A Hinds HR a day keeps Lookouts' opponents at bay

It has been an entire week since Double-A Chattanooga played a baseball game in which Rece Hinds didn’t go deep.

Just think about that. For seven consecutive days, six games, Hinds has left the yard for the Lookouts.

In that streak, Hinds has put up video game numbers, going 12-for-21 with seven long balls. He credits the power surge to developing a refined approach at the plate.

“I’ve kind of just been able to shrink my strike zone and just hunt a zone instead of chasing like I was earlier in the season,” Hinds said.

His most recent big fly came Saturday night when he went 1-for-2 in the Lookouts' 14-0 win over the Trash Pandas.

Coming up in the third inning, the No. 16 Reds prospect drilled a two-run shot off right-hander Ivan Armstrong, extending the Lookouts' lead to 12-0.

Hinds credits his new approach to an adjustment that Lookouts hitting coach Daryle Ward suggested to him.

“The past couple weeks, I’ve gotten closer to the plate and made the outside part of the plate like my middle,” Hinds said. “I’m kind of just hunting that outside part of the plate because I was getting thrown there a lot throughout the year and I needed to make an adjustment for it.”

The move closer to the plate was met with skepticism by Hinds, who was concerned it may affect his ability to hit the inside pitch, but after a few batting practice sessions, he said it “just got comfortable.”

Hinds certainly looks comfortable at the dish after the adjustment. On June 11, the game that got the home run party started, the 6-foot-4 righty tallied four hits in the Lookouts' win over Birmingham. He then one-upped his performance two days later, clubbing two homers in another four-hit performance against Rocket City.

In those two games combined, the 22-year-old outfielder hit for a whopping .900 average with three taters.

The Florida native stood out for his plus raw power in high school, and he has continued to show it in the Minor Leagues. Hinds has dealt with injuries throughout his career and finished both the 2021 and 2022 seasons with 12 home runs. So far this season, he has that same number of jacks with plenty of games to spare.

“I think just being able to keep a routine -- on the field, off the field, before games, after games, that kind of thing -- I think it has helped me,” Hinds said. “My goal this whole year was to play as many games as possible, since I’ve been injured so much, and right now I’ve been lucky to be able to do that.”

In the month of June, he has posted a slash line of .365/.417/.846 through 14 games, showing off his 55-grade power tool on a nightly basis. The streak has gotten to the point where even his teammates are trying to get the magic to rub off on them.

“I actually have been doing this fungo drill our hitting coach got me doing,” Hinds said. “I kind of just flip the ball to myself with a fungo bat on field before batting practice and just try to hit line drives and ground balls back and forth. So now, everyone’s just like, ‘I think everyone’s got to do fungos.'”