You know the story of the 2025 Cincinnati Reds. They discovered a option to preserve their file simply above the .500 mark, slipped into the playoffs as the closing Wild Card in the National League, and have been promptly bounced in two video games by the future World Series champs.
They received their on the backs of their pitching – particularly, their beginning rotation, which was stellar all yr lengthy. Their offense, although, was merely lackluster at finest. A man who performed on a bum thigh and slugged .373 with 4 homers over his closing 83 video games (360 PA) nonetheless managed to guide the group in homers.
Advertisement
Looking again at the statcast knowledge for that membership, you’ll discover that the numbers backed up what all of us watched. It by no means regarded like the Reds hit the ball hard, they usually definitely didn’t hit the ball over the fence a lot. Per statcast, only two teams hit the ball softer by way of common exit velocity, the Reds mark of 88.6 mph worsted solely by Cleveland and Houston. Their 99.2 EV50 was additionally second to final, their variety of balls hit over 95 mph third worst.
We all hoped 2026 can be completely different. Cincinnati, too, definitely hoped so, and went out and added Eugenio Suarez to assist deliver some a lot wanted thump. They additionally knew Elly De La Cruz would have a extra wholesome thigh to start this yr, whereas the likes of Tyler Stephenson and Matt McLain can be additional faraway from debilitating indirect issues. Plus, there’d be Sal Stewart in the lineup from the get-go, and everyone knows Sal smokes the ball as typically as anybody.
So far, the evolution of Cincinnati’s offense right into a extra highly effective one seems to be working.
In the extraordinarily small pattern dimension that’s the season’s first 10 video games, the Reds rank 4th in common exit velocity to date at 90.7 mph. That’s a bounce of over 2 mph off final yr’s dismal mark, and their 100.2 mph EV50 ranks fifth in the sport. Individually, every of Stephenson (95.2 mph avg, tenth general), De La Cruz (95.0 mph, twelfth), and Stewart (93.8 mph, twenty eighth) rank in the Top 30 in the sport, and solely the Kansas City Royals could make a declare of getting three of their hitters all ranked that high.
The runs have but to come back, however the course of appears to be impactful already.
The Cincinnati Reds are as soon as once more hitting the crud out of the ball.