2024 Cincinnati Reds Season Recap: Progress and Promise

BeatReportJacob

BeatReportJacob

TV Athletics Beat Writer
By Jacob Merideth, The Traffic Light 10/1

2024 Cincinnati Reds Season Recap

2024 Cincinnati Reds Season Recap: Progress and Promise


The 2024 Cincinnati Reds season was marked by ups and downs but ultimately showed promise for the future. Despite finishing with a 74-88 record, the team demonstrated growth and potential for improvement.


Notable Players and Stats:


Batting Leaders:

1. Jonathan India: .248 AVG, 25 HR, 58 RBIs
2. Spencer Steer: .225 AVG, 20 HR, 92 RBIs
3. Tyler Stephenson: .258 AVG, 19 HR, 66 RBIs


Pitching Leaders:


1. Hunter Greene: 9-5, 2.75 ERA, 169 K’s
2. Nick Lodolo: 9-6, 4.76 ERA, 120 K’s
3. Graham Ashcraft: 5-5, 5.24 ERA, 57 K’s


Season Highlights:

A strong August, where the Reds went 16-12
Jonathan India's career-high 25 home runs
Hunter Greene's emergence as a reliable ace


Next Season Outlook:


With a young core and promising prospects, the Reds are poised for improvement in 2025.


Key Offseason Questions:


1. Will the Reds sign a big-time free agent?
2. Can Spencer Steer build on his breakout season?
3. Will the Reds move India?
4. Will Hunter Greene continue to anchor the rotation?
5. What manager will lead the 2025 Cincinnati Reds?


Young Players to Watch:


Elly De La Cruz SS: .259 AVG, 25 HRs, 76 RBIs, 67 SBs
Matt McLain, 2B (did not play in 2024)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 3B: .190 AVG, 2 HRs, 16 RBIs (played 50 games before mid-July injury)


2025 Predictions:


Competitive playoff push
Continued growth from young core players

The Numbers:


For the Core 3 pitching and batting, Greene, Ashcraft, and Lodolo; Steer, India, and Elly (McLain included, DNP 2024)

Hitters

Elly De La Cruz:
2023 Rookie Season: .235 AVG, 13 HR, 44 RBIs, 67 Runs
2024 Regular Season: .259 AVG, 25 HR, 76 RBIs, 105 Runs
Comparison: AVG: +.024, HRs: +12, RBIs: +32, Runs: +38

Jonathan India:
2023: .262 AVG, 17 HR, 65 RBIs, .781 OPS
2024: .248 AVG, 25 HR, 58 RBI’s
Comparison: AVG: -.014, HRs: +8, RBIs: -7

Spencer Steer:
2023: .241 AVG, 15 HR, 54 RBIs, .698 OPS
2024: .225 AVG, 20 HR, 92 RBIs
Comparison: AVG: -.016, HRs: +5, RBIs: +38, OPS: +.129


Pitchers

Hunter Greene:
2023: 4.14 ERA, 140 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
2024: 2.75 ERA, 169 K’s
Comparison: ERA: -1.39, Ks: +29

Nick Lodolo:
2023: 4.52 ERA, 120 Ks, 1.34 WHIP
2024: 4.76 ERA, 120 K’s
Comparison: ERA: +.24, Ks: 0

Graham Ashcraft:
2023: 4.89 ERA, 110 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
2024: 5.24 ERA, 57 K’s
Comparison: ERA: +.35, Ks: -53


​
 
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Nice recap, I put this on the Reds 24 thread earlier but it may be better suited here...

It's very easy with the Francona hire to immediately flip the page and move on to 2025, but lets take a look back at the 2024 season. We'll do it in segments.
We'll start with the catching position.
Going into the season, we felt we may have a platoon, 50-50 type split. Tyler Stephenson had a poor 2023, to the degree that Luke Maile ended up playing alot more than anyone anticipated. Well it was clear in 2024, we have a starting catcher and a backup. Stephenson had his best season as a Red, started off a little slow, but after April/ May, he became one of the more reliable players on the roster. However, Stephenson's biggest improvement was on defense. There were major questions that he may not be able to be a full time catcher if he could not get much better on defense. He's likely never going to throw out alot of runners, but he's adequate, and his overall catching has got markedly better. Stephenson is arbitration eligible and won't be an unrestricted FA until 2027.
Luke Maile took a giant step back this season. He battled Stephenson last season for time because he played so well, but this year was a major struggle, especially with the bat. The team does have a club option on him in 2025 so you may not see him next season. He is very popular in the clubhouse and provides great leadership, which may be the only reason he's still with the club.
 
