Cincinnati Reds Press Clippings April 1, 2017 THIS DAY IN REDS HISTORY 1967 - Joe Nuxhall retires at 37-years-old, and takes a position as a Reds radio broadcaster. Nuxhall will call games for the Reds until 2004 when he becomes a part-time broadcaster MLB.COM 5 Statcast storylines for '17 Reds By David Adler / MLB.com | March 31st, 2017 + 0 COMMENTS As the 2017 season begins, so does the third season of Statcast™, the state-of-the-art technology that has tracked every play in every Major League ballpark since Opening Day 2015. And with two full seasons of data now collected, plus advances in applying that data, Statcast™ is better than ever. New metrics, such as Catch Probability and Hit Probability, will provide a deeper layer of analysis and further our understanding of the game. With that in mind, here are five Statcast™ facts to know about the Reds heading into the 2017 season. 1. Votto-matic You know Joey Votto is one of the best hitters in the world. He has been for years. He's so good that even after finding himself batting .213 at the end of last May, he promptly slashed .378/.482/.619 over the final four months and ended up leading the National League with a .424 wOBA. And, unsurprisingly, Statcast™'s new Hit Probability metric, based on a hitter's combinations of exit velocity and launch angle, ranks Votto just as highly. He does take a slight dock in his expected wOBA, which Statcast™ estimated at .413 for 2016, but guess what? It was still the best expected wOBA in the league. Highest estimated wOBA for NL hitters, 2016 1. Votto: .413 (actual wOBA -- .424) 2. Freddie Freeman: .408 (actual wOBA -- .413) 3. Daniel Murphy: .402 (actual wOBA -- 418) 4. Matt Carpenter: .397 (actual wOBA -- .380) 5. DJ LeMahieu: .391 (actual wOBA -- .394) 2. Billy Hamilton, an outfielder like no other Hamilton uses his amazing speed in center field to make even more amazing catches. In 2016, he made nine plays that Statcast™'s Catch Probability classified as 5-star catches -- that is, they had a catch probability of 25 percent or less -- and he converted 37.5 percent of his 5-star chances, turning the unlikeliest of plays into outs at the highest rate in baseball. And in 2015? Hamilton led the Majors in both overall 5-star catches, with 14, and 5-star catch rate, making the play on 43.8 percent of his chances. Highest percentage of 5-star catches made, 2016 (min. 50 total chances/20 5-star chances) 1. Hamilton: 37.5 percent (9 of 24) 2. Travis Jankowski: 35.7 percent (5 of 14) 3. Kevin Kiermaier: 30 percent (3 of 10) 4. Adam Eaton: 27 percent (10 of 37) 5. Rajai Davis: 25 percent (3 of 12) 3. Hamilton, a baserunner like no other The same blazing speed that produces Hamilton's highlight-reel catches is, of course, equally impressive on the basepaths. Not only has Hamilton stolen more than 50 bases in each of the last three seasons, his Statcast-tracked times blow away the rest of baseball. Pick a baserunning metric, any baserunning metric -- chances are, Hamilton owns the Statcast™ Era record time. Heck, he once stole second base with a 6.7-foot lead. Against a left-hander. Poor Robbie Ray. Hamilton baserunning records in Statcast™ Era (2015-16) Home to first, non-bunt: 3.61 seconds Home to second: 7.28 seconds Home to third: 10.45 seconds First to third: 5.24 seconds First to home: 8.23 seconds 4. Zack Cozart's not-exactly-rocket arm Cozart has actually graded out as an above-average shortstop by advanced defensive metrics -- in 2016, for example, his 14.6 Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games was fourth-best among shortstops. But one area that Statcast™ shows he wasn't as effective was his arm strength. In fact, of the 26 Major League shortstops that had at least 10 tracked "competitive" throws to first base -- that is, throws at or above their 90th percentile, which weeds out the easy lobs -- Cozart's average arm strength of 77.8 mph ranked dead last. Lowest average competitive arm strength to 1B among SS in 2016 (minimum 10 throws) 1. Cozart: 77.8 mph 2. Adeiny Hechavarria: 80.3 mph 3. Marcus Semien: 80.4 mph 4. Erick Aybar: 81 mph 5. Francisco Lindor: 81.1 mph *Highest average competitive arm strength: Danny Espinosa (89.9 mph) 5. Give Adam Duvall a break Duvall was essentially a boom-or-bust hitter in his first full Major League season -- he slugged 33 home runs, but struck out 164 times and walked just 41 times, resulting in a .241 average and .297 on-base percentage. A good example is how he handled breaking pitches. On the one hand, Duvall hit .246 against curves and sliders, per Statcast™, with 58 strikeouts in 167 at-bats. On the other, he homered 16 times off breaking balls, the most in the Majors. Most home runs off breaking balls* in 2016 1. Duvall: 16 2. Trevor Story: 15 3 .