{"id":17768,"date":"2019-03-12T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=17768"},"modified":"2019-03-11T17:16:26","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T21:16:26","slug":"adam-duvall-return-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/03\/12\/adam-duvall-return-form\/","title":{"rendered":"Adam Duvall Looking to Return to All-Star Form"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a lot to be said for having depth in baseball. All contending teams seem to have it. But for the Atlanta Braves<\/a> in 2018, the lack of depth was a huge problem.\u00a0Although winning 90 games and an NL East title, the Braves bench had their fair share of struggles.<\/p>\n

The Braves will look to improve this part of their club in 2019, and one player they need to step up in order to do this is Adam Duvall<\/a><\/strong>. If he can return to his All-Star form, Duvall could prove to be extremely vital to Braves success in 2019.<\/p>\n

Adam Duvall Looking for Bounceback Year<\/h1>\n

The Trade<\/h2>\n

It was no secret at the 2019 trade deadline that the Braves were looking to add bench depth. Outside of Charlie Culberson<\/a><\/strong>, Atlanta had major gaps to fill. Players like Ryan Flaherty<\/a><\/strong>, Peter Bourjos<\/a><\/strong>, Lane Adams<\/strong><\/a>, and Michael Reed<\/a><\/strong> did not add much pop either. Preston Tucker<\/a><\/strong> had a nice start to the season as the starting left-fielder, but once he was demoted to a bench role, his productivity lessened.<\/p>\n

The Braves attempted to fill this void with the addition of Duvall from the Cincinnati Reds<\/a> at the trade deadline. They acquired Duvall from the Reds<\/a> in exchange for pitchers Matt Wisler<\/strong><\/a> and Lucas Sims<\/strong><\/a>, as well as Preston Tucker<\/a><\/strong>. Despite having a rough season in 2018, Duvall brought power and a reputation for being one of the top outfield defenders in the NL.<\/p>\n

Atlanta knew Duvall was having a down year but thought a change of scenery would do him good. However, this was not the case as Duvall just could not get going in a Braves uniform. He wound up hitting just .132 with one measly extra-base hit in 33 games with the Braves.<\/p>\n

Looking for a Fresh Start<\/h2>\n

Despite back-to-back seasons in 2016 and 2017 of hitting 30-plus homers, Duvall finished 2018 with only 15 home runs and a .195 batting average. It was a rocky year for the left-fielder, as he also was left off the Braves postseason roster in the NLDS.\u00a0Duvall will be looking to put 2018 in the rear-view mirror and get a fresh start in the new calendar year.<\/p>\n

The good news is that Duvall has shown vast improvement during Spring Training. In a limited 21 plate appearances, he is only hitting .176, but Duvall is putting the ball in play thus far, only striking out once this spring. He also added a two-homer game against the Miami Marlins<\/a>. The Braves are hoping this will help get his power stroke initiated once again and be a sizable boost to his confidence.<\/p>\n