BeatReportJacob said:
By Jacob Merideth, The Traffic Light 10/1

2024 Cincinnati Reds Season Recap

2024 Cincinnati Reds Season Recap: Progress and Promise


The 2024 Cincinnati Reds season was marked by ups and downs but ultimately showed promise for the future. Despite finishing with a 74-88 record, the team demonstrated growth and potential for improvement.


Notable Players and Stats:


Batting Leaders:

1. Jonathan India: .248 AVG, 25 HR, 58 RBIs
2. Spencer Steer: .225 AVG, 20 HR, 92 RBIs
3. Tyler Stephenson: .258 AVG, 19 HR, 66 RBIs


Pitching Leaders:


1. Hunter Greene: 9-5, 2.75 ERA, 169 K’s
2. Nick Lodolo: 9-6, 4.76 ERA, 120 K’s
3. Graham Ashcraft: 5-5, 5.24 ERA, 57 K’s


Season Highlights:

A strong August, where the Reds went 16-12
Jonathan India's career-high 25 home runs
Hunter Greene's emergence as a reliable ace


Next Season Outlook:


With a young core and promising prospects, the Reds are poised for improvement in 2025.


Key Offseason Questions:


1. Will the Reds sign a big-time free agent?
2. Can Spencer Steer build on his breakout season?
3. Will the Reds move India?
4. Will Hunter Greene continue to anchor the rotation?
5. What manager will lead the 2025 Cincinnati Reds?


Young Players to Watch:


Elly De La Cruz SS: .259 AVG, 25 HRs, 76 RBIs, 67 SBs
Matt McLain, 2B (did not play in 2024)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 3B: .190 AVG, 2 HRs, 16 RBIs (played 50 games before mid-July injury)


2025 Predictions:


Competitive playoff push
Continued growth from young core players

The Numbers:


For the Core 3 pitching and batting, Greene, Ashcraft, and Lodolo; Steer, India, and Elly (McLain included, DNP 2024)

Hitters

Elly De La Cruz:
2023 Rookie Season: .235 AVG, 13 HR, 44 RBIs, 67 Runs
2024 Regular Season: .259 AVG, 25 HR, 76 RBIs, 105 Runs
Comparison: AVG: +.024, HRs: +12, RBIs: +32, Runs: +38

Jonathan India:
2023: .262 AVG, 17 HR, 65 RBIs, .781 OPS
2024: .248 AVG, 25 HR, 58 RBI’s
Comparison: AVG: -.014, HRs: +8, RBIs: -7

Spencer Steer:
2023: .241 AVG, 15 HR, 54 RBIs, .698 OPS
2024: .225 AVG, 20 HR, 92 RBIs
Comparison: AVG: -.016, HRs: +5, RBIs: +38, OPS: +.129


Pitchers

Hunter Greene:
2023: 4.14 ERA, 140 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
2024: 2.75 ERA, 169 K’s
Comparison: ERA: -1.39, Ks: +29

Nick Lodolo:
2023: 4.52 ERA, 120 Ks, 1.34 WHIP
2024: 4.76 ERA, 120 K’s
Comparison: ERA: +.24, Ks: 0

Graham Ashcraft:
2023: 4.89 ERA, 110 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
2024: 5.24 ERA, 57 K’s
Comparison: ERA: +.35, Ks: -53


​
Click to expand...
While I thought Spencer Steer had a good year driving in runs, I was somewhat disappointed he only hit .225 with 20 homers. I know batting average isn't what it once was, but when there is a 25-30 point drop, that's still significant. My thoughts for Steer would be more in the .260 range, 110 RBI and 25-30 homers. For some reason he was bounced around in the lineup early on, but once we got to the mid season, he was pretty locked into the #3/#4 hole the rest of the way.

Surprised Andrew Abbott wasn't listed with your pitchers? He actually led the team with 10 wins and a 3.72 ERA. 25 starts, 138 innings.
 
BeatReportJacob said:
By Jacob Merideth, The Traffic Light 10/1

2024 Cincinnati Reds Season Recap

2024 Cincinnati Reds Season Recap: Progress and Promise


The 2024 Cincinnati Reds season was marked by ups and downs but ultimately showed promise for the future. Despite finishing with a 74-88 record, the team demonstrated growth and potential for improvement.


