McLain went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Cubs.
McLain swiped his ninth base of the season in the third inning but was stranded there, as the Reds went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The infielder has a combined 19 steals between Triple-A Louisville and the majors in 2023. He also struck out twice, raising his count to 15 over the last 34 plate appearances (44.1 K%).
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Reds' Matt McLain: Pops homer Sunday
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 9-0 win over the Dodgers.
McLain had gone six games without a homer, though he's gone deep four times while batting .321 (17-for-53) since the All-Star break. The infielder is up to 11 long balls on the year. He's maintained a .305/.375/.530 slash line with 37 RBI, 50 runs scored and eight stolen bases over 65 contests. With Jonathan India (foot) going on the injured list, McLain may pick up a bit more time at second base rather than shortstop going forward, though he should still be a near-everyday player regardless.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Doubles twice, scores in win
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored in Friday's 6-5 win over the Dodgers.
McLain was involved in the Reds' three-run first inning when he doubled and came home on Jake Fraley's home run. He's been a steady contributor since coming up in May with no extended slumps during his time in the majors. The middle infielder has never gone more than two games without a hit and is batting .305 with 10 home runs, 36 RBI, eight stolen bases and 48 runs over 63 games.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Belts first career grand slam
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-4 with a walk, a grand slam, a second run scored and a stolen base in Friday's 9-6 win over the Diamondbacks.
The rookie shortstop supplied the biggest blow on the night, driving a 100.9 mph fastball from Justin Martinez over the right-field fence in the fifth inning for McLain's first career grand slam. It's his ninth homer of the season and second in his last four games, and through his first 57 big-league contests he's slashing an impressive .301/.367/.519 with eight steals, 34 RBI and 44 runs.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Getting breather Thursday
Rotowire
McLain is out of the lineup Thursday against the Giants.
It's a rare day off for the rookie infielder. The Reds are going with Elly De La Cruz at shortstop and Spencer Steer at third base for their matinee versus San Francisco.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Swipes two bags Saturday
Rotowire
McLain went 3-for-5 with a run and two stolen bases in an 8-5 victory versus the Brewers on Saturday.
McLain notched his first MLB game with multiple steals and pushed his total to seven (on 11 attempts) on the season. The talented shortstop also finished with his fifth MLB game with at least three hits. Though he's been overshadowed by the sensational exploits of fellow rookie Elly De La Cruz, McLain has been very good in his own right, posting a .301/.368/.512 slash line, seven homers, 29 RBI, 37 runs and the seven steals over 231 plate appearances while holding down an everyday spot for the first-place Reds.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Homers, drives in two in win
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and a solo home run in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over the Orioles.
McLain got the Reds on the board in the fourth inning with an RBI double, tying the game 1-1, before giving them the lead with a solo homer off Tyler Wells in the sixth. The 23-year-old McLain has been on a tear, going 8-for-18 (.429) with three home runs and nine RBI in his last four games. Overall, he's slashing .321/.378/.552 with six homers, 31 runs scored, 24 RBI and four steals through 180 plate appearances in his rookie campaign.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Powers up in Sunday's loss
Rotowire
McLain went 4-for-5 with a home run, three doubles, five RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 7-6 loss to Atlanta.
This was McLain's second game in a row with a homer and his fourth multi-hit effort in his last 10 contests. The infielder got the nod at second base with Jonathan India receiving a day off. McLain has stepped up since his big-league debut May 15, slashing .325/.380/.541 with five homers, 22 RBI, 30 runs scored, four stolen bases, 11 doubles and four triples over 37 games. He's primarily played at shortstop and looks set to hold onto an everyday role.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Swats fourth homer
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run Saturday in a loss to Atlanta.
McLain had been struggling for the first time as a big-leaguer heading into the contest, going 2-for-16 with five strikeouts over his previous five games. He put that behind him with the two-hit effort that included his fourth long ball of the season. McLain has posted an excellent .309/.367/.493 slash line though his first 36 major-league games while establishing himself as Cincinnati's everyday shortstop.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Hits third home run
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 7-4 victory over the Royals.
