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The Cincinnati Reds continue to stay hot, as Elly De La Cruz is continuing to showcase his star abilities over the last week.  His MVP stock just improved tremendously, as FanDuel is now offering me a cashout on my preseason bet and his numbers outside of stolen bases continue to rise.  Let’s take a look at his current numbers (Mostly via Bryce Spalding):

• Career Best 26.1 K%
• Career Best 10.3% BB
• .273 Average
• 16 HRs
• On Pace for over 30 Homeruns and if this continues, he might put up a 40-40 year

Remind yourself that Elly is only 23 years old.  He hasn’t even reached his full potential yet.  While Cincinnati hasn’t made any progress in extending him, we can all breathe in and out for now, as he will wear a Reds uniform for a few more years at least.  This is why it is crucial to win now. 

Positives

• TJ Friedl and De La Cruz should be All-Stars.  Take the time now and head over to vote.  They deserve it.
• After 39 consecutive series losses after losing the first game of a series, Cincinnati has finally broken the curse against the Tigers.  Shew.
• Rece Hinds is smashing the baseball in AAA, .297 on the season with 9 HR, and 41 RBI.  Terry, it’s time to give him a chance.  Hampson and Joe do not deserve to be on this roster over Rece.
• Elly De La Cruz has the 13^th most homeruns in baseball and 20^th best OPS. 
• TJ Friedl is now batting .290 and outside of Ohtani, has been the best leadoff batter in the game. 
• Andrew Abbott continues to shine and has carried the load while Greene has missed time. 
• Wade Miley has filled in quite well with Greene hurt.  He’s been efficient in his two starts against very good lineups.  I’ll take 2 runs and 5 innings against top tier teams every outing. 

Negatives

• Watching the game via Roku Tv was boring.  Luckily the Cowboy was on the broadcast, but I hope to never have to watch via the Roku channel again.  Sadly, fans missed a Rally Reds call from Sadak and he deserved to call one.   
• Francona still doesn’t appreciate the long ball and it’s hard for me to watch Will Benson get benched over Hampson and Joe routinely.  Even early on with Dunn and Hurtubise, I have no clue what Francona doesn’t see in Will, but he obviously isn’t a fan of his approach. 
• Hays hasn’t improved his health enough to return to the lineup.  This team needs him and Marte to return, along with the rest of the team to maintain their health. 
• Greene is going to be out for quite some time and while his MRI’s came back clean, the Reds are going to ease him back, as the groin and lower back issues can linger.  Cincinnati needs their ace to be healthy.

Logan Wilson Celebrity Softball Game

I was lucky enough to be able to attend and report on the Logan Wilson 2025 Celebrity Softball Game.  While we are certainly in baseball season, it was great to chat with some of the Bengals players and see them for the first time since football season.  Logan puts this game and HR Derby on for a great cause, and it brought in a massive crowd at Dayton, Day Air Ballpark.

• The Dayton Dragons have an awesome stadium and venue.  If you haven’t visited it yet, make time this Summer!
• Cal Aldomitis has a better swing than any Bengals player by far.  He can crush a softball. 
• Seeing athletes away from their sport is awesome, as they are just enjoying their time. 
• The apartments behind the stadium with the stadium seats on the balcony made me want to move to the city (and then I got in traffic and forgot that I love Peebles). 
• It was great to see Giovanni Bernard again.  He’ll always be a fan-favorite.