Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman Joey Votto heats up in May after cold April

Joey Votto appears to be back to his usual self for the Cincinnati Reds after his second slow start in two years.

The Cincinnati Reds know Joey Votto has had cold months of May.  Whatever it is about being a high OBP hitter has translated to cold Mays for the Reds’ perennial National League MVP candidate, this is the third year in a row that this has happened.  The Reds are not used to the cold starts for their superstar, though.

After a slow April, Votto came out on fire to start May.  He batted .417 with an OBP of .605 to start the month.  The Reds went 7-2, while Votto had 12 RBIs to lead the team.

In the first nine games of May, Votto only had ten hits.  How is that possible?  Votto walked an amazing 13 times in the first nine games.

After Votto, the next highest Red in walks was the shortstop Zack Cozart.  He had only five walks total.  Votto was also second on the team in runs scored during the first nine games, trailing the also suddenly hot Billy Hamilton by three.

Want your voice heard? Join the Blog Red Machine team!

Write for us!

Of Votto’s ten hits, only half were a single.  In the first nine games Votto had three doubles and a pair of home runs.  That allowed Votto to lead the team lead in RBIs with 12 in the first nine games in May.

More from Joey Votto

• Joey Votto single-handedly saved the Reds’ bacon vs. the Pirates
• Will Joey Votto surpass Johnny Bench for the most HRs in Reds history?
• Reds: Joey Votto has been MLB’s best player since the All-Star break
• Reds: Joey Votto’s quest for a second MVP is very realistic
• Reds: Joey Votto making second-half push for NL MVP

In April the Cincinnati Reds watched as Joey Votto had a very average month for an MLB first baseman.

Through the month of April, Votto batted .257 with an OBP of .337.  Votto also had an OPS of .914 thanks in part to  8 home runs.  Those are fine numbers for most first baseman, but low for Votto.

In the entire month of April Votto only walked 11 times.  That means that he walked more in the first nine games of May as he did over the course of 24 games in April.  He also struck out 13 times which is unusually high for Votto.

Votto had similar issues to an even larger extent last April.  In 2016 he bated .229 with an OBP .327.  That was due in large part to walking only 12 times compared to 23 strikeouts.

By the end of the season Votto was batting .326 with an OBP of .434.  He had over 100 runs scored and over 100 walks.  Those are the numbers of the best offