Schebler Made The Reds Take Notice

GOODYEAR, Ariz.—It didn’t take long for the Reds to notice outfielder Scott Schebler this spring. Even before position players officially reported to camp, he announced his presence with authority.

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As pitchers and catchers worked out on the main fields in Goodyear, Schebler and other early arrivals to big league camp took batting practice. The 25-year-old lefthanded hitter peppered the minor league parking lot with baseballs.

On that first day of BP, Schebler put at least six balls into that parking lot, then hit a home run in his first Cactus League game of the year. The Reds acquired Schebler in the three-team offseason deal that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox.

“Our scouting reports on him were off the charts as far as makeup, effort, hustle,” big league manager Bryan Price said. “One of the first things I saw was just his monster power.”

Listed at 6 feet, 225 pounds, Schebler looks like a compact masher of baseballs, but don’t label him a one-tool player. This spring he’s also shown the speed that has allowed him to steal at least 10 bases in each of his full minor league seasons and leg out 54 career triples.

It wasn’t until his senior year of high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that the track team successfully lobbied Schebler to fit them into his schedule that already included baseball, football, basketball and soccer.

Because track season coincided with soccer season, he went to meets only when it didn’t conflict with soccer. Still, he set school records in the long jump and 55-meter dash.

“It was one of those things that kept me busy,” Schebler said of playing five sports. “I really enjoyed it. I liked the busy-ness. It kept me out of trouble, I think.”

The Dodgers selected Schebler in the 26th round of the 2010 draft out of Des Moines Area CC.

“Soccer helped me a ton,” he said. “Eye-foot coordination is a lot tougher than eye-hand coordination. I don’t know if it translated (to baseball), but you like to think it did.”

All of it helped Schebler win part of the left field platoon for the Reds, winning a major league job, along with Adam Duvall, who will get the at-bats against lefthanded pitching.

RED HOTS

• Jesse Winker suffered a strained hip flexor in an outfield collision that limited his Cactus League playing time.

• Shortstop Alex Blandino and righthander Carlos Gonzalez played for Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic qualifying round.