Christian Encarnacion-Strand's presence carries a lot of weight in the Reds' lineup

The Cincinnati Reds were always confident that first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s presence in the lineup could shape their season. Even when the Reds’ roster had a logjam of infielders, the plan was for him to play in almost every game and fill a prominent role in the order.

While it’s been a tough start at the plate for Encarnacion-Strand in 2024, there have been reminders of his game-changing power.

“We know he can hit,” Reds manager David Bell said. “There’s no question about that. He’s still a young hitter, and he’s still getting better, which is exciting. That’ll continue for a long time. At any point, he’s going to be able to have big games like tonight.”

Encarnacion-Strand started the season 0-for-12 at the plate and then hit a walk-off homer in his 13th at-bat. He already has five games with multiple RBI, winning games for the Reds with his power.

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On Tuesday, in an 8-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, Encarnacion-Strand contributed three hits and drove in the game-tying and go-ahead run. Following that big night at the plate, Encarnacion-Strand still only had a .216 batting average and a .572 OPS.

But no one on the Reds is better at breaking out of a slump with a big hit.

“It’s a long season,” Encarnacion-Strand said. “You just keep your approach and keep working. You get a lot of at-bats.”

He impresses his teammates with the way he keeps his approach simple.

As Encarnacion-Strand developed as a young baseball player, he didn’t study the swings of the best hitters in baseball. He didn’t even watch much baseball. Encarnacion-Strand figured out an approach that produced results, and he stuck with it.

Encarnacion-Strand’s weakness as a hitter has always been how many pitches he chases, but he makes up for it with how much power he has.

“I don’t look at statistics,” Encarnacion-Strand said. “I hear noise sometimes about swing and miss. I really don’t care. If we’re winning ball games and I’m putting good swings on the ball, it doesn’t matter. I don’t try to go out there and do anything special. I’ll just be who I am.”

Over the last few weeks, Bell said that he has seen Encarnacion-Strand’s at-bats get more consistent. Encarnacion-Strand is seeing more pitches, and he’s having more success with two strikes and with two outs.On Tuesday, Encarnacion-Strand stepped up to the plate twice with two outs and a runner in scoring position. The Reds needed him to put the ball in play, and Encarnacion-Strand placed a double and a single into the outfield that drove in the game-tying run and the go-ahead run.

One of those hits was a line drive that was nearly 100 mph off of the bat. He can tap into his power even when he’s not trying to.

“He has ridiculous power,” Bell said. “He even has the ability to expand and make solid contact to drive the ball. He knows when he can stay in his zone, the better he’s going to do. He’s always working toward dialing that in. But he has done a lot at this point of his career, and he’ll keep getting better.”

Before the season, Bell encouraged Encarnacion-Strand to stay aggressive. Regardless of what Encarnacion-Strand’s results were, Bell wanted to give Encarnacion-Strand the green light to tap into his full potential.

Encarnacion-Strand has the power to hit 40 home runs in a season. Just like a lot of the Reds’ young hitters, he’s a few adjustments away from developing the consistency to hit his ceiling.

“(Encarnacion-Strand) is just working hard like any young hitter to find ways to get better,” Bell said. “He’s aggressive. I see that as a strength. You have to start by being aggressive to be a major league player. You have to have the aggressive, attack mindset. And he definitely has that as a hitter.”

While Encarnacion-Strand has had up-and-down stretches during the first four weeks of the season, Bell has stuck with him in the middle of the order. After the Reds’ win on Tuesday, Bell reiterated how much he trusted Encarnacion-Strand at the plate in big situations.

Because he’s a young player who’s still working on his game, Encarnacion-Strand will go hot-and-cold at the plate. The Reds will live with his swings and misses and cold spells. With Encarnacion-Strand, more often than not, there have been big hits on the other side of his slumps.

“It’s coming along,” Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott said. “(Encarnacion-Strand) has just got to stay with his routine and stay with the program. Eventually, everything will work out. Obviously, it’s not how he wanted to start. But we know him. We know what he’s capable of. Continuing to do those things day in, day out, it’ll turn around.”During Encarnacion-Strand’s entire college and minor league career, he only had one bad month. He never had a bad season, and Encarnacion-Strand posted an impressive .805 OPS in the big leagues last year with 13 home runs in 63 games.

This year, he has the opportunity to make a name for himself as one of the standout young power hitters in MLB. He also has an early season slump that he hasn’t fully broken out of yet.

Through the highs and the lows, Encarnacion-Strand isn’t worrying about the future.

“I have goals and stuff, but I just go out there and try to hit it hard,” Encarnacion-Strand said. “I always come in with the same mindset. Nothing is different. I just have to be who I am.”

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Christian Encarnacion-Strand is filling big role in the Reds' lineup