“I thought it was going to be a hit just like most of the ones he hits,” LaHair said that night. “He keeps finding gloves. He’s been having a lot of good at-bats and a lot of hard outs. Just really tough luck for that kid right now, so it’s going to be exciting when the luck bounces back on his side because he’s got a lot of good stuff coming his way that’s for sure.”
On May 31, Arroyo went 3 for 4 with a double to raise his average from .182 to .197.
“That was nice,” LaHair said that night. “I expect that. That’s the hitter he is. When he gets three hits it doesn’t surprise me. He’s going to have a lot of those days. I got no doubt in that kid.”
That night was the beginning of an 18-game stretch through Tuesday’s game in which Arroyo has batted .394 with three home runs, two triples and six doubles. The average is up to .251, his on-base percentage is up from .234 to .304, his slugging percentage from .311 to .425 and his OPS from .545 to .729. So what’s up with the hot bat?
“To be honest I haven’t changed much,” Arroyo said. “I’ve been pretty consistent with my routine. Maybe I wasn’t getting a little luck. That’s how baseball works.”
“That’s baseball” is a common answer when players feel good about what they are doing but the results aren’t there. That doesn’t make the jogs back to the dugout with nothing to show for the hard-hit ball any easier.
“I wasn’t too happy because I wanted the balls to fall in, but I felt good with the swings, the contact,” Arroyo said. “I talk to Bryan, I’m like, Bryan, ‘I’m hitting the ball,’ and he just laughs. He says you just got to keep going. And I agree. I talked to E Rich (hitting coach Eric Richardson) and he was the same.”
When LaHair played, he says it took until All-Star break time to feel like he had his full swing speed. He said Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg helped him understand that. That might be true for Arroyo as well, at least this season.
“With time, I can get more at-bats, I keep getting better, I get my routine and I get my rhythm on,” he said. “When I feel the rhythm I just go with the flow and everything goes well.”
On June 1, Arroyo was 2 for 4. On June 2, he was 3 for 4 again with two RBIs. In three days, he was 8 for 12 and finally hitting over .200. He felt the flow.
“He’s the same guy – they’re dropping now,” LaHair said after the June 2 game. “What you saw from him tonight is what we’ve been seeing all year. He’s had really tough luck. Everything he did tonight is what he’s been doing all year.”
Arroyo, who is from Puerto Rico, became a switch hitter when he was 8 years old. His splits are fairly even, and he sees switch hitting as a plus.
“I feel like it does benefit you as a hitter, to see the spin of the ball and know that a little better,” he said. “But I feel like you got to work a little more too because you’ve got two different swings. You’re trying to maybe do it similar, but it don’t work like that.”
Arroyo, who excels in the field, began the season as the Reds’ No. 3 prospect and will likely move up to No. 2 now that Elly De La Cruz is with the Reds to stay. The No. 2 player on the list is Double-A shortstop Noelvi Marte. The Reds acquired Arroyo and Marte in the same trade almost a year ago at the trade deadline from the Mariners in the Luis Castillo trade. The middle infield path to Cincinnati is clearly crowded, but Arroyo’s trying not to look ahead.
“The goal is for sure to be in the big leagues as soon as possible, which I’m going to work for,” he said. “But besides that, I’m just living in the moment. It’s way easier to be in the moment and just don’t think about anything else because I got traded already.”
And LaHair plus others in the organization know that Arroyo’s numbers so far don’t tell a complete story of his season.
“One of the worst stretches I’ve seen, as far as how hard contact’s concerned, in a long time,” LaHair said. “He still has improvements to make as a player, but he’s a great player — bright future.”
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