With Sunday’s 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins in 10 innings at Target Field, the Cincinnati Reds are 14-8 — their best start in 20 years.
Since the team moved to Great American Ball Park for the 2003 season, only the 2006 Reds have put up a better record (15-7 ) than this year’s edition after 22 games. That team finished 80-82.
Twenty-two games is just over an eighth of the season, comfortably in the “it’s still early” window, but long enough to spot some trends for what lies ahead in the remaining 140 games. These aren’t final grades or even midterm grades, but more of an early progress report on where the Reds stand following the franchise’s sixth winning record over the first 22 games since 2003.
Offense: Critical area of concern
Two things can be true at once — an offense can stink, and that team can still win games.
After 22 games, the Reds’ 78 runs are the fifth fewest in baseball. The Reds are last in batting average (.202), 26th in on-base percentage (.297), and last in slugging (.326) and OPS (.623).
It’s not the entire offense, though. The Reds’ third, fourth and fifth hitters (predominantly Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart and Eugenio Suárez) have combined for the second-highest OPS (.870) in baseball. The rest of the order is hitting a combined .492 OPS, the worst in baseball, with the next closest team, the Boston Red Sox, getting a .577 OPS from that group of six spots in the lineup.
Defense: Satisfactory
The Reds were the last team in baseball to commit an error, going 11 games without one. They’ve committed 11 errors in the last 11 games. The team’s .986 fielding percentage is 14th in baseball.
According to Baseball Savant, the Reds’ five runs above average is the seventh-best mark in baseball. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and second baseman Matt McLain have both put up two runs above average, and De La Cruz is rated as one run above average. Of qualified players, only Spencer Steer in left field has a negative run value (-1).
Base running: Meets expectations
The Reds are currently falling between the aggressive base-running of 2024 and the more cautious approach of 2025. The Reds are one run above average, according to Baseball Savant. FanGraphs had the team at 1.5 base-running runs above average, eighth in baseball.
The team’s 19 stolen bases rank 9th in the league, but the team’s dreadful on-base percentage has limited opportunities to steal.
What is more like 2024 is a healthy De La Cruz. In Sunday’s game alone, the threat of his speed led to at least two runs, including the game-winner in the 10th inning when he scored from second on what should’ve been a routine grounder by Suárez that turned into two errors — the third baseman letting the ball go into left and the left fielder bobbling the ball.
Starting pitching: Satisfactory
Entering the season, the team’s starting pitching was expected to be a strength. But few teams can lose their top two starters and reach expectations. Neither Hunter Greene nor Nick Lodolo has thrown a pitch this season, and the team’s starters are 6-6 with a 4.33 ERA. That ERA is tied for 19th in baseball.
Lodolo could return next month, while Greene’s ETA is July.
Heading into spring training, the final spot in the five-man rotation was up for grabs with three young pitchers — right-handers Rhett Lowder and Chase Burns, along with lefty Brandon Williamson — competing for the final spot. With Greene and Lodolo out, all three are in the rotation.
All five starters have had good and bad starts, but they’ve (mostly) been good enough to keep the Reds in games.
Since giving up six runs in his first start of the season, Williamson has put up a 2.25 ERA in three starts. Burns has a 2.42 ERA on the season, while Lowder has a 3.52.
Emilio Pagán’s last save was on April 17 against the Twins, when he threw 13 pitches. (Matt Krohn / Getty Images)
Bullpen: Excellent
The Reds’ front office had to rebuild its bullpen in the offseason, and so far the results have been better than expected — the team’s 2.31 ERA is not just the best in baseball, but the best by more than half a run. Atlanta Braves relievers have the second-best ERA in baseball at 2.85.
One of the best surprises has been the resurgence of left-hander Sam Moll. Moll struggled with injuries the last two seasons and was out of options entering the 2026 season. When lefty Caleb Ferguson returns, the Reds could have three lefties out of the bullpen with Ferguson, Moll and Brock Burke, who has put up a 0.96 ERA to begin the season.
A total of five Reds have recorded a save, led by closer Emilio Pagán with six and one each from Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan, Connor Phillips and Burke.
Management: Excellent
Sunday’s win was the Reds’ third in as many extra-inning games this year, already matching their total wins in 15 extra-inning games a year ago.
The win at Target Field also marked the team’s second sweep in three road series, good for the best road record in baseball at 8-2. It’s just the third time since 1900 that the Reds have won eight of their first 10 road games to start a season. The only other times the Reds have started with eight wins in their first 10 games were in 1973 and 1990. Both of those teams went to the playoffs, and the 1990 team won the World Series. Last season, the Reds were 38-43 on the road.
The Reds are a perfect 6-0 in one-run games after finishing .500 in one-run games a year ago (22-22).
While the team’s offense has struggled as a whole, Reds pinch hitters have the sixth-best OPS in the majors (.807).
Reds manager Terry Francona has also done a good job using the team’s positional flexibility, with Stewart and Steer already playing three different defensive positions. Bench players Nathaniel Lowe and Dane Myers haven’t played as much as the starters, but they’ve not only accepted their roles, they’ve thrived in them.
Sunday’s game ended on an ABS challenge by backup catcher P.J. Higgins, who turned a ball into a game-ending strike three and Ashcraft’s first career save. Reds catchers have a 69-percent overturn rate on challenges, tied for the fifth-best mark in baseball. Reds batters are the game’s best at 69 percent.
Overall: Exceeds expectations
One of the beauties of Major League Baseball is that a month doesn’t have to make or break an entire season. Nor will any month (aside from October) define a team. But the Reds are playing better than expected so far. While the rest of the country doesn’t seem to believe much in this team, they’re in first place in what has been the game’s most competitive division so far, and that’s something — even in just 22 games.