help do the explaining. Towards the end of the 2023 season, he analyzed how for the first time in the live ball era the collective production from the 2 spot in teams' lineups outpaced that of the 3 spot, an indication that lineup construction had fundamentally changed from the era where speedy guy hit 1, the low-K guy who could bunt and slap singles the other way hit 2, and the good-hittin' RBI-guys batted 3 and modern baseball, teams hit their best hitters in the 2 spot. And the 2025 Reds, as things would have it, have been routinely getting most of their worst production from any part of their lineup from the 2 spot in the batting bad have theirs been so far? wOBA, their collective.264 from the 2 spot ranks 2nd to last, better than only that of the Cleveland Guardians. By wRC+ Alan Trammell Jersey, that's a similar story - their collective 59 ranks 2nd worst ahead of only 's.067 ISO from 2 hole hitters is dead last among the 30 MLB clubs. They've gotten just a.252 slugging percentage from 2 hole hitters this year, and that's also dead last. With those numbers in mind, it shouldn't suprise you that the 3 dingers they've gotten from the 2 spot in the order this year is also dead last in the game. Photo by Ben JacksonGetty ImagesThe lack of production itself is alarming, but that's not even the interesting part here to 's not as if the Reds have, say, a Joey Votto in their lineup hitting 2 every night and not producing to his previously established standards. The way they've built this roster now features almost nothing but unproven hitters on whom they have heaped expectations without production at the big league level to truly back it up just yet, hoping upon hope that McLain ends up a prototypical 2 hitter while Elly De La Cruz ends up a guy like that in the 3 spot, is, neither has really had the chance to prove they could do that yet Jackson Jobe Jersey, let along have either actually proven it. Aside from TJ Friedl doing vintage leadoff-hitter things again the way he did in his own breakout 2023 season, the rest of the Reds lineup production reflects just howoff' the team's heaped expectations have been so far in 2025. While their 2 hitters - the guys who are supposed to be thebest' hitters in the lineup everyday - have struggled as bad as any, the collective wOBA from their 8 hitters has been the 6th best in the game so far. The.357 wOBA from their 9 hitters, meanwhile, has been the 2nd best in the game. In other words, they're getting brilliant production from the spots in the lineup where they didn't expect to get it, and they're getting terrible production from the spots in the lineup where they truly were depending on lineup construction theory goes, there's really no bigger way tomiss' than isn't so suggest that Jose Trevino should immediately be moved to the 2 spot for the rest of the season Rocky Colavito Jersey, or even that he's a good bet to out-hit McLain from now through the end of the season. It's merely me pointing out that because the Reds front office was intent on rolling out a roster with so many unprovens that they've effectivelymissed' on what could have been their peak lineup construction for a full third of a regular season because unproven options simply didn't break out in the way they had 's not damning as much as it is to be expected, even from a future Hall of Fame manager like Terry Francona. Given what his day to day options have been, it's hard not to see him bank on McLain emerging as a superstar as a go-to option. Steer's production, had it come from the 2 spot, would have me writing this very same article right now, and if Elly had been there we'd be writing this whole thing about the 3 spot. Still, as the club tries to dig its way back over.500 and into the playoff chase, I still have a very hard time figuring out how I'd stack this lineup deck on the daily given what we've seen - and not seen - from the key pieces so far.