The 2024 season was one that Jeimer Candelario would probably like a re-do on. He got out to a slow start and was hitting .216/.284/.379 through the Cincinnati Reds 48th game of the season. That’s not exactly what he or the club was hoping for when he signed as a free agent in the offseason. Candelario did heat up for about a month from May 22nd through June 23rd, hitting .308/.342/.664 in a span of 27 games where he hit 10 home runs and had 17 extra-base hits. But for as hot as he was in that stretch, the next 43 games saw him slump hard as he had a .557 OPS before his season came to an end on August 19th with a fractured toe.
It had been three-and-a-half months since Jeimer Candelario had played in a game, but last week he joined the Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League. The infielder has played in three games over the last week, playing every three days thus far. Candelario has had a hit in each game, going 4-10 with a double, walk, and a strikeout thus far.
On Saturday night he went 1-2 with a walk. His one hit almost decapitated the pitcher, with the 104 MPH line drive zooming past his head and glove and on into center field.
Not everyone is hitting
While the sample size is small for Candelario, he is hitting. But not everyone that’s playing in the winter league is hitting. Noelvi Marte has been playing regularly in the Dominican Winter League with the Gigantes, though he hasn’t played since Thursday when he went 1-4 with a run scored. That extended his hitting streak to three games, but even with that he’s been struggling. Marte has played in 20 games and is hitting just .230/.301/.338. He’s only had five total extra-base hits, walked seven times, and he’s struck out 16 times in his 83 plate appearances.
Outfield prospect Hector Rodriguez, who won’t turn 21 until the middle of spring training, has also been playing regularly in the Dominican. He got out to a hot start, hitting .364 in the first 12 games he played in for Escogido. But in the last six games he’s gone into a slump, going 5-26. That’s dropped his line to .300/.311/.386 through his 18 games.
The post Reds’ Jeimer Candelario out to a hot start in winter ball appeared first on Redleg Nation.