If you were to ask a Cincinnati Reds fan about highlights from the 2017 season, he or she would probably mention Scooter Gennett’s name near the top of the list. The second baseman is having a breakout year for Cincinnati with 24 home runs, 85 RBIs and batting .299. He’s having a massive year without question. That said, the Milwaukee Brewers still made the right call when they released the former 22nd round draft pick. No one could have expected this from him, and I’m not sure he does this in any place but Cincinnati.

Let’s go back to March when Scooter still wore a Brewers uniform. The team tried him in the outfield to see if he could contribute somewhere else on the diamond to make him into a Hernan Perez type. That didn’t work. Brewers had a leadoff hitter and second baseman with Jonathan Villar. At the time, Villar was probably one of your pillars of the offense after having a fantastic 2016 campaign. No one would have predicted that Scooter would be better than him in all offensive categories besides stolen bases.

Brewers had no idea that this was possible from Gennett, and maybe, it could only happen with a change of scenery. He’s a Cincinnati native, and he wanted to play here after getting cut by Milwaukee. The comfort level for Scooter must be off the charts, and that’s part of the success this season. Also, he isn’t just taking advantage of playing 81 games at Great American Ballpark. He has good numbers for both home and away games with the home splits favoring by just a little bit. If you want to be a hater, Gennett still barely walks with only 38 on the season meaning his OBP is dangerously low for his average, and he will have over 100 strikeouts for the second straight season.

If you think that Scooter would have put Milwaukee over the top, I can’t help you. Even when given a chance, Scooter never showed this kind of power or the ability to hit for average. Shit happens like this all the time with baseball teams, whether, it’s a backup or a low-level starer, Gennett is just another story.

Charlie.