Spencer Steer

[RedRoser]

I don’t see the reason for Espinal in this lineup. At second base, I don’t see him as appreciably better than India. The defensive stats, though early, show India and Espinal as similar at second base. (Espinal grades better at third.). The eye test is no different.

As for India, I don’t think he’s healthy, he just can’t hit right now. Some say his hand as injured against the Mets and he hasn’t been the same.

But if he’s ok, when Friedl comes back, I’d just put Espinal on the bench to be a reserve player. I don’t think he adds much as a starter.

Put Fraley in RF and bat him in the leadoff spot. Move India down in the order. Use Fairchild in a platoon role

[MoneyInTheBank]

If the Reds can’t develop enough two-way starting players, they can augment defense with backups. If they won’t do those things, they’ll have a difficult time getting their run allowance down to acceptable numbers. That’s the bottom line.

A player like Thompson is nobody’s cup of tea, but Reds need to find a formula that will give the pitchers more defensive help. If it requires roster spots for non-hitters who run and defend, then so be it.

I disagree about the emphasis on the board. But more important is what we see on the field.

The question, as always, is "at what cost?" I don't really see a problem with how they are deploying Bubba. Spot starts, pinch running and defensive sub.

The Reds runs scored is up .44 from last season and the runs allowed is down .34. So, things seem to be working. This is with Friedl, who is a top 3 hitter and probably top 3 defender on the current roster, returning soon-ish (I'm not counting on McLain being back this season). Assuming everyone stays healthy, it probably comes down to Bubba or Martini when Friedl is back. Fairchild does much of what Bubba does with the glove and on the bases plus he's the better hitter, so I'd not hesitate to DFA him when Friedl is back. If history tells us anything, he'll be available again soon.

[herbdizzle]

The Reds are missing 3 above average IF defenders in MClain Marte and Arroyo. Unfortunately we dont have any suitable depth there so we have to roll with what we got.

[LeatherPants]

I wouldn't expect much from Friedl when he gets back, wrist injuries tend to linger and I wouldn't expect much with his bat for the rest of the season.

[westofyou]

I wouldn't expect much from Friedl when he gets back, wrist injuries tend to linger and I wouldn't expect much with his bat for the rest of the season.

I'd expect his power to be affected, hopefully he can provide some viable top-of-the-lineup OB stability

[Ron Madden]

Spencer Steer trusts his process at the plate, despite toughest slump of his career

As the Reds work to get their season back on track, Steer is one of their most important pieces. He usually has an impressive combination of power and plate discipline, leading the Reds with 23 homers in 2023 and posting a .271 batting average.

On a team full of young hitters who were making adjustments at the plate last season, Steer was the rookie who looked like he had already been in the league for a few years.

Steer’s consistency was his biggest strength, but that hasn’t carried over into 2024. “It’s definitely been tough mentally,” Steer said. “It’s probably the most I’ve ever struggled. At least the longest.

For the first three weeks of the season, Steer looked like the Reds’ second-best player behind shortstop Elly De La Cruz.

During the Reds’ first 21 games, Steer hit .307 with a .904 OPS, and he was the perfect complement behind De La Cruz in the order.

When De La Cruz was up, pitchers had to challenge him more consistently because Steer was doing damage in the No. 3 spot in the lineup. They also had to think twice about bringing in a left-handed reliever to face De La Cruz because Steer was having so much success against left-handed pitchers.

During this slide, Steer’s timing against breaking pitches hasn’t been the same as it was last year. He’s elevating the ball more than he used to, which has resulted in pop flies and fly outs. And he’s not pulling the ball down the line as frequently.

His track record of success gives him confidence that he has a strong foundation as a hitter. While it’s been a tough month for Steer, his underlying metrics show that he’s still making good decisions at the plate.

Full Article Here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/oth...ingNewsSearch#

[Ron Madden]

Here are the Cincinnati Reds' last 12 lead-changing home runs in the 9th inning or later

6-5-24 Spencer Steer
The Reds trailed 7-6 when Steer hit his two-run, go-ahead homer off of the Rockies' Jalen Beeks.

4-1-24 Spencer Steer
The Reds were tied at 2 with the Phillies in the top of the 10th in Philadelphia when Steer hit a grand slam off of Connor Brogdon.

