Every position player the Cincinnati Reds added to bolster their 2025 lineup has been a hit through the first quarter of the MLB season. Gavin Lux, Austin Hays, and Jose Trevino are all exceeding expectations, and they’ve all been consistent. And still the Reds sport a 20-22 record coupled with a maddeningly inconsistent offense.
While outside additions can help fill some gaps, the Reds will sink or swim with their lineup’s young core. If these players hit, the team will take the next step. If they don’t hit, then the Reds are stuck.
Cincinnati hasn’t splurged into the upper levels of the free agent market, which is where the true difference makers land. They also haven’t made that big trade for a big name that can elevate the ceiling of the entire team.
Internally, the Reds have borrowed a baseball cliche to describe the importance of their young hitters—they call them “aircraft carriers.” These young hitters bear the weight and the pressure that comes with carrying the organization. The Reds will get where they want to go only if these players deliver.
The most concerning aspect of the 2025 Reds’ season so far is that TJ Friedl, Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson, or Christian Encarnacion-Strand haven’t taken big steps. Noelvi Marte was trending in the right direction before he suffered an oblique injury that will keep him out for a while.
These young players have struggled for different reasons. But because none of them has clicked through the season’s first 42 games, Cincinnati’s lineup is still riding the rollercoaster you face when you’re counting on young players. What’s particularly concerning is that none of these young hitters has hit the ground running this season.
De La Cruz has statistically been a below average hitter through the first quarter of the season, and his approach has looked completely different. He’s cut down on the lunging, off-balanced swings that signaled a cold stretch in previous seasons. While his swing decisions have been more consistent, De La Cruz has looked less aggressive.
He’s swinging at fewer pitches in the strike zone than he did in 2024. After swinging at 76 swinging of pitches right down the middle in 2024, he’s swinging at just 65 percent of them this season. He’s hitting significantly more ground balls in 2025 than he did last season, and he’s pulling fly balls much less than he did last season. As a result, he’s hitting for much less power.
Francona has stressed the importance of De La Cruz reaching base and hitting the ball the other way, which weren’t big points of emphasis in 2024. Francona says, “Of all of the good players in the game, he’s the one guy I’ve seen that when he walks, the impact just starts more. It continues. Sometimes, they pitch around a hitter and it’s like, ‘Oh, (shoot).’ But when they walk Elly, it can still help us.”
McLain is hitting .165, with just six extra-base hits all season. He has an alarming strikeout rate, and his at-bats aren’t as polished at they were when he was a rookie. The underlying metrics paint a much more encouraging picture of his season and show that McLain is making quality contact and getting some unlucky bounces.
McLain isn’t chasing pitches outside of the strike zone. He’s whiffing too often when he gets his pitch to hit. “I’ve just been a little rushed in my swing,” he says. “Slow the game down and keep working. It’s baseball. It’s going to come. I’ve got to cut down on the strikeouts. But when I hit it, I’m hitting it hard. I’m getting unlucky sometimes. Combine that with not taking great at-bats, and it’s not a great combination.”
Both Steer and Stephenson have dealt with injuries in spring training, missed time, and didn’t have a normal ramp up for the season. It looks like they’ve both been playing catch up.
Hitting coach Chris Valaika says about Steer, “He’s keeping himself prepared. Coming off spring training where he didn’t get a ton of reps, he had to get ready when the stats matter. To see him stabilize, the swings are more consistent. You’re seeing him put together productive at-bats more. He’s taking his walks. I’m excited to see him continue to progress as he settles in.”
Friedl has been getting on base at a good rate. Like De La Cruz, he emphasizes getting on base and hitting the ball the other way but is tapping into less of his pull-side power that was a bigger part of his game in previous seasons.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand was banged up before going on the injured list with a back injury. When he’s not at full strength, he gets into some bad habits.
Put it all together, and the lineup still feels very young even though most of these players have had two to three full years in the big leagues. Even with strong performances by Hays, Lux, and Trevino, the inconsistencies of the core of players will ultimately make or break this Reds’ season and seasons in the foreseeable future.
The Reds’ plan is to draft, develop and build around young players. They’re all-in on this young core. So when the young core slumps, it creates an uphill battle for the entire team.
Charlie Goldsmith has covered the Reds and Bengals since 2020, and his newsletter on the teams can be found at charlieschalkboard.substack.com. He’s @CharlieG__ on X.
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