Even though he’s a rookie who never took an at-bat above Double-A before this season, and even though India was hitting .218 on May 19, India is now hitting .281 and has the fourth highest OPS on the Reds. India made an adjustment to his pre-swing leg kick around that time, and since then he has a .307 batting average and a .903 OPS.
Votto has cited barrel rate –– how often a player hits a ball with a target exit velocity and launch angle –– as one of the best tools to judge a power hitter. Over the course of the season, India ranks near the 60th percentile in MLB in barrel rate.
He ranks 81st among qualifying hitters in MLB in that metric, right next to more highly-regarded power hitters like Trevor Story, Joc Pederson, Nolan Arenado, Carlos Santana and Wil Myers.
More: Series Wrap: Why the playoff math is still tough for the Cincinnati Reds
INCREDIBLE COMPANY: Reds first baseman Joey Votto has homered in a franchise record seven consecutive games. At 37 years-old, Votto is the second-oldest player in the modern era with a home run streak of seven consecutive games.
The only older player is Barry Bonds, who hit the most home runs in MLB history during his career.
"(Bonds) was a fantastic player late in his career," Votto said. "I’m nowhere near the player he was late in his career of course. But this has been a really good stretch. I don’t have a track record of being a home run hitter like he is."
Entering Saturday's game, Votto is one home run away from the all-time MLB record of eight consecutive games with a home run. The only players in MLB history to homer in eight consecutive games are Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly and Dale Long.
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GETTING CLOSER: On Friday night, Nick Senzel (knee) and Mike Moustakas (heel) both began their Triple-A rehab assignments with the Louisville Bats. They both recorded a hit and took a significant step toward playing for the Reds for the first time since May.
“It was very important for them to go play,” Reds manager David Bell said.” It was smart that they are going there in the first place but also not putting an exact amount of games. Just because I think it’s only fair to both guys that they have a chance to get their timing, get back into playing baseball in a game competition atmosphere. If I had to guess, I’d probably say a week-to-10 days.”
Senzel started in center field on Friday, and Moustakas started at third base. Reliever Lucas Sims (sprained right elbow) also pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts as he continues his rehab assignment.
TONY’S PLAN: When the Reds activated reliever Michael Lorenzen (hamstring) from the injured list on Friday, Cincinnati optioned rookie reliever Tony Santillan to Triple-A.
Santillan, a converted starter who shined out of the bullpen in the Reds series this week against the Chicago Cubs, will continue to come out of the bullpen in Triple-A. He was the only reliever on the Reds 26-man roster with Minor League options, which likely factored into him going to Triple-A.
“Right now for our team, most importantly, he’ll be pitching out of the bullpen,” Bell said. “While he was here, he grew a lot in that role. Every time he came into a game and on to the mound, he got better each time in that role. It was the move we needed to make to activate Michael. But we all expect Tony to be back here at some point and continue to help us win.”