McLain hit his first home run since May 24 and notched his 13th multi-hit effort across just 28 games (132 plate appearances). The rookie has remained at shortstop after the elevation of Elly De La Cruz and is locked into the No. 2 hole in Cincinnati's emerging lineup. McLain is slashing .328/.379/.516 with three home runs, 13 RBI, two stolen bases and 23 runs scored to start his big-league career.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Sleeper hitters for Week 12 (June 12-18)
Rotowire
McLain has been a mutli-hit machine so far in his brief major-league career and is showing no signs of slowing down. It's unlikely the Royals pitching staff will change that to begin Week 12, and then he's in line to face J.P. France and Brandon Bielak in the Astros series later in the week.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
It's fairly amazing that Matt McLain is still available enough to feature here given how well his transition to the majors has gone. This is a former first-round pick, remember, who was hitting .348 with 12 homers, 10 steals and a 1.184 OPS at Triple-A Louisville at the time of his call-up. He was hot right out of the gate for the Reds, but I harbored some doubts given how much he was striking out in his first week on the job. Well, the strikeouts have slowed, but the multi-hit games have only continued, giving him a .383 (23 for 60) batting average and 1.014 OPS over his last 13 games. Maybe the shallowest leagues have enough shortstops to go around already, which is why you've passed over McLain, but at this rate, he's looking good enough to use in a utility spot.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
Matt McLain's first full week in the majors went about as well as it possibly could, with him collecting multiple hits in five of his last seven games. It's premature to say he's the real deal given his underwhelming exit velocity readings (as expected) and his high strikeout rate (not expected). But a start like this makes for justifiable enthusiasm after the way he performed in the minors, batting .348 with 12 homers, 10 steals and an 1.184 OPS. Shortstop can be a difficult position to fill off the waiver wire, so it's better not to think too hard about it and just snatch up McLain before someone else does.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Continues hot hitting
Rotowire
McLain went 3-for-5 with a walk and a run scored in Friday's 9-0 victory over the Cubs.
All three knocks were singles in the first three-hit game of the rookie's career. The shortstop has been a consistent offensive threat since being called up in mid-May, hitting safely in eight of his first 10 big-league games. Over his last five appearances, McLain has totaled nine hits (four for extra bases), five RBI, three walks and six runs scored across 24 at-bats. For the moment, he appears to be the Reds' everyday shortstop, as Jose Barrero has started playing more outfield with Wil Myers (illness) on the injured list.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Launches first big-league homer
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Cardinals.
The rookie launched his first career homer in the third inning, driving a two-run shot the other way to right field off Adam Wainwright. McLain was also caught stealing for the first time in the majors, but the 23-year-old shortstop has otherwise had a solid start to his big-league career, batting .259 (7-for-27) through seven games with three doubles, five RBI and seven runs.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Gets breather Wednesday
Rotowire
McLain is not in the starting lineup Wednesday versus the Rockies.
McLain will get a breather after he went 2-for-8 with a double, an RBI, two runs scored, a walk and four strikeouts over his first two major-league games. Jose Barrero will draw the start at shortstop and bat eighth in the series finale with Colorado.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Batting second in debut
Rotowire
McLain will start at shortstop and bat second in his big-league deubt Monday in Colorado.
The lineup placement is a favorable one for McLain, who should be a popular DFS option Monday while the Reds face a right-hander (Connor Seabold) at a hitter-friendly park. The rookie infielder earned a promotion to the majors after contributing a .346/.464/.713 slash line with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases across 168 plate appearances with Triple-A Louisville this season.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Officially added to roster
Rotowire
The Reds selected McLain's contract from Triple-A Louisville on Monday.
McLain is expected to take over as the Reds' primary shortstop while also seeing the occasional start at second base. He slashed .346/.464/.713 to go with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases across 168 plate appearances with Louisville this season and will get to break in at the major-league level at Coors Field for his first series. McLain is worth rostering in most formats where he might be available.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Strong opening act at Triple-A
Rotowire
McLain has a .284/.429/.567 slash line with five home runs, six steals and a 19:15 K:BB in 20 games with Triple-A Louisville.
McLain had a 1.049 OPS after his first 20 games at Double-A last season and he proceeded to hit .219 with 106 strikeouts over his final 83 games, so we don't want to overreact to this small sample. However, his 22.6 percent strikeout rate and 17.9 percent walk rate are very encouraging marks, as are his 31.9 percent hard-hit rate and 52.1 percent flyball rate. McLain has made 15 starts at shortstop and four starts at second base.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Reassigned to minor-league camp
Rotowire
McLain was reassigned Tuesday to the minor-league side of Reds camp.
McLain had been one of the standouts this spring in major-league camp, but he'll get at least a little seasoning at Triple-A Louisville before the Reds consider calling him up to the big leagues. He finished out the 2022 campaign at Double-A Chattanooga. The 23-year-old infielder went as the No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of UCLA.
