TJ Friedl found the best version of himself in 2022 to get his Reds career rolling
GOODYEAR, Ariz. –– During spring training last year, when Cincinnati Reds outfielder TJ Friedl kept crushing the ball and looked like one of the team’s hottest hitters in camp, Reds manager David Bell said Friedl “kept surprising him.”
After Friedl made his MLB debut and hit .290 during the final two weeks of the 2021 season, he followed that up in 2022 spring training by posting a .313 batting average and a 1.063 OPS. At the end of last year’s camp, Bell told Friedl "he did everything he could to make (that) team… There was nothing more that he could do,” Bell said.
But Bell told Friedl he was going to Triple-A for the start of the season. Friedl was called up and sent back down three more times during the first three months of the 2022 regular season. The Reds saw him as a fifth outfielder, and he was hitting .200 on June 18 in 100 plate appearances.
The Reds called Friedl back up after the trade deadline and gave him regular playing time. He became the Reds’ leadoff hitter during that stretch. Friedl hit .276 with a .888 OPS during the last two months of the season, he was a standout defender and he made an impact as the best baserunner on the Reds.
“He just got so much better so fast in like a two-year period,” Bell said. “He had his share of struggles. He just kept answering the bell as far as you get sent down, worked hard and came back. Finally, that last stretch, everything came out about who TJ is, both on and off the field. He really got into it.”
Friedl enters camp this year in a much different position. He’s projected to make the roster, and is expected to make frequent starts in the outfield. If Nick Senzel doesn’t recover from his toe injury in time for Opening Day, Friedl could be the starting center fielder.
Friedl’s career got onto a different track during August and September last year. A swing change helped, but it was even more important how Friedl developed into an aggressive hitter.
“The biggest impact for me was changing my mindset at the plate. I was more aggressive,” Friedl said. “Mechanically, my swing change helped a lot with my timing and getting me more comfortable in my approach. Also, I started hunting my pitch. Another part of that was getting comfortable around the team. The biggest thing was changing my mindset, putting a good swing on the ball whenever I get my pitch.”
When Friedl was optioned to Louisville in June, in what ended up as his final demotion, he knew he needed to make a change. Friedl went back to a leg kick that he had used earlier in his career. He started making more consistent contact with his momentum going forward. His timing was better. He stopped relying on his legs to drive the ball. He wasn’t leaning “up and out” and hitting pop ups.
Friedl unlocked a new level of power in his swing. After going on a tear in Louisville, he got another chance with the Reds and ran with it.
“When I went back to Louisville, I did everything I could to fix myself, change my mindset and put myself in a better position for that next opportunity,” Friedl said. “The biggest thing for me was just learning from it. It’s never easy going through that. The best thing to do is take those failures and understand why. You have to understand what was going on, hit the reset button every day and try to perform for the team.”
While most players on the team were struggling during the stretch run of the 2022 season, Friedl made a statement to Bell with his performance. The swing change was impressive to Bell, and he also took note of how Friedl worked to set the tone for a struggling Reds team.
Friedl was still a rookie, but everyone took note of his hustle.
“He’s quiet, but he’s also vocal,” Bell said. “He speaks up. He’s so in the game that he just naturally becomes a leader, I guess you could say, because he’s just that into the game. He’s doing everything in his power to win the game. I noticed even some of our veteran players responded really well to it. It says a lot about TJ.”
Friedl opened his spring training on Sunday with a double and a triple against the San Francisco Giants. He described one of his goals this spring as “bringing more energy” to defense and baserunning drills.
In 2023, Friedl’s energy, defense, athleticism and newfound punch at the plate give him a role entering the season.
“I’m not going to hit a home run every time,” Friedl said. “I try to impact the game with defense, baserunning and effort plays. That can accumulate. For me, whenever someone makes a diving play or takes an extra base, those effort plays are contagious. When you see other guys doing that and everyone puts in that effort, it’s a rolling impact.”