ST. LOUIS – Tyler Stephenson possesses a special skill where he can affect games when he’s out of the lineup almost as if he was a starter.
Stephenson, the Reds’ rookie catcher, has been one of the better pinch-hitters in the league. He’s 9-for-35 in those situations this season (.257 batting average) with two doubles, three homers and a league-high 12 RBI.
There are nine players with more hits as a pinch-hitter than Stephenson, and six have received more at-bats than him.
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“It says a lot about Tyler because pinch-hitting is difficult,” Reds manager David Bell said. “It’s a personality thing more than anything. Guys that I’ve seen that are really good at pinch-hitting are confident, they have a routine, they don’t get rattled too easy, they stay pretty consistent in their personality and approach.
“Tyler is definitely all of that.”
Stephenson is often the Reds’ top option when they’re looking for a right-handed bat off the bench. He’s naturally out of the lineup at least a few times a week as he splits time at catcher with Tucker Barnhart, though he has done some pregame work in left field to put himself in consideration for playing time there.
When he enters the game as a substitute, as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement, he’s hitting .295 with a .360 on-base percentage. Of course, he’s an above-average hitter when he’s in the starting lineup, but he can make pinch-hit opportunities look much easier than they are.
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He frequently talks during games with bench coach Freddie Benavides about situations he could pinch-hit.
“Just going into the cage and getting ready whether it’s flips or machine,” Stephenson said of his routine. “It’s not easy by any means. It is what it is. Just go up there and try to get a good pitch to hit. Obviously, sometimes the outcome is in my favor, but I don’t know. You have to be lucky sometimes.”
Stephenson spent a lot more time in the indoor batting cage earlier in the season – “just being young and not knowing the situations,” he said – but now it’s more geared toward ramping up for certain spots.
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“Even though he’s young, nothing really changes for him whether it’s a start or he’s coming in to pinch-hit,” Bell said. “He has the same at-bat over and over. He’s done so well that it really doesn’t matter who we’re facing. It could be a tough right-hander, tough left-hander, closer, whatever. He’s often our first choice or our choice to take the most important pinch-hit at-bat of the game.”
Stephenson describes himself as “kind of a patient hitter,” but there’s a certain level of aggressiveness as a pinch-hitter because he won’t face a pitcher multiple times. Really, he tries to keep a simple approach.
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“I’m not crazy into the analytics, especially on the hitting side, because hitting is hard enough and you don’t want to overthink anything,” he said. “My big thing is just being on time and getting a good pitch to hit. If I can do those two things, I can live and die with whatever the outcome is, whether it’s good or bad, because I just know I’m giving myself a chance.”
BARRERO'S BACK: Shortstop Kyle Farmer was placed on the paternity list before Friday's series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals, which is a maximum of three days.
Jose Barrero was activated to the 26-man roster and in the starting lineup at shortstop Friday. In preparation for Farmer's paternity leave, Barrero traveled with the Reds on their road trip to Chicago.
NO ‘CLOSER’: Mychal Givens has six saves since Aug. 5, and he’s pitched in the ninth inning in nearly all of his relief appearances afterward, but Bell says he doesn’t consider him the quote-unquote closer.
“I could see that it appears that way,” Bell said. “I’m very confident with him pitching in the ninth inning. Going into most games with either him or Michael Lorenzen pitching in that role, depending on the other team’s lineup, it could be one has the eighth, the other has the ninth. A lot of times we’ve had Michael as the multi-inning option and sometimes Michael Lorenzen would come into a game in the sixth or seventh and come back in the seventh or eighth. That leaves Mychal Givens in the ninth inning.”
Bell hasn’t named a closer all season, so it’s not surprising Givens doesn’t hold the official title. Ten Reds relievers have recorded a save this season, which is a franchise record. The MLB single-season record is 12 (1973 Texas Rangers and 2019 Tampa Bay Rays).
Givens has yielded five runs and 11 hits across 15 innings (3.00 ERA) since he was traded to the Reds ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, striking out 13 and walking eight.
“He’s very comfortable pitching in the ninth inning," Bell said. "He’s responded really well to that. I’ll continue to look for opportunities in the eighth or ninth – a lot of times it’s going to end up being the ninth.”
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