The Reds Are Letting the Kids Play—and It’s Working

Jonathan India would like to remind people that he’s only 26.

The Reds second baseman is hardly a grizzled veteran. He’s not far removed from his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2021, and sometimes, he still finds certain facets of life in the big leagues to be trying. But in Cincinnati’s clubhouse right now? With rookies galore, by comparison, India is an old pro.

“Everyone’s been saying that: You’re a veteran now. But I’m only in my third year!” India says. “It’s funny, they’ll ask me all these questions, and I still haven’t figured it all out yet. So it does feel kind of weird. But I’m fine with it.”

Given the context, it’s hard to imagine how he could be otherwise.

The Reds’ youth movement has sparked a run that’s put the team in first place in the NL Central. (They were dead last as late as May 25.) That’s led by third baseman Elly De La Cruz, whose speed, power and style have made him a star just weeks after his call-up. But it’s not just him. De La Cruz has generally shared the dirt with first baseman Spencer Steer and shortstop Matt McLain—two fellow rookies who are both posting an OPS+ above 130. And in the rotation, there’s Andrew Abbott, who’s found early success with a 1.21 ERA in his first six career starts. It’s a lot of fresh faces for one club. But they’ve brought welcome change to the Reds.

“It can be good or bad,” Reds manager David Bell says of having this many rookies on a roster at once. “But for us, it’s very much a positive, because of who they are. … They’ve played well. They were just prepared when they got here, and because of who they are as people, they’ve been able to acclimate very well to the major leagues.”

This is a team that lost 100 games last year and started this season looking as if it might repeat that. But with this infusion of youth? The Reds have been looking (and playing) like a different team. Though Steer broke camp with the club, McLain was called up in mid-May, Abbot was added in early June and De La Cruz followed shortly after. They’ve been together in the big leagues for scarcely a month. But their impact has been obvious. With all four rookies on the active roster, Cincinnati has gone 21–6, rocketing up the standings.

The Reds lead MLB this season in rookie hits, RBIs, home runs and WAR. Still, their bunch likely will not include a Rookie of the Year: The Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll has been up since Opening Day and has made an impressive case for National League RoY. But it’s not hard to imagine that the rest of the slate might be filled with Reds, rounded out with some combination of De La Cruz, Steer, McLain and Abbott.

The club always understood the kind of potential it had in this group. De La Cruz was eagerly watched as a future star in his journey through the minors. McLain and Abbott were the Reds’ first- and second-round picks, respectively, in 2021, and Cincinnati traded for Steer as the centerpiece of a small prospect package last year. But the team has tried to further cultivate all of that potential with the environment it has in the clubhouse. Their philosophy is simple: These rookies are full members of the team. They want to treat them as such.

“We don’t really treat them like rookies,” India says. “That’s what I learned when I was a rookie. We had a lot more veterans on the team [then], and they treated me with all respect and knew who I was. There was no behind-the-scenes stuff that made being a rookie stressful.”

It’s true that Cincinnati’s roster is light on veteran presence right now. There’s 39-year-old Joey Votto, of course, who returned just a few weeks ago from rotator cuff surgery. But for most of the season, Cincinnati’s only regular players over the age of 30 have been catcher Luke Maile (32 years old) and his backup Curt Casali (34). The lineup and pitching staff here each rank among the five youngest in baseball. That’s meant some players have needed to step up as leaders earlier than they may have otherwise. But they’ve been deliberate about the example they’re setting and the atmosphere they’ve created.

“When you see it on the flip side, a team that honestly doesn’t have that type of camaraderie and that culture within the clubhouse, it does make another layer of you adjusting to the big leagues a little bit harder,” says Reds outfielder Jake Fraley, who’s been part of three organizations in the last five years. “It’s a very real thing. So I think it’s been awesome that we’ve been able to create that culture.”

Fraley, like India, has felt a bit prematurely aged by the youth movement: He’s 28, but “when you have a crop of that many guys who are that young, it definitely makes you think a little bit more.” But at the same time… sometimes, watching them, he forgets their age. “They sure don’t play like rookies,” Fraley says. He’s not the only one to feel that way.

“There are a lot of young players, but you wouldn’t really know it,” Bell says. “It’s a fun group, it’s a fun clubhouse, but it’s the right balance. It’s exactly what you want.”

That’s perhaps best reflected by De La Cruz. He became an immediate sensation when he debuted on June 6. He’s already provided a highlight reel full of monster home runs and electric steals, and at 6'5", his physical presence is commanding. He’s the youngest player to hit for the cycle in half a century. (De La Cruz was 21 years and 163 days old when he accomplished the feat on June 23). And he plays with style. For July Fourth, he piled on red, white and blue necklaces. He sometimes wears a T-shirt emblazoned with his own face and nickname (“La Cocoa”). Which is more than fine with the Reds. They want their rookies to feel comfortable as they acclimate to the big leagues. Why not let them be themselves?

“He has a great personality, he interacts with his teammates,” Bell says. “But he’s serious about what he’s here for.”

During a game in Washington on Wednesday night, Nationals skipper Davey Martinez requested that the umpires check the knob of De La Cruz’s bat. (The knob has an attachment that has been cleared by MLB; the rookie uses it regularly.) De La Cruz took it in stride. In his next at-bat, he launched one to the upper deck. Then he motioned: Anyone want to check this again? The Reds ultimately won their fourth straight.

“As long as you play the game the right way—play the game hard, want to win—you can do whatever you want and wear whatever you want,” India says.

He finishes up with a reference to an old league marketing slogan.

“Let the kid play.”

All of the kids, actually.