In some ways, if you adjust your rose-colored glasses, these are exciting times for the Cincinnati Reds. Two of their young stars are in Philadelphia this week for the All-Star Game, and under almost any other circumstances the conversation here here would be entirely about them. Chase Burns (23 years old) and Sal Stewart (22) are two of the most exciting young players in baseball, and they’ve earned every bit of the recognition that comes with a first career All-Star selection.
Burns is 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA. The Reds are 14-4 when he pitches; given the way this club looks most nights, that’s an almost inconceivable stat. Stewart leads all NL rookies in home runs, and only Frank Robinson hit more home runs before the All-Star break as a Reds rookie. Stewart called his dad when he got that news, and his dad cried. As a dad myself, that’s the kind of story I love.
There are fun things to enjoy about this club! And then there’s the rest of the first half, which we might as well work through quickly.
The Reds enter the break at 43-52, in last place in the NL Central, 15.5 games out of first place and 6-22 against division opponents. Remember when they were 20-11 at the end of April, among the best starts in franchise history? Seems like a long time ago, right? Well, the Reds are 23-41 since. It’s only the fourth losing first half of Terry Francona’s 25-year managerial career.
Tito shares in the blame for the miserable first half of the season, but he’s been dealt a bad hand too. His roster has endured injuries that shredded the club since before Opening Day. Hunter Greene missed the first three months after elbow surgery. Nick Lodolo keeps battling the same blister over and over and over and over. Emilio Pagan is no one’s idea of the perfect closer, but his hamstring gave out in May. Graham Ashcraft went on the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain. Tony Santillan posted a 6.65 ERA through the beginning of June and, just when it appeared he was turning things around, ended up with a season-threatening oblique strain.
And it wasn’t just injuries. The bullpen that had the best ERA in baseball in April became the worst in baseball by June. TJ Friedl went from a perfectly acceptable leadoff hitter the last two seasons to Triple-A Louisville. Eugenio Suárez, signed to anchor the middle of the order, has 11 home runs at the break after hitting 25 in the same stretch last season.
Yep, the first half of the 2026 season has been nothing short of a catastrophe. It’s a testament to Burns and Stewart and a few others—I’m looking at you, Elly De La Cruz and JJ Bleday—that things weren’t even worse.
There’s some good news besides our All-Stars, however. Greene is already back. His season debut was rocky to say the least (allowing eight runs against Baltimore on July 4), but he was brilliant in his second start: 7 shutout innings, 12 strikeouts, and just one walk. He’s scheduled to pitch in Colorado this weekend as the Reds open the second half.
A healthy Greene paired with Burns and Andrew Abbott, who’s turned his season around nicely, give the Reds a trio of All-Star starting pitchers aged 27 or younger. That’s a great core, especially when you include Lodolo, who is good when his fingers cooperate. If the Reds are going to make anything of the next two and a half months, it starts with those three (I’m not counting on Lodolo) going out every fifth day and doing what they’re capable of.
But, as always, here in Cincinnati we’re talking about the future. And this is the week to do it, with two young stars representing our town at the mid-summer classic in Philadelphia just days after the MLB draft concluded.
With the 18th overall pick last weekend, the Reds selected Justin Lebron, a shortstop out of the University of Alabama. He was once considered a potential No. 1 overall pick after crushing 30 home runs in his first two college seasons. A down junior year cooled some of the national buzz, but you have to hope the Reds are correct that his underlying tools are extraordinary: plus power from the right side, elite speed, and athleticism that could translate to multiple positions.
In the second round, the Reds took Eric Becker out of the University of Virginia. I’ve actually seen him play dozens of times during his college career, and I love this pick. He’s a polished, contact-oriented shortstop who I (and many others) always thought was a first-round talent. The team’s competitive balance pick, UCLA’s Mulivai Levu, is a corner infielder the scouting staff describes simply as a guy who can hit. I like guys who can hit.
Yes, they drafted more shortstops. Again. But I choose not to get too worked up about it: The best athletes in baseball play shortstop. You can always move a shortstop to second base, third base, or the outfield. You cannot turn a corner outfielder into a shortstop. Sure, I wish the Reds would convert them to center fielders before they make it to the big leagues, but that’s not the way Nick Krall and his crew does business. We’re Reds fans; if we get too worked up about these details, we’ll never be able to sleep at night.
And if you want to dream, pay attention to what’s happening in Philadelphia at the All-Star Game. Burns was the second overall pick in 2024 and was in the big leagues less than a year later. Stewart was a 2022 first-rounder who arrived on the scene pretty quickly as well. Maybe Lebron and Becker will be the next two.
Or maybe not. So enjoy the All-Star Game, and come back this weekend for Hunter Greene and Rhett Lowder in Colorado. The second half is about to begin.
Chad Dotson helms Reds coverage at Cincinnati Magazine and is co-author of “The Big 50: The Men and Moments That Made the Cincinnati Reds.” His newsletter about Cincinnati sports can be found at chaddotson.com.
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