“I think so,” Price said when asked if Duvall has separated himself prior to Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs. “I want to see a lot of Scott Schebler in the lineup. He’s an exciting athlete. He’s going to need the repetitions to really get comfortable at this level of play. But right now Adam is primarily going to be our left fielder.”
Duvall started in left again Saturday night, his 12th start of the season to go along with one at first base. He's appeared in 15 of 18 games, hitting .275 with six doubles, a home run and two RBIs.
More impressive than what he’s done at the plate is what Duvall, who played infield in high school and college, has done with his glove. He’s already made a number of highlight-reel catches, including the diving stab of a sinking line drive Friday night that prompted Chicago’s Jason Heyward to tip his cap to Duvall as he ran off the field.
“I try to look at everything and improve on everything, not just defense,” Duvall said. “I wouldn’t say I put more emphasis on defense than I do on hitting, or vice versa. They’re both equally important to being an all-around player.”
Duvall appeared in 28 games with the Giants in 2014 and 27 games with the Reds last year after they got him in the trade for Mike Leake.
“It’s not just that he’s already made a small handful of great plays – running in, diving backhand plays, going back on the ball, great throw to the plate – but just the fact that he’s had some savvy on the ones that right at you,” Price said. “The right-at-you line drives, he’s had a bunch of those. Being able to read the ball off the bat, what type of carry it’s going to get, it can be very misleading when it’s hit right, directly at you. His reads off the bat have been way more impressive than I had anticipated.
“He looks more comfortable now than the beginning of spring training, which would suggest he’s worked very diligently on it. There’s a certain level of confidence that you have to have. You have to be loose and confident and relaxed and athletic, and I think he looks that way out in left field.”
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