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The Cincinnati Reds stand alone in first place in the NL Central going into July. Yes, you read that right. Flare. Excitement. Potential. Three occurring words that have the Reds' fans ready to lose their wits in excitement. They have created this excitement and put themselves in 1st, thanks to their slew of young stars who are stepping up- right away for Cincy. Playoffs? Are we talking, playoffs?!
I know it's only July, but the Reds are beginning to pave their path to the playoffs. Which is nuts, considering this club lost 100 games last season. This spark has been created by one of the more special single-team rookie classes the sport has ever seen. Any sport for that matter. Multiple rookie of the weeks; rookie of the month; and of course the extravaganza of Elly Mania that electrified June. The electricity these rookies have brought to the 'chise and city in such short time is crazy. Put the names to faces:
These young studs have given the franchise newfound life and have made the Reds the biggest surprise of the season thus far. In part, being the most exciting show in baseball as we near the All-Star break. SS Matt McClain was the NL player of the week, in just his first week of his pro career in May. McClain has had very efficient play as he begins his career, batting in the .300s and performing well at short'. McClain brings flare to his game as well. This new Cincy way, baby. Speaking of flare- Andrew Abbott is bringin' a whole lotta flare to the mound for this Reds' rookie class. The Virginia made starter is off to a rockin' first 5 starts to his major league career. The cat is 4-0 in 5 starts with an excellent 1.21 earned run average & 0.94 WHIP. Even crazier: Abbott is the only pitcher to open a career with three scoreless starts of at least five innings each. Freakish. Abbott's arrival couldn't have come at a better time for the Reds' rotation- a rotation that is beat up and that came into the season lack luster on paper. The lefty slinger has the second lowest ERA though 5 starts of any Reds starter since the ERA stat was invented (Tom Browning - '84). Still question his early importance? Since Abbott's debut, he is responsible for four of Cincinnati's last five quality starts, which is at least six innings with three earned runs or less. Big Baller. 3 of his 4 wins came after a Reds loss. The Reds' rotation ranks 28th in total ERA and 24th in innings, all this while having a stranglehold due to injuries- including Hunter Greene. Abbott has been PIVOTAL for the Reds rotation the past month as they wait for 3 of the starters to return from the DL.
The cherry on top? Elly Mania. The top MLB prospect; versatile infielder; and lightning fast speedster has lifted the Red's in major ways. Elly has forced his stardom into the limelight, helping complete the transformation of the Reds from a team of promise into one of the most intriguing stories in baseball- and he does it with swagger and FLARE. Elly Mania's sudden impact saw the Reds win 13 of his first 17 games, including a 12-game win streak that matched the 'chise’s longest in the modern era, which had came in 1957. De La Cruz had an epic week for when he was awarded NL player of the week: batting .440, with 2 big flies, and 6 extra-base hits. Elly then went on to become the first Reds player to hit for the cycle since 1989 (Eric Davis), as well as becoming the youngest player to hit for the cycle since 1972, doing so in just his 15th career game, which is the third-fewest career games at the time of a player's first career cycle. Check out the poetry in motion in full view:
Holy smokes is that crowd amazing to see. Great American Ballpark is one of my all-time favorites. Such a beaut', despite being in the most boring and ugly state in America. I haven't seen that place sold out in years. More notably, I haven't seen a ruckus and electric crowd like that in those seats, in quite some time. Yelly has the city ravin'. De La Cruz's speed may be the fastest in the league, and one of the fastest of all-time, considering. Yelly has the fastest average sprint speed on the season with a 30.8 foot per second average. That is so unreal. Pure athleticism. Pure speed. Don't get things twisted, Yelly isn't just a speed prototype. The cat has major pop off the bat. His veteran teammate, and Reds' soul, Joey Votto will rave about Yelly's power any chance he gets. De La Cruz has that pop from both sides of the plate as well- adding more intrigue in his potential. Elly's first career deep bomb went a distance of 458 ft. His swing makes his power seem so effortless, check out the blast power:
Beautiful swing. Beautiful power. Elly Mania along with these other stud rookies are creating potentially, special times in Cincy. Which is long awaiting. It has been dreadful. When they have had talent- it never turned out in the 2000s and 2010s. Brandon Phillips. Adam Dunn. The Kid. Oh, and of course- Joey Votto. Votto seems to be havin' the time of his life during this surpirsing run. As well as being around great young and exciting talent. Great American being sold out is a thrill. Votto has been in the trenches worse than all Reds players in the past decade and a half. 17 seasons in the trenches of the Reds organization. Seventeen! That's torture. He hasn't complained. At 39, Votto isn't offering much of anything as a player these days. Joey's incredible leadership; attitude; and grit still plays a tune, though and is perfect for these young risers to be around. A playoff clinching season would be a well earned experience for Votto as he wraps up his career in the big leagues.
Sitting at 44-39 atop the NL Central with the Brewers about to make things a deadlock for first, as well as the Pirates and Cubs being in the running- the Reds have got to continue to ride this hot wave and electric energy. They have a chance to have one of the best surprise seasons ever. You know, the very same thing we saw with last year's World Series runner up, Phillies. A team like this gets into the playoffs and we see two outcomes occur: lack of experience anchors them and they get sent packin' quick, or the energy is so hot they hit everything and go on a run the way the Phillies did last season. Regardless, as a Reds fan sitting here at the start of July- you gotta have a smile on your face and each game circled to watch on your calendar app. Seeing the ballpark be filled the way it has, is quite awesome.
Oh, and it shouldn't be just Reds' fans being excited. Seeing all these new young studs start to create the new crop of stars for the future of baseball is exciting in full. The Reds have had 14 rookies play this season. We see other young stars blossom across the league. It's great. Plus, Yelly Mania!? Prime time stuff and content that is what baseball continues to need. Acuna; Soto; Tatis; and now Yelly. Generational athletic studs, who bring flashy motives; flare; and straight up swagger to the diamond. With games being quickened and more allowance of fun and exciting actions (bat flips and celebrations), the league should continue to be more watchable and more a joy to watch. Obviously Manfred being canned would be the full decider. Yelly Mania is awesome. Let's see if this young rookie crop, can keep on storming this Reds team to the playoffs. If I am management, I might want to swing some calls before the August trade deadline as well. Especially looking at the DL and your rotation. These young cats are worthy of putting some chips on. Reds' fans... get excited.
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