What's wrong with Reed?

[missionhockey21]

Off the Wall: What's wrong with Reed?
By DEREK ZUMSTEG
SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM

With all of the (entirely justified) hype around the debut of Felix Hernandez, and the torrid-but-seemingly-unnoticed hitting of Chris Snelling, not much attention's been paid to Jeremy Reed.

I thought Reed was a good bet for the Rookie of the Year, and other, smarter people agreed with me. Center field is a premier position, with lots of highlight opportunities, and because Reed's always been a high-average guy with some power, I thought at some point in the season he'd tear off a 12-game hitting streak in which he hit .500 with 19 doubles or something equally eye-popping and ridiculous.

He's had his chance. He's the only rookie who's been on the roster all season long, playing almost every day ... and he's hitting .257. What's wrong with Reed?

He was hot in May (he hit .312 with good power) but then had a stretch of about two months where he was really down:

AB Avg. OBP Slg.
June 75 .227 .272 .280
July 75 .227 .272 .293

Eww. Now compare his season to an average American League center fielder:

Avg. OBP Slg.
Avg. AL CF .273 .326 .411
Reed .257 .324 .347

Despite his long down spell, Reed's not so awful compared to the average, especially considering that he's playing half his games in Safeco Field. Center fielder Willy Taveras of the Astros gets mentioned as a possible Rookie of the Year, and he's having about the same year except with a higher batting average and almost no walks or power.

But is Reed performing below reasonable expectations?

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[Porter]

He kinda is, but lots of that has to do with his prolonged slumps and the fact he didnt have much protection after him. Hes going to take his lumps but in time he will be fine. Hes already a solid CF defensively.