(tie) Chris Carter: 13 3. (tie) Nelson Cruz: 13 5. Khris Davis: 12 *Curveballs and sliders David Adler is a reporter for MLB.com based in New York. Follow him on Twitter at @_dadler. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Duvall looking to build off terrific spring By Jeff Wallner / Special to MLB.com | March 31st, 2017 + 1 COMMENT LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Adam Duvall wasn't sure exactly how many ticket requests he submitted for family and friends prior to Friday night's exhibition at Louisville's Slugger Field, but he knew it was a lot. "He stole all mine," center fielder Billy Hamilton said, as Duvall laughed. "He stole everybody's ticket requests." Duvall gave them their money's worth, going 2-for-2 with a ringing double off the center-field wall. He played four innings in left field in a 1-1 tie with the Reds' Triple-A affiliate Louisville Bats. He played 25 games for Triple-A Louisville in 2015 after being acquired in a trade with the San Francisco Giants. But, Friday night had a different feeling for the 28-year-old right-handed slugger. "He's a big hit here in Louisville," said manager Bryan Price. "I expected a good reception tonight. To do some good things offensively, was a bonus." Coming off an All-Star campaign during which he hit 33 home runs and registered 103 RBIs, Duvall is preparing to be begin the season as the Reds' regular left fielder, and hopefully build off last year's success. "I had some success last year and I just want to get better," Duvall said. "There are certain parts of my game I want to get better and certain parts I want to maintain." Duvall was honored at Slugger Field with his own bobblehead giveaway to 5,000 fans. He's a graduate of Louisville's Butler High School and played his junior and senior years at the University of Louisville. "It's really cool to get to play in this stadium coming up a long way from when I was a little kid," Duvall said. "I remember being a young kid here and thinking, 'Man, the players are so big, they hit the ball so hard.' It's pretty exciting to play in front of my hometown fans." Duvall provided one of the highlights of the spring on Wednesday when his first-inning solo homer off Indians starter Carlos Carrasco struck the left-field scoreboard. In 20 games this spring, Duvall hit .302/.373/.679 with six homers and 15 RBIs. "He had a terrific spring," said Price. "He hit a lot of balls hard early in the spring with not a lot to show for. We all think of him as the guy who hit 33 home runs, but he covets improvement. He's learning to battle with two strikes. He wants to get better. He's chasing greatness." Iglesias on track Raisel Iglesias pitched one inning with a strikeout in an exhibition game on Friday night, putting him on track for Opening Day. Iglesias, 27, hadn't pitched since March 14 after suffering a bone bruise and injuring his hip falling in the shower. "He was great," said Price. "The ball was jumping out of his hand. He was crisp. Couldn't have gone better." Prior to the injuries, Iglesias allowed one earned run in seven innings with three walks and five strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP. He's expected to join Michael Lorenzen, Tony Cingrani, and Drew Storen in a shared closer's role, which could include multiple-inning appearances. Despite a stint on the disabled list with a shoulder impingement, Iglesias managed to make 37 appearances last season, all but five in relief, with a 1.98 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and six saves. Hamilton eager for season Hamilton didn't end last season on his own terms. After missing the final 27 games with a strained left oblique, he's especially eager to get the new season underway. And, he has no plans to be more tentative in center field. "If there's a ball out there I can catch, I'm going to go for it," Hamilton said Friday. The shoulder injury abruptly halted a breakout offensive season for Hamilton, who hit .260/.321/.343 with 19 doubles, three triples and 58 stolen bases. "Just me being myself, not trying to be someone else," Hamilton said of his approach at the plate.