Notable Players and Stats:


Batting Leaders:

1. Jonathan India: .248 AVG, 25 HR, 58 RBIs
2. Spencer Steer: .225 AVG, 20 HR, 92 RBIs
3. Tyler Stephenson: .258 AVG, 19 HR, 66 RBIs


Pitching Leaders:


1. Hunter Greene: 9-5, 2.75 ERA, 169 K’s
2. Nick Lodolo: 9-6, 4.76 ERA, 120 K’s
3. Graham Ashcraft: 5-5, 5.24 ERA, 57 K’s


Season Highlights:

A strong August, where the Reds went 16-12
Jonathan India's career-high 25 home runs
Hunter Greene's emergence as a reliable ace


Next Season Outlook:


With a young core and promising prospects, the Reds are poised for improvement in 2025.


Key Offseason Questions:


1. Will the Reds sign a big-time free agent?
2. Can Spencer Steer build on his breakout season?
3. Will the Reds move India?
4. Will Hunter Greene continue to anchor the rotation?
5. What manager will lead the 2025 Cincinnati Reds?


Young Players to Watch:


Elly De La Cruz SS: .259 AVG, 25 HRs, 76 RBIs, 67 SBs
Matt McLain, 2B (did not play in 2024)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 3B: .190 AVG, 2 HRs, 16 RBIs (played 50 games before mid-July injury)


2025 Predictions:


Competitive playoff push
Continued growth from young core players

The Numbers:


For the Core 3 pitching and batting, Greene, Ashcraft, and Lodolo; Steer, India, and Elly (McLain included, DNP 2024)

Hitters

Elly De La Cruz:
2023 Rookie Season: .235 AVG, 13 HR, 44 RBIs, 67 Runs
2024 Regular Season: .259 AVG, 25 HR, 76 RBIs, 105 Runs
Comparison: AVG: +.024, HRs: +12, RBIs: +32, Runs: +38

Jonathan India:
2023: .262 AVG, 17 HR, 65 RBIs, .781 OPS
2024: .248 AVG, 25 HR, 58 RBI’s
Comparison: AVG: -.014, HRs: +8, RBIs: -7

Spencer Steer:
2023: .241 AVG, 15 HR, 54 RBIs, .698 OPS
2024: .225 AVG, 20 HR, 92 RBIs
Comparison: AVG: -.016, HRs: +5, RBIs: +38, OPS: +.129


Pitchers

Hunter Greene:
2023: 4.14 ERA, 140 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
2024: 2.75 ERA, 169 K’s
Comparison: ERA: -1.39, Ks: +29

Nick Lodolo:
2023: 4.52 ERA, 120 Ks, 1.34 WHIP
2024: 4.76 ERA, 120 K’s
Comparison: ERA: +.24, Ks: 0

Graham Ashcraft:
2023: 4.89 ERA, 110 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
2024: 5.24 ERA, 57 K’s
Comparison: ERA: +.35, Ks: -53


​
Click to expand...
If you are a 6th grader pretending to be a sportswriter, nicely done.

If you are an adult pretending to be a sportswriter, don't quit your day job. 14Red is already our resident know-nothing pretending to be a sportswriter.

Not including the Elly De La Cruz historic 25 HR, 67 SB season as a 'season highlight' indicates your lack of baseball knowledge. He is only the 5th player to ever have a 20/60 season.
 
wolves82 said:
If you are a 6th grader pretending to be a sportswriter, nicely done.

If you are an adult pretending to be a sportswriter, don't quit your day job. 14Red is already our resident know-nothing pretending to be a sportswriter.

Not including the Elly De La Cruz historic 25 HR, 67 SB season as a 'season highlight' indicates your lack of baseball knowledge. He is only the 5th player to ever have a 20/60 season.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the read!
 
wolves82 said:
If you are a 6th grader pretending to be a sportswriter, nicely done.

If you are an adult pretending to be a sportswriter, don't quit your day job. 14Red is already our resident know-nothing pretending to be a sportswriter.

Not including the Elly De La Cruz historic 25 HR, 67 SB season as a 'season highlight' indicates your lack of baseball knowledge. He is only the 5th player to ever have a 20/60 season.
Click to expand...

Elly De La Cruz SS: .259 AVG, 25 HRs, 76 RBIs, 67 SBs

If you ever miss anything again, let me know, and I can steer you where it is.

Thanks for the kind words and the feedback!
 
14Red said:
While I thought Spencer Steer had a good year driving in runs, I was somewhat disappointed he only hit .225 with 20 homers. I know batting average isn't what it once was, but when there is a 25-30 point drop, that's still significant. My thoughts for Steer would be more in the .260 range, 110 RBI and 25-30 homers. For some reason he was bounced around in the lineup early on, but once we got to the mid season, he was pretty locked into the #3/#4 hole the rest of the way.

