No Need to Panic: Cincinnati Reds Infielder Matt McLain Still Making Elite Contact

If you just glance at Matt McLain's stats, you'll see he is hitting .180 with an OPS of just .699. That may seem concerning.

However, his underlying numbers still look good and there is no need to panic about the Reds' infielder, yet.

Hitting the Ball Hard

McLain is hitting the ball hard. His barrel rate ranks in the 93rd percentile, his hard-hit rate ranks in the 87th percentile, and his average exit velocity is 91.1 mph, which ranks in the 71st percentile.

These stats all show that McLain is still making quality contact at the plate.

Plate Discipline

Coming into the season, one thing I mentioned I'd like to see Matt McLain do more of is walk. In 2023, he walked just 7.7% of the time.

However, this season, he is walking at a 13.9% clip, which resembles his minor league numbers.

The 25-year-old also isn't chasing bad pitches. His chase rate ranks in the 85th percentile.

His career-high walk rate and lack of pitch chasing indicate that he is seeing the ball as well as he has ever seen it.

Bad Luck?

His batting average on balls in play is at .206 so far this season. To put that in perspective, in 2023, his batting average on balls in play was .385. .385 is pretty high, but it's still reasonable to think it will improve.

McLain is striking out at a 31.9% clip, which is a little concerning. However, as mentioned above, his contact quality has not dropped, so the whiff issues could normalize.

McLain is still showing all of the signs that he is an elite hitter. He's simply going through an extended slump with some bad luck.