Reds Catcher Tyler Stephenson Is Heating Up at the Perfect Time

QB one has his swagger back.

May 30, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson (37) reacts after a strike is called in the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While players like Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart seem to get all the attention around Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds (and rightly so), Tyler Stephenson has found his swing, and the rewards are adding up.

Stephenson, like others within the Reds, got off to a slow start this season, sporting an OPS of .592 in April and .661 in May. After completing the first couple of months of the season, he has found his form.

In the month of June, Stephenson was on a tear, sporting a slash line of .288/.354/.441 with two home runs, seven RBIs, and six runs scored. He has kept that momentum going into July, with a .955 OPS to start the month. Over his last 30 games, he has been just as good at the plate as he has been with ABS challenges.

Now, for a Reds team that has had their fair share of struggles this year, to see Stephenson producing is a great thing for the Reds whether they decide to keep him in Cincinnati after this season as the catcher until they feel Alfredo Duno is ready for the big leagues, or they decide to become sellers at the trade deadline later this month and see if they can potentially max out his value.

This is a contract year for Stephenson, and while he has had struggles with health over his career, when he has been on the field, he has played very well. Through the trial of playing first base, and sharing catching responsibilities with two Curt Casali and Luke Maile at times in his career, he has maintained being the consummate professional.

Stephenson has benefited a lot this year from his ability to own the strike zone. On the year, he is in the 93rd percentile in sweet spot %, 95th percentile in chase rate, 76th in BB%, and 80th in average exit velocity.

Defensively, there is still room to improve, but he has been the best catcher in baseball this season as far as blocks above average with 10. With ABS being adopted in the big leagues, Stephenson has found great success there as well, with a 73.1% success rate, including going five-for-five in the July 3rd game vs the Baltimore Orioles.

It's fair to say the Reds now have a big decision to make on their future with Stephenson. Do they sign him to an extension since he has officially exhausted his arbitration status? Does he get moved at the deadline for the Reds to begin moving toward the future? Or simply, do the Reds see how things go the rest of the year and risk letting him walk, getting nothing in return. These next few weeks will be very interesting to see how the Reds view Stephenson.