San Diego Padres: OF Franmil Reyes Continues Hit Streak

San Diego Padres rookie outfielder Franmil Reyes continued his impressive stretch of hot games with a solid night against the San Francisco Giants.

Between August 25th and September 4th, San Diego Padres outfielder Franmil Reyes went on a 10-game hitting streak. Over that stretch, Reyes hit .400 with six home runs and 10 runs driven in. He also chipped in three walks after drawing just 11 free passes all season, up until the start of his first hitting streak.

After a night off on September 5th and an 0-3 night in Cincinnati on the 6th, Reyes is currently riding another 10-game streak which has helped raise his batting average 45 points since August 1st.

Over the course of his current streak, Reyes is hitting .389 (four multi-hit games) with one home run, one double, and four runs driven in. Those numbers may not be as impressive as his first streak, however, his patience at the plate continues to show progress. He’s drawn four walks and has seven strikeouts in his last 10 games, marking a third-straight month Reyes has kept his strikeout rate at a respectable level, after posting astronomical numbers early on in the season.

More and more progress for the San Diego Padres rookie.

For Franmil Reyes, the “dog days” of summer have been as successful as some of the biggest names in baseball. In the month of August, Reyes hit .308 with a .375 OBP, posting a wRC+ of 181. His walk rate approached 10% while his strikeout rate finished just a touch above 23%. That’s a massive improvement over his 41% strikeout rate and 2% walk rate he recorded through the month of June.

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His September numbers have been even better. His .358/.404/.547 slash line and .951 OPS are notable, but so is his chase rate. A powerful slugger with a knack for striking out at an enormous clip, Reyes has seen his chase rate drop from a peak 31.3% in June to 23.8% in September. Not only is he showing more patience, but nearly 53% of all his contact has been classified as “hard-hit” per Baseball Savant, an increase of more than 20% since July.

It’s not just Reyes who has been scorching hot, fellow outfielder Hunter Renfroe has also emerged as one of the best power hitters in all of baseball since August 1st (15 home runs since that date). The emergence of the two outfielders is sure to be one of the biggest focal points of this offseason as the Padres decide who gets playing time and who finds a new home. When everyone is back to full strength, there are simply too many outfielders and not enough roster spots.

What does the future hold for Franmil Reyes? We may not be certain as to where he will be playing but we may be safe in assuming that he will be