C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

DENVER — The last word you’d ever associate with Adam Duvall is “weak.”

Duvall hit two more home runs in Monday's 11-8 win, giving him 13 this season and 11 in the month of May, tied with Oakland's Khris Davis for most in baseball, headed into the final game of the month on Tuesday in Denver. Duvall’s listed at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, and there doesn’t appear to be an ounce of fat on his body.

That’s why the start of the 2012 season was so alarming for Duvall. As he went through spring training with the Giants that season, he lost 20 pounds.

“I was pretty thin. I felt tired all the time. I was weak,” Duvall said of 2012, when he was coming into his second spring training in professional baseball. “I was noticeably skinny and it was frustrating, because you work out all offseason and you want to show up in tip-top shape. I was doing two-a-days, but yet I was losing weight. You get to spring training and I swore I worked out in the offseason. It was crazy.”

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At first, Duvall thought he was sick after dealing with the remnants of a bout of strep throat, but it was just lingering too long.

Finally, the Giants had doctors look at his blood tests, and his glucose levels were high. Duvall, at age 23, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is a hereditary condition where the body doesn’t produce insulin. Without insulin, the body cannot absorb sugar to provide energy. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children or young adults and can’t be prevented. Type 2 diabetes is normally associated with obesity and inactivity, two other things foreign to Duvall.

“I’ve always eaten well, that’s why at first I was confused,” Duvall said. “Then I found out Type 1 is your genes and there are quite a few people in my family that have diabetes.”

Duvall spent much of the 2012 season learning how to live and play with Type 1 diabetes. Activity works as insulin in the body would, so as a professional athlete, he is typically much more active than an average person and a normal course of treatment is anything but for him.

That first year, Duvall put on 15 pounds throughout the season, and with the high-A San Jose Giants, he hit a franchise-record 30 home runs.

Duvall now wears an insulin pump, even when playing, keeping it in his back pocket during games. It’s durable - he noted it’s made out of the same material as bicycle helmets - even if it’s, luckily, never been tested by getting hit by a pitch.

As with anyone with diabetes, Duvall has to constantly monitor his blood sugars and insulin intake, and some days are better than others.

“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve had it, you’re always going to have days where it’s too high or too low,” Duvall said. “I have days where it gets too low, because I’m so active. You’re going to have those days.”

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It hasn’t seemed to change the way he’s played, as the 27-year-old Louisville native is off to a hot start in his first real chance to play every day in the big leagues.

Duvall was called up with the Giants for the first time in 2014, playing mostly first base. A middle infielder in college at Louisville, he also played third in the Giants’ system.

When he was traded to the Reds last July 30 along with minor-league right-hander Keury Mella in exchange for Mike Leake, he’d played just 10 games in left field as a pro, all of those in 2015 with the Giants’ Triple-A Sacramento team. The Reds thought he could stick there, giving him starts only in left in his time with Louisville.

“I knew when it happened, it was a good opportunity,” Duvall said. “Because any time you get traded, it means somebody wants you. All you can ask for is an opportunity. It’s really all you can ask for.”

Coming into this spring, Reds manager Bryan Price said left field would be an open competition between Duvall, Scott Schebler and Yorman Rodriguez. Rodriguez struggled with injuries and started the season on the disabled list, while Duvall and Schebler both impressed during the spring. Price said he’d start the season with a platoon, hoping someone would win the position outright. At this point, it’s fair to say Duvall has done that.

Duvall said moving from third base helped his transition to left because the ball comes off the bat at him in left much in the same way it did at third, helping him get good jumps on the ball. The Royals’ Alex Gordon, considered by many baseball’s best defensive left fielder, is also a converted third baseman.

Although advanced fielding metrics aren’t too accurate in sample sizes as small as two months, Duvall’s first two months this season have ranked high by pretty much every metric and eyeball.

Entering Tuesday’s games, Duvall is rated as the top defensive left fielder in baseball according to FanGraphs’ defensive runs above average at 3.3 and Ultimate Zone Rating (5.0). He’s tied for second in defensive runs saved at eight along with San Diego’s Melvin Upton Jr. and behind Pittsburgh’s Starling Marte.

“I’m impressed, to be honest with you. I knew he was the hitter — the power guy — I knew that. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how good he is in left field,” Reds shortstop Zack Cozart said. “I didn’t get to see him that much last year because I was hurt. It’s not that I wasn’t paying attention, but he wasn’t playing every day out there. For me, to see when I’m out there, how much he covers the ground, keeps guys on first. That’s what I’ve been impressed with. I know the guy can hit. He’s been an outstanding defensive player for us.”

And has he ever hit. Duvall enters Tuesday’s game hitting .271/.305/.606 with 13 home runs and 13 doubles. If this continued over a full season, his .911 OPS (on-base plus slugging) would be the highest ever by a player with a .305 or lower on-base percentage.

“He’s the best player on our team right now,” Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips said. “I’m very happy he’s getting the opportunity to show what he can really do, he’s taking advantage of it. It’s about time — since I’ve been here, ever since (Adam) Dunn (was traded) — that we have a left fielder that’s penciled in every day. So I’m very happy for his success and hope he can keep it up. He’s very fun to watch.”

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