Two Reds Land on All Rookie Team
Photo from Patrick Semansky of AP.
Dayton, Oh (PSF)- On Tuesday October17, 2023 the Major League Baseball all-rookie team was announced. To no surprise, two Cincinnati Reds were named to this team. Just as everyone would expect, the Reds star second baseman, Matt McLain was the first.
Photo from Brady Farkas of FanNation.
McLain hit .290 while hitting 16 home runs with 50 RBIs, while posting a .860 OPS. McLain starred for this team and made a difference from the day he was called up. If it weren’t for a late season oblique strain, we could very well have seen another Rookie of the Year in Cincinnati.
McLain really turned it on in the second half of the year, while the likely winner of this award, Corbin Carroll started to slow down. While only playing in 88 games this season, his presence was felt big time.
Jim Callis of MLB.com stated, “The Reds went 47-41 in McLain's 88 starts, good for a .534 winning percentage exceeding that of 10 of the other 14 NL clubs.”
McLain’s presence on the Reds leads to winning baseball. He will see significant time at second base during the 2024 campaign and should find himself as the Reds second baseman of the future.
While most would expect rookie phenom Elly De La Cruz to be the second Reds rookie on this list, that is the case. This is not to take away from De La Cruz’s phenomenal rookie season, or the super stardom coming in his future. The second Reds rookie on this list is Spencer Steer, a rookie who played like a veteran all season.
Photo from C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic.
At times throughout the season, it was difficult to tell that Steer was a rookie. He plays with a veteran mentality and always seems to be in the spot at the right time. With the plethora of rookie talent in the Reds organization it became apparent that some players would have to switch positions, and Steer was always the one to volunteer, playing five different positions this year.
Steer batted .271 with 23 home runs, and 86 RBIs, while posting a .820 OPS en route to finding himself on the all-rookie team in the Designated Hitter (DH) spot.
Jim Callis of MLB.com said of Steer, “Steer somehow flew under the radar a bit despite starting games at five different positions and pacing all rookies with 37 doubles and 86 RBIs.”
Cincinnati has quite a bright future, and it starts right here with these two. With rumors circulating around the possible exits of Jonathan India, and Joey Votto the Reds will need someone to step up an assume a leadership role with a largely inexperienced team.