It hasn’t taken long for former Vol standout Nick Senzel to make his presence felt in the majors.
Senzel was called up from the minor leagues to play for the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, and he collected his first MLB hit and first MLB run scored during the game. On Saturday, Senzel blasted hist first MLB home run after having one robbed earlier in the game. On Monday, Senzel had his first multi-home run game of his young career.
The rookie big leaguer launched a home run into the opposite field while leading off in the first inning for the Reds at home against the San Francisco Giants. It was a no-doubter, and it was his second home run of his MLB career and second opposite field homer.
Nicky, Nicky, Nicky can’t you see? Sometimes your swing just hypnotize me.#BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/uaByjxlxDW
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 6, 2019
Then in the very next inning, Senzel did the exact same thing.
To lead-off the second inning, Senzel crushed another opposite field home run for his second of the game and the third of his MLB career. All three of his home runs have been opposite field shots, and he’s now hit three homers in just four career MLB games.
You think Nick Senzel likes leading off?#BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/dhO37bpmSx
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 6, 2019
Senzel’s two solo bombs helped the Reds defeat the Giants 12-4, and Cincinnati is now 2-2 with Senzel on the roster and have scored 37 runs with him in the lineup. That’s an average of 9.3 runs a game. The Reds were averaging a paltry 3.6 runs per game before Senzel was called up.
The rookie outfielder finished the day going 2-for-6 with two home runs, two RBI, and two runs scored. On the season, he’s hitting .235 (4-for-17) and has three RBI and four runs scored. Three of his four hits have been home runs, and he has an on-base percentage of .381 and an OPS of 1.146 in his first four games. He also stole a base during Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Giants.
The Reds drafted Senzel with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft. Senzel was a standout for the prolific Farragut High School baseball program before joining the Vols.
During his time with the Vols, Senzel was voted an All-American in 2016 and was a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. In his three years with Tennessee, Senzel had a .332 batting average while hitting 13 home runs, 49 doubles, and driving in 126 RBI and scoring 127 runs. He also stole 46 bases and only struck out 21 times in 210 at-bats in 2016. He had a career on-base percentage of .426 at Tennessee.