Surprised Andrew Abbott wasn't listed with your pitchers? He actually led the team with 10 wins and a 3.72 ERA. 25 starts, 138 innings.
Click to expand...
Abbott is one of my favorites, I like him better than Ashcraft.
 
14Red said:
Nice recap, I put this on the Reds 24 thread earlier but it may be better suited here...

It's very easy with the Francona hire to immediately flip the page and move on to 2025, but lets take a look back at the 2024 season. We'll do it in segments.
We'll start with the catching position.
Going into the season, we felt we may have a platoon, 50-50 type split. Tyler Stephenson had a poor 2023, to the degree that Luke Maile ended up playing alot more than anyone anticipated. Well it was clear in 2024, we have a starting catcher and a backup. Stephenson had his best season as a Red, started off a little slow, but after April/ May, he became one of the more reliable players on the roster. However, Stephenson's biggest improvement was on defense. There were major questions that he may not be able to be a full time catcher if he could not get much better on defense. He's likely never going to throw out alot of runners, but he's adequate, and his overall catching has got markedly better. Stephenson is arbitration eligible and won't be an unrestricted FA until 2027.
Luke Maile took a giant step back this season. He battled Stephenson last season for time because he played so well, but this year was a major struggle, especially with the bat. The team does have a club option on him in 2025 so you may not see him next season. He is very popular in the clubhouse and provides great leadership, which may be the only reason he's still with t
Click to expand...
I like Maile too, he is a Northern KY guy. wants to be a Reds and plays hard, but I think they may try the third catcher again. I liked that idea last year but Curt was terrible! Also could see Maile getting a chance to be everyday back stop for someone needing a veteran leader.
 
BeatReportJacob said:
I like Maile too, he is a Northern KY guy. wants to be a Reds and plays hard, but I think they may try the third catcher again. I liked that idea last year but Curt was terrible! Also could see Maile getting a chance to be everyday back stop for someone needing a veteran leader.
Click to expand...
I would not go with a 3rd catcher. Mucks up the bench too much. Austin Wynns or someone in the minors is good enough. TySteve is going to get 70% of the playing time.
 
14Red said:
I think entire body of work Abbott may be our best pitcher the last two season. Seems like he gets shorted alot.
Click to expand...
I think so too, I read something at the beginning of the season in spring training where it had him starting in AAA, like Abbott has been the best pitcher on the reds since he came up. Even more then HG at times, but i LOVE Lodolo!
 
BeatReportJacob said:
Elly De La Cruz SS: .259 AVG, 25 HRs, 76 RBIs, 67 SBs

(JUST A FYI, THIS WAS IN THE ARTICLE.)
Click to expand...
It is called "burying the lead" by actual reporters. It was literally a historic season by a 22 year old emerging superstar, but India's HR total and a 16-12 record in August were your "highlights". Solid reporting.
 
BeatReportJacob said:
I think so too, I read something at the beginning of the season in spring training where it had him starting in AAA, like Abbott has been the best pitcher on the reds since he came up. Even more then HG at times, but i LOVE Lodolo!
Click to expand...
I like Abbott too, but there is a big difference between "best pitcher" and your "favorite pitcher". Best is HG, and it is not even close.

- Greene: 9-5, 26 starts, 2.75 ERA, WHIP 1.02, 169 K
- Abbott: 10-10, 25 starts, 3.72 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 114 K
 
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wolves82 said:
I like Abbott too, but there is a big difference between "best pitcher" and your "favorite pitcher". Best is HG, and it is not even close.

- Greene: 9-5, 26 starts, 2.75 ERA, WHIP 1.02, 169 K
- Abbott: 10-10, 25 starts, 3.72 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 114 K
Click to expand...

A little semantics involved. My point was since Abbott has come up, he's been one of the Reds better, more reliable pitchers. Yes, he's missed the ends of the two seasons, but 18-16 with a 3.78 ERA in his two seasons. Remember Hunter was 4-7 with a 4.82 ERA last year.
 
14Red said:
A little semantics involved. My point was since Abbott has come up, he's been one of the Reds better, more reliable pitchers. Yes, he's missed the ends of the two seasons, but 18-16 with a 3.78 ERA in his two seasons. Remember Hunter was 4-7 with a 4.82 ERA last year.
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Why are you only focusing on ERA? Even if you want to focus solely on ERA, Hunter’s 2 year ERA is 3.64 to Abbott’s 3.78.

