The Cincinnati Reds have one of the worst offenses…not only this year, but perhaps ever. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes is hitting .085. Catcher, Tyler Stephenson is hitting .158. It’s not like Cincinnati can bench him. The other catcher, Jose Trevino, is hitting 67 points worse. Spencer Steer? .221. Matt McLain? .200. In fact, only three players are hitting better than .230: Eugenio Suarez (.231), Elly De La Cruz (.266) and Sal Stewart (.297). 

So how are they doing it…the winning that is? Defense: sixth-fewest errors. Walks: seventh-most, which offsets their abysmal hitting. Stewart leads the majors in runs batted in (24) and slugging percentage (.615). He’s the league Most Valuable Player right now, regardless of whether you think stats or value is the most important criteria.  De La Cruz has the most homers (8) and the bullpen has saved the most games (10). One more thing: what the Reds have been able to do better than almost any other team: pitch to contact (third-fewest strikeouts) and come from behind at the end of games to pull off the win. Only the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres have been better. All 16 wins were of the come-from-behind variety, including four in the ninth or tenth innings. 

So, there are answers. Luck seems to be another one. Is it working? Yes. Sustainable? Probably not. The offense has to get going. The bad news for the Reds? This organization does hold the modern record for offensive futility with a .212 team average in 2020. The good news for the Reds: there is definitely room for improvement.