Cincinnati Reds Lineup Paced by the Middle of the Field

The Cincinnati Reds lineup has been carried by two players and one position group so far this year.

Elly De La Cruz, TJ Friedl, and Reds catchers have put the lineup on their back, for the most part, so far this year. Of those three, the catchers have been the best.

The group of Tyler Stephenson, Jose Trevino, and Austin Wynns (now with the A’s) have been 46% better than the league average catcher group. Collectively they’ve slashed .307/.352/.519 and have slugged 10 homers. They lead the rest of the Reds position groups in batting average and slugging percentage and are the unquestioned leaders in doubles.

Right behind them is Friedl who is a cool 29% better than the league average centerfielder. There are just three centerfielders ahead of him IN ALL OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, when it comes to the bat. He is most definitely deserving of an All Star Game appointment.

Then there is De La Cruz who gets a lot of magnified criticism because he isn’t perfect…but make no mistake about it, he’s good. He has increased his walk rate and decreased his strikeout rate compared to last year. De La Cruz has even seen his batting average remain consistent with last season despite a drop in his batting average on balls in play.

Recent breakouts of Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Will Benson, coupled with the hopeful return of Austin Hays, could really see this lineup build some momentum as the temperature gauge ticks up.