I can’t be the only one thinking this, right? Who the hell is this guy, and what did he do with the real Adam Duvall?
According to baseball-reference, Duvall’s nickname is “Duvy.” Most Braves fans wouldn’t know that because for an entire year this guy recorded seven hits in Atlanta. Now, a large part of his time was spent in Gwinnett, where he hit 29 homers in 94 games, but 30-year-old former All-Stars should be crushing the kids on the farm. It’s to be expected, which is why the Braves were never interested in bringing him up – until desperation called.
Nick Markakis’ devastating wrist injury, coupled with Austin Riley’s mega-slump, cooked up the ideal situation for Adam Duvall to finally receive the call. I’m not going to lie; I expected to see the same thing I saw last year – a nervous wreck at the plate that had no idea what an offspeed pitch looked like.
I mean seriously, Duvall slashed .132/.193/.151 for the Braves in 2018. And while the sample size was small – it was still 33 games. To put that into perspective, I’m fairly confident I and anyone reading this article with the slightest bit of baseball experience could put up similar numbers over 33 games. He had seven hits in 57 plate appearances, one of those was an extra-base hit, and no home runs. It was laughable.
Fast forward to August 2019, and Adam Duvall is the hottest piece on the Braves team. Who doesn’t feel a chill going down their spine when they hear the awkward nickname “Duvy?”
Duvy has five home runs – IN SIX Games! He’s hitting .480 and actually has a better batting average than he does on-base-percentage. For a while, I was like, “How the hell is that even possible?” The Braves faithful informed me it is because of sacrifice flies. So even when Duvy is getting out, he is driving in his fellow teammates.
I don’t know if this is sustainable. Actually, I know it is not. However, this is a totally different Adam Duvall than the one who joined the Braves last year. This isn’t even the Adam Duvall that was on the Reds.
Our favorite right-handed slugger is no longer home run or bust. He’s on everything coming out of the pitcher’s hand, and it can be attributed to the Braves minor league staff and a completely retooled swing.
Here’s Mark DeRosa of the MLB Network breaking down the new “Duvy.”
Mark DeRosa broke down the swing and success of #Braves OF Adam Duvall, who is seemingly an all new player after a forgettable 2018.pic.twitter.com/SJhhAhFIjf
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) August 2, 2019
I’m not DeRosa. I’m no swing expert, but I can tell when something is working. So maybe Duvall is human after all. He’s just a hard-working individual that adapts when adversity slaps him in the face.
The Braves might have found their missing piece, and his nickname is Duvy.