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Janish more prepared to join Reds
Just a few days ago, Paul Janish was talking about his quick start with the Louisville Courier-Journal. It was a stark contrast to last season with the Class AAA Louisville Bats:
Last year the 25-year-old struggled making the jump from Double-A to his 55 games with the Bats, hitting just .221 with eight doubles, one triple and three homers. Through 32 games this season, Janish was hitting .287 with four doubles, a triple and three homers.
“Last year kind of snowballed on me,” he said. “I just didn’t feel good and got off to a bad start. Somewhere about halfway through the year I got into a funk and just couldn’t get out.
“This year I just feel a lot better and more comfortable.”
Janish will make another jump to the Reds after shortstop Jeff Keppinger broke his kneecap last night on a foul tip. Some might be worried that Cincinnati is now down two shortstops after losing Alex Gonzalez during spring training and now Keppinger, one of the team’s most productive hitter.
But many feel Janish, the former Dayton Dragon, is prepared for his chance. In late April, it’s a chance he he and many others didn’t think was coming.
The 25-year-old entered this season projecting as more of a utilityman due to his inability to hit in the upper levels of the minors, as he batted just .235 with four homers between Double-A and Triple-A last season. He is looking far better now, but we do have to keep in mind that he has not even seen 100 at-bats yet. Still, he is highly unlikely to help this season with Jeff Keppinger and Alex Gonzalez present in the majors.
Ever wonder how a player finds out he’s moving to the bigs? It’s hectic. The player development director calls the minor-league manager on his cell phone during a game. The manager tells the player in the eighth inning. The player showers. The player pulls his mother out of the stands to tell her the news. He then tells his father, who planned a trip from Houston to Louisville on Friday, to change the itinerary.
“When he came up last year, he struggled at first offensively,” (Louisville manager Rick) Sweet said. “He’s matured into a very good player. He deserves this. He’s ready to go up there and play and help out.”
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