Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers ’17 — #25 Michael Reed
Twenty-five.
As I type on March 9th, we sit 25 days away from Opening Day at Miller Park on April 3rd. It’s starting to feel real. Tomorrow is three weeks until we’ll be back at the home ballpark of the Brewers watching the first of two exhibition games against the Chicago White Sox. Those games will serve as a soft open for the stadium’s overhauled concessions experience but also as the final tune-up before the games begin to count.
Among those players who should make the trip to Miller Park for the exhibition games is today’s “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” subject…
Michael Reed.
For Michael Benton Reed, the question becomes whether he would stay in Milwaukee for the season-opening series against the Colorado Rockies. The other option would be to pass the Rockies like ships in the night and head to Colorado Springs to rejoin the Class-AAA affiliate Sky Sox for their home opener on April 6 against the Omaha Stormchasers.
Originally drafted in the 5th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, Reed has seen big league time in each of the last two seasons. He was among a large group of players to earn September call-ups in 2015 (he would appear in seven games and tally a pair of hits in six at-bats) and again would arrive in Milwaukee in September of 2016 where he would get into eight games total including seven starts.
Reed’s call-up last year was a matter of necessity for the Brewers. Keon Broxton has just broken his wrist at Wrigley Field and Kirk Nieuwenhuis was unable to play due to a core muscle injury which eventually would lead to off-season surgery. Ryan Braun was also due to be away from the team for at least a couple of days due to the birth of his son.
Considered a solid corner outfielder, capable of playing center field in a pinch, Reed actually spent a significant number of games (50) in center with the Sky Sox in an experiement to see if he could be a true three-position backup in the big leagues. Reed would make no errors in 92 chances in center field in Triple-A with one error in 14 center field chances in the big leagues.
The only thing limiting Reed as a centerfielder is his range. While he isn’t the fleetest of foot, he did steal 20 bases in Triple-A last year so he knows how to maximize the speed he has. He gets good reads on the ball off the bat, but there’s probably room to get even better at that which would aid him in his chances up the middle.
At the plate last year, Reed struggled a bit in his first full-time Triple-A assignment. He struck out 124 times in 411 at-bats, though some of that is attributable to a patience at the plate that also saw him walk 74 times. Reed hit .248 last year but was on-base as a .366 clip.
Reed’s 2017 outlook is one that will likely be significantly similar to most of his 2016. I believe Reed to be higher on the minor league depth chart for any injury covering or emergency situations, but for now Reed will only be up out of necessity. The depth chart in the outfield is crowding, however, and Reed could use a big 2017 to cement his spot on the 40-man roster going forward.
I believe that Reed has a solid chance at being a big league reserve outfielder in 2018, but by then any or all of Lewis Brinson, Maverick Phillips, and Ryan Cordell could be ready to contribute as well.
Reed has impressed at camp, though manager Craig Counsell went on the record in Arizona as saying the believes Reed “has things to prove” in Triple-A. With Reed still having a pair of minor league options remaining, you can basically guarantee that the Brewers will be using one this year after a comment like that. Furthermore, earlier in the Spring, Counsell said that his likely outfielders on Opening Day would be Braun, Broxton, Nieuwenhuis, Domingo Santana, and Hernán Pérez. Later this year we could easily see Brinson getting his feet wet too.
Suffice it to say, 2017 is an important year for Michael Reed.
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Follow Michael on Twitter: @MReed1119
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Looking to catch up on this season’s BBtJN? Just click on a name below:
#59 Carlos Torres
#57 Chase Anderson
#56 Ryan Webb
#54 Michael Blazek
#53 Jhan Mariñez
#52 Jimmy Nelson
#51 Damien Magnifico
#50 Jacob Barnes
#47 Jett Bandy
#46 Corey Knebel
#45 Tyler Cravy
#41 Junior Guerra
#38 Wily Peralta
#37 Neftalí Feliz
#35 Brent Suter
#33 Tommy Milone
#29 Yadiel Rivera
#28 Jorge Lopez
#27 Zach Davies
#26 Taylor Jungmann
