Why Reds Infielder Matt McLain's Power Slump Feels All Too Familiar

Matt McLain has drawn the ire of Cincinnati Reds fans all season. He has had a rough season at the plate, but he is showing signs of a turnaround. Is it enough, though?

McLain has been a shell of himself when you compare his production in 2023. That year he slashed .290/.357/.507 in 89 games. This year, he has a slash line of .222/.302/.335 in 112 games. Those numbers have looked better, recently, though they aren’t the dramatic turnaround we’ve been hoping for.

In the last 30 games, McLain is hitting .270 with a .332 on-base percentage. He’s much better than he was in his first 82 games, where he hit just .203 with a .292 OBP, but one thing continues to be missing: power.

During that 30-game sample size, McLain has just five extra-base hits. He has four doubles and one homer. That actually makes his slugging percentage during his “bounce back” worse than in his first 82 games.

The one thing that has truly changed for McLain during this 30-game stretch of singles has been his batting average on balls in play. This number is used to show how lucky a hitter is getting and McLain was unlucky early. For his first 82 games, it was .258, or roughly 32 points below league average.

His BABIP has been .370 over the last 30 games.

Almost every MLB hitter will see an uptick in batting average and on-base percentage with that kind of a jump in BABIP. It is still concerning that McLain’s power is missing.

This looks like what Tyler Stephenson endured in 2023. Stephenson had just come off major repair surgery for his broken collarbone he suffered in 2022. He was healthy, but it’s clear he had to reacquaint himself with his swing. His slugging percentage never crept above .400 outside of the first week of the season.

The solution then is the solution for McLain now: he’s just got to play and get comfortable with his swing again.

For comparison, Stephenson’s final 30 games of 2023 did see an uptick in power as his slugging climbed to .472. Should the Reds employ the same strategy with McLain this year, we could see his confidence return in time for a playoff run.

I do not support a notion that McLain should be sent down to triple-A.

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