3-31-24 Will Benson
With the Reds trailing the Washington Nationals 5-3 with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Benson homered off of Kyle Finnegan to score Jonathan India and tie the game.

3-31-24 Christian Encarnacion-Strand
With the score tied at 5 after Benson's two-run homer, Encarnacion-Strand launched a solo, walk-off shot to left for the 6-5 win.

9-1-23 Nick Martini
With one out in the bottom of the 9th against the Cubs' Adbert Alzolay, Martini's solo shot tied the game at 2 in a 3-2 Reds win.

8-18-23 Christian Encarnacion-Strand
Encarnacion-Strand's fourth career home run was a walk-off shot against Toronto's Jordan Hicks in a 1-0 Cincinnati win.

7-6-23 Nick Senzel
Tied at 3 with the Nats in the top of the 10th, Senzel hit a two-run shot off of Hunter Harvey to give Cincinnati a 5-3 lead in a 5-4 win.

6-30-23 Matt McLain
The Reds trailed the Padres 4-2 in the bottom of the 10th at GABP before McLain's two-out, two-run homer off of Ray Kerr drove in Tyler Stephenson to tie the game at 4.

6-30-23 Spencer Steer
After McLain's home in the 10th tied the game at 4, the Reds and Padres were tied at 5 in the bottom of the 11th when Steer launched a two-out, two-run, walk-off homer off of Drew Carlton.

6-7-23 Will Benson
Benson's first big-league home run was a two-run, walk-off shot off of the Dodgers' Evan Phillips to score Jake Fraley in an 8-6 Cincinnati win.

5-12-23 Jake Fraley
With the game tied at 4 in the top of the 9th in Miami, Fraley hit a three-run shot off of Dylan Floro in Cincinnati's 7-4 win.

4-26-23 Nick Senzel
Senzel's two-run, walk-off homer off of the Rangers' Jonathan Hernandez in the bottom of the 9th of a 3-3 game lifted the Reds to a 5-3 win.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/spo...s/73994242007/

[Ron Madden]

Steer homers twice and drives in 5 runs as Reds beat Cardinals 6-1

Spencer Steer homered in consecutive at-bats and drove in five runs, and Elly De La Cruz hit his team-leading 21st homer as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Monday night.

Steer and De La Cruz homered on successive pitches from Gray to put Cincinnati ahead 3-1 in the third. It was the fifth time this season the Reds hit back-to-back homers.

Steer, who batted leadoff for the third time this year and fifth time in his career, struck again in the fifth with a three-run shot to make it 6-1.
“It is fun to move around," Steer said. "Batting leadoff is great. It’s a great opportunity to get that first at-bat for the team and set the tone. That’s the way I look at it, at least. It’s a tone setter for the rest of the game.”

It was Steer's first career multi-homer game. He has 18 home runs this season.

“He's just a good ballplayer,” Reds manager David Bell said.

Story Here
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb...d=BingNewsVerp

[Kingspoint]

W/ RISP...

137 PA's

.322/.387/.678/1.065

[Ron Madden]

This is from Lance McAlister 700wlw
Here's another reason I'm a Spencer Steer fan:

Here's another reason I'm a Spencer Steer fan:
After hitting the game winning home run last night, he talked in the postgame about his disappointment in his season:

"I feel like I've not been the guy that I've needed to be for this team."

I love that.

Yes, his batting average is down from .271 last year to .232. But Steer still has 20 HR, 91 RBI, 33 2B, 25 SB. He's played LF, 1B, 2B, RF and even appeared at SS.

But he's gone through slumps this season. He hit just .177 in May. Last night snapped a streak of 24 games w/o a homer. He said he prides himself on consistency and showing up every day and taking good at-bats.

He said that he showed the emotion he did rounding the bases last night because he helped the team.

I love that.

He's not a big rah rah guy. But I think there is great value in those words. It's a quiet leadership type of thing. A leading by example thing. Kind of reminds me of Scott Rolen.

He also went to bat for Noelvi Marte in the postgame. He noted it's a big learning curve at his age at this level. He pointed out when he was Marte's age, he was in college. He said Marte's learning and adjusting, and is an incredible talent.