MLB, prospects, Reds, Shane Spencer, Stars, walks, Yankees
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