Cincinnati Reds Rookie Power Rankings: You'll never believe who's No. 2 behind Matt McLain

Hey, Patrick Bailey, Kodai Senga and yes, you, too, Corbin Carroll: Move over and make room in the National League Rookie of the Year race for baseball’s Rookie Team of the Year.

No?

What if somebody said the Cincinnati Reds’ Matt McLain should be the league’s Rookie of the Year favorite instead of the Las Vegas favorite, Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks?

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“I’d say there’s a lot of season left,” McLain said with a laugh. “It’s a cool thing to think about. But the position that we’re in as a team is way more important than any individual accomplishment for me or anyone in here.”

McLain’s point was underscored by a two-week stretch of games filled with playoff implications for the Reds and their opponents that started with Friday’s opener of a home series against the Toronto Blue Jays — a 1-0 game that included another two hits by McLain, two walks by Elly De La Cruz, five innings of scoreless pitching by rookie Brett Kennedy and a walk-off home run in the ninth by kid slugger Christian Encarnacion-Strand.

And if that win against Toronto looked big in the context of both teams’ pursuits of playoff spots — never mind the fact it pushed the Reds past the Chicago Cubs into second place in the NL Central — get a load of the stretch of 11 games in 11 days coming up in less than a week against NL wild-card hopefuls, starting with Carroll’s Diamondbacks and then Bailey’s San Francisco Giants.

That the Reds are in playoff contention with less than 40 games left in the season with rookies playing key roles in every position area and filling the heart of the batting order is one of the most compelling storylines in baseball this year. Through Friday they had an astounding 10 rookies on their active 26-man roster, tied with the Cleveland Guardians for most in baseball.

Five were in the starting lineup Friday. A seventh was warming in the bullpen to pitch the 10th when the game ended in the ninth. An eighth was scheduled to start on the mound the next day.

And an 11th for the roster was on the way Saturday with the callup of top prospect Noelvi Marte.

“I’m definitely aware of just that what they’re doing is not typical, as far as how well they’ve played, how they’ve handled things,” manager David Bell said of a group that might have as many as four or five players earn Rookie of the Year votes by the time ballots are cast at the end of the season.

McLain, who debuted May 15, might be at the top of that list if he keeps doing what he has from the No. 2 spot in the Reds’ lineup. He would lead National League rookies in batting, on-base percentage and slugging if he had enough plate appearances to qualify among the leaders — a threshold he should reach by Sept. 2 at his current pace.

Andrew Abbott, who debuted June 5, is pushing Senga of the New York Mets among rookie pitchers with an 8-3 record and 2.99 ERA in 14 starts (Senga: 9-6, 3.30 in 22).

Brandon Williamson, who debuted May 16, might be the Reds’ best starter the past few weeks.

De La Cruz, who debuted June 6, has hit for the cycle, stolen home, hit tape-measure home runs and recorded the fastest sprint speed in the game.

“And they’re getting better,” Bell said of a group he says has especially defied the tendency to get caught up in individual survival modes as first-year players.

The Reds lead the majors with 13 big-league debuts. They’ve regularly fielded an all-rookie infield in recent weeks (featuring three of those 13). And a pair of rookie starting pitchers have played outsized roles in keeping the Reds in playoff position so far.

“It’s on my mind a lot, just because I really appreciate it,” Bell said. “But it’s also easy to forget, just because there’s a level of maturity, and they’re playing well.”

All of which makes the rest of the season for the Reds a Rookie of the Year watch as much as a playoff chase.

And with that in mind the Enquirer debuts a weekly feature for the rest of the season:

The Reds Rookie Power Rankings.

How tough a task to rank the five most impactful rookies on this team for the last week — never mind to determine one worthy of the No. 1 spot?

“It would be very challenging,” McLain said. “I’d say we’re all tied for first.”

Nice try.

With all due respect to McLain’s input, the Enquirer put a crack panel of experts to work around the clock to get the job done.

This week’s Power 5 (all stats through Friday):

1. Matt McLain (.301, 13 HR, .879 OPS) — Since last weekend’s rainout in Pittsburgh, McLain is 8-for-21 (.381) with a homer and 1.028 OPS in five games — and has done as good a job in the field at second base as manager David Bell, the former infielder, has said he’s seen. That included a run-saving dive to his left Friday night for the second out of a scoreless sixth inning against the Blue Jays (an eventual 1-0 win).

2. Brandon Williamson (4-2, 4.33 ERA) — The Reds’ “other” big rookie in the starting rotation (see: Andrew Abbott) turned in two of his best starts during an eight-start surge since the end of June. He pitched a season-high 6 2/3 innings to lift the Reds to their lone victory against the Marlins during the recent home series and then pitched two outs deep into the sixth in a no-decision at Pittsburgh — allowing one run in each (15 strikeouts combined, two walks). He’s 3-1 with a 2.98 ERA over that eight-game surge, earning a place in the Reds’ late-season plans.

3. Spencer Steer (.268, 18 HR, .813 OPS) — One of the few rookies who isn’t among the 13 to debut this year, Steer has been Mr. Reliable in the lineup all season, the leader among qualified hitters in OPS who has adeptly handled a position toggle between the corner-infield spots and left field. The NL’s Rookie of the Month for May has reached base in his last nine straight games.

4. Andrew Abbott (8-3, 2.99 ERA) — Just when some of us thought a career-high workload might be starting to get to the poised-beyond-his-years lefty, Abbott earned his seventh and eighth wins since debuting June 5, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Guardians — two of just three wins for the Reds over a 10-day stretch. He allowed two runs in each of those starts in a combined 10 2/3 innings.

5. Elly De La Cruz (.257, 10 HR, .761 OPS) — After taking the league by storm his first month in the majors, De La Cruz has been up and down, mostly down, since the day he stole three bases in a two-pitch span in Milwaukee just before the All-Star break. He’s 3-for-6 on steals since, hitting just .189 over that 32-game stretch with a .629 OPS — propped up that high by six home runs.

Also considered: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Fernando Cruz, Brett Kennedy, Henry Ramos, TJ Hopkins.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds Rookie Power Rankings: Where did Elly De La Cruz fall?