That also ignores other relevant pitcher stats like hits allowed (207 for Hunter, 227 for Abbott), HR given up (31 for Hunter, 41 for Abbott), strikeouts (321 for Hunter, 234 for Abbott) FIP (3.80 for Hunter, 4.67 for Abbott), WHIP (1.189 for Hunter, 1.306 for Abbott) and various other stats.

Also win loss record is irrelevant for pitchers but there’s no point in trying to get that point through your thick skull.
 
Orin Swift said:
Why are you only focusing on ERA? Even if you want to focus solely on ERA, Hunter’s 2 year ERA is 3.64 to Abbott’s 3.78.

That also ignores other relevant pitcher stats like hits allowed (207 for Hunter, 227 for Abbott), HR given up (31 for Hunter, 41 for Abbott), strikeouts (321 for Hunter, 234 for Abbott) FIP (3.80 for Hunter, 4.67 for Abbott), WHIP (1.189 for Hunter, 1.306 for Abbott) and various other stats.

Also win loss record is irrelevant for pitchers but there’s no point in trying to get that point through your thick skull.
Click to expand...
Ok, ok...obviously we're going to be a pain in the butt.

STATEMENT - Hunter Greene is our ACE, he's our BEST pitcher, no debate about that. MY POINT - STRESSING MY POINT is that Andrew Abbott, who's a soft thrower, gets no respect. All the guy has done is start 46 games over two season, and really solidified an often injured and inconsistent starting rotation. He's not going to win 20 games, he's not going to strike out 17 batters in a game. But he's a solid, middle of the rotation guy.
Why I said he was one of the better pitchers the Reds has had since he's come up because he has been. He's been able to take the ball regularly, he's won 18 games over two years, including 10 this year.
 
14Red said:
Ok, ok...obviously we're going to be a pain in the butt.

STATEMENT - Hunter Greene is our ACE, he's our BEST pitcher, no debate about that. MY POINT - STRESSING MY POINT is that Andrew Abbott, who's a soft thrower, gets no respect. All the guy has done is start 46 games over two season, and really solidified an often injured and inconsistent starting rotation. He's not going to win 20 games, he's not going to strike out 17 batters in a game. But he's a solid, middle of the rotation guy.
Why I said he was one of the better pitchers the Reds has had since he's come up because he has been. He's been able to take the ball regularly, he's won 18 games over two years, including 10 this year.
Click to expand...
Yes, everything involving you is a pain in the butt because you refuse to understand the basics of the sports you watch.
 
Ok, to continue the recap for 2024, today we'll focus on the infield.
Before spring training, the expected lineup was...
1B - Candelario/ CES 2B - McLain SS - Elly 3B - Candelario/ Marte India utility

Well a funny thing happened on the way to the dance. McLain got hurt, Marte got suspended. So a group that was deep, young and talented suddenly wasn't. Candelario/ CES both struggled early, enter Spencer Steer. By mid season CES was done so Steer went from being a full time outfielder to our best first baseman. Reds went and got Santiago Espinal to provide depth. Candelario battled a knee injury most of the season and eventually was done for the last two months.

Insurance policy Jonathan India proved to be a valuable piece for this team, and until we can get some assurances that McLain can stay healthy, you're probably going to have to hang onto that guy. You admire a guy who's constantly supposed to be on the outside and he continues to be a grinder for the team. Can't say enough about Elly's growth. He went into the season where we hoped he'd make some improvements. He's a superstar in waiting. I will be very curious to see how Francona and the new hitting coach handles him. Will the strikeouts continue, or will there be an emphasis to put the ball in play more and cut down on the swing. I think about Elly and Eric Davis so much. Back in the late 80's when Davis was coming up, I felt the same way. Too big of swing and too many strikeouts for a guy with that kind of speed. Time will tell.
We really didn't get a good look at CES or Marte in long enough stretches to see what we have in them. Again, the new hitting coach will need to have a hand in developing these guys. After an expected slow start, I thought Candelario played pretty well the middle part of the season. The knee really bothered him and eventually ended his season early. His overall numbers were near the back of the baseball card for him.
What can we say about Espinal? He was brought in to help out a thin infield and he played very well. He could be a guy that a manager like Francona gravitates to. He doesn't strike out and he's very good with the glove, and plays multiple positions. I'd say a guy like him may be more valuable than India.

Overall, the infield was a mess in 2024. Too many injuries, too many players moving around. You can't imagine the Reds would have another season with as much upheaval in the infield.
 
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