Red Report 2025 - TJ Friedl
Give the man back his hamstring!
Fast Facts
- Born on August 14, 1995 in Sewickley, PA
- His full name is Terry Lee Friedl, and I beg of you to call him Terry Lee from now on
- Is second cousins with University of Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari
- Is one of three players to make it to the big leagues from Foothill High School in Pleasanton, CA, along with former San Francisco Giants stalwart Brandon Crawford
- Has been caught stealing 9 times in his big league career so far, which is 9 times more than fellow University of Nevada product Corky Miller was caught stealing in his entire career
Organizational History
- Signed by the Cincinnati Reds in July 2016 as an undrafted free agent after some scuttlebutt that most teams didn’t realize he was even draft-eligible after redshirting for the 2015 season at Nevada; the Reds, who had the most remaining pool space left after signing the rest of their draft class, offered Friedl $732,500 to sign, marking the largest signing bonus ever for an undrafted player at that time
Career Stats
| 2021 | 25 | CIN | NL | -0.1 | 14 | 36 | 31 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | .290 | .361 | .419 | .780 | 102 | .340 | 98 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | /87H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 26 | CIN | NL | 0.3 | 72 | 258 | 225 | 33 | 54 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 20 | 40 | .240 | .314 | .436 | .750 | 104 | .324 | 96 | 98 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 789H/D | |
| 2023 | 27 | CIN | NL | 3.8 | 138 | 556 | 488 | 73 | 136 | 22 | 8 | 18 | 66 | 27 | 6 | 47 | 90 | .279 | .352 | .467 | .819 | 117 | .363 | 120 | 228 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 1 | *87H/9D | MVP-23 |
| 2024 | 28 | CIN | NL | 0.5 | 85 | 341 | 297 | 35 | 67 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 55 | 9 | 1 | 26 | 52 | .226 | .310 | .380 | .690 | 88 | .313 | 88 | 113 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8/HD | |
| 4 Yrs | 4.5 | 309 | 1191 | 1041 | 150 | 266 | 38 | 14 | 40 | 148 | 43 | 9 | 97 | 184 | .256 | .332 | .434 | .766 | 105 | .340 | 105 | 452 | 4 | 29 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 87H9/D | ||||
| 162 Game Avg | 2.4 | 162 | 624 | 546 | 79 | 139 | 20 | 7 | 21 | 78 | 23 | 5 | 51 | 96 | .256 | .332 | .434 | .766 | 105 | .340 | 105 | 237 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 1 | |||||
Career stats courtesy of Baseball Reference
Scouting Report
Scouting report courtesy of Baseball Savant
Projections
- Steamer: 594 PA, .249/.328/.417, 19 HR, 18 SB, .325 wOBA, 102 wRC+, 2.3 WAR
- ZiPS: 450 PA, .246/.325/.396, 12 HR, 12 SB, .317 wOBA, 97 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
Outlook
Even with the litany of freak injuries and hamstring problems that TJ Friedl fought through in 2024, his ranks since the start of the 2023 season among MLB CFs are damn impressive. His .331 wOBA ranks 9th best among those with 500 PA while playing the position, while his 3.4 fWAR sits tied with Brandon Nimmo of the Mets for 14th.
In other words, his 2023 was so elite relative to his peers that even the brutally frustrating 2024 season couldn’t sink his recent production. That leads one to believe that if he can be anything akin to his healthy, pre-2024 self again, there’s going to be a ton to love about Friedl in 2025.
For reference, his sprint speed ranked in the 74th percentile in 2023, his range in the OF 89th, his baserunning run value 96th. Those numbers tanked to just 26th, 14th, and 76th last year, his hammie issues reducing his 27 steal 2023 season down to just 9 in limited time last year. Clearly, every single thing about his game took a step back last year as he battled not just the hammies, but also a freak wrist break and even more freak thumb break.
TJ will turn 30 in August, but I still firmly believe that at reasonable health he’s got 20/20 potential with the kind of plate discipline and OBP skills to be the prototypical leadoff man he was in 2023. That’s what all of Reds Country will be hoping to see reemerge, too, even if the projection systems are seriously discounting him.