Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Smacks first career grand slam
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Stephenson went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Saturday's 7-5 win over the Angels.
Patrick Sandoval loaded the bases in the first inning and Stephenson cashed in with his first career grand slam. As Mark Sheldon of MLB.com notes, Stephenson has been one of the best hitters in baseball at making hard contact so far this year, ranking at the very top of the league in barrel percentage entering play Saturday. The results weren't there early on this season, but Stephenson now has three home runs in his last seven games.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Cracks homer in win
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Stephenson went 1-for-2 with two walks, a solo home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 7-1 win over the Angels.
Stephenson, batting cleanup for the first time this season, went deep in the sixth inning off left-hander Tyler Anderson to give the Reds a 2-1 lead. It was his second home run of the season and snapped an 0-for-13 skid -- his previous hit was his first homer. It's unclear if Stephenson will continue to bat fourth. Jeimer Candelario (illness) had been the team's primary cleanup hitter -- against both lefties and righties -- but was recently dropped to seventh amid a slump. And the Reds hadn't faced a left-hander since he was demoted. Stephenson is off to a slow start, slashing .209/.300/.395 through 50 plate appearances.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Gets breather Saturday
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Stephenson isn't in the Reds' lineup for Saturday's game against the White Sox.
Stephenson will get a day off Saturday after going 1-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored during Friday's blowout victory. Luke Maile will start behind the dish instead while batting eighth.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Launches first homer
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Stephenson went 1-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 11-1 win over the White Sox.
Stephenson homered as part of Cincinnati's five-run third inning, his first homer of the season. The catcher is finding his groove, having hit safely in four consecutive games. Stephenson is slashing .258/.324/.419 through 34 plate appearances.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Retreats to bench Wednesday
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Stephenson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers.
Stephenson will give way to Luke Maile behind the plate after catching in both of the first two games of the series with Milwaukee. Through 10 games this season, Stephenson is hitting a respectable .259 but has yet to provide a home run and has been limited to three RBI and three runs.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Resting Sunday
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Stephenson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
Stephenson is on the bench for the series finale after he caught all nine innings of Saturday's 9-6 win while going 1-for-3 with a walk. Luke Maile will catch for starting pitcher Andrew Abbott on Sunday.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Taking seat Friday
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Stephenson is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against the Mets.
It looks to be a routine day off for the Reds' starting catcher. Luke Maile will be behind the plate Friday while Stephenson gets some rest.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: On bench Monday
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Stephenson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Phillies.
Stephenson and Luke Maile have now made two starts apiece at catcher through the Reds' first two games, but the former still appears to be viewed as the team's No. 1 option behind the dish.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Out of lineup Saturday
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Stephenson isn't in the Reds' lineup Saturday against the Nationals.
Stephenson went 1-for-4 with an RBI to begin the season Thursday, and he'll take a seat Saturday to give Luke Maile his first start of the year. The 27-year-old Stephenson still projects to start behind the dish most days for the Reds in 2024.
Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Preparing as primary backstop
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Stephenson is preparing to be the Reds' primary catcher in 2024, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
That's essentially what Stephenson was in 2023, but a series of injuries in 2022 limited him to 50 games that season and had a cascading effect the following year. The most serious injury was to his collarbone, which may have contributed to Stephenson losing 150 points of OPS. The injuries also caused lost time behind the plate that he could have used to gain game-calling experience. That lost experience led to more starts during the Reds' postseason push for Luke Maile in 2023. The plan for 2024 is different than last spring, when manager David Bell tried creating a rotation of three catchers that had Stephenson working as a designated hitter -- he started 42 games at DH. The trick for the 27-year-old Stephenson is to maintain a middle-of-the-order bat while improving behind the plate and working with pitchers.
Stephenson agreed to a one-year, $2.525 million deal with the Reds on Thursday, avoiding arbitration, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
Stephenson avoided concussions in 2023 en route to a career-high 517 plate appearances -- the first time he's topped 402 plate appearances in a season. He slashed .243/.317/.378 with 13 home runs in 142 games, but given the Reds' improved depth, he will likely see significantly fewer starts at designated hitter (43 games in 2023) in 2024.
Stephenson went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run in Friday's 19-2 win over St. Louis.
Stephenson's 13th home run of the season was the Reds' third of the fourth inning and sixth and final long ball of the night, leaving the team one shy of matching a single-game franchise record. Though the Reds are one of the few teams in baseball still competing for a playoff spot in the final series of the regular season, Stephenson isn't necessarily a lock to start behind the dish Saturday and Sunday. He and Luke Maile have been splitting work at catcher of late, with the latter starting four games to Stephenson's three over the past seven contests.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Takes seat Tuesday
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Stephenson is out of the lineup Tuesday at Cleveland.
Luke Maile will start at catcher and bat ninth for the Reds as they take on the Guardians and right-hander Lucas Giolito. Stephenson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Sunday's series finale versus the Pirates and carries a disappointing .698 OPS through 504 plate appearances this season.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Goes deep Saturday
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Stephenson went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk and three total RBI in Saturday's loss to the Pirates.
Stephenson was part of an early offensive outburst by the Reds, hitting a solo homer in the first inning and adding a two-run double in the second. He had been struggling coming into the contest, going 4-for-34 over his previous 10 contests. Despite the recent struggles, Stephenson has recorded career-best marks with 12 homers and 53 RBI over 137 games this season.
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Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Sitting Friday
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Stephenson isn't in the Reds' lineup Friday against the Pirates.
Stephenson is just 2-for-22 across his last six games, and his offensive woes will now cause him to miss his second start in a row. Luke Maile will start behind the plate Friday and bat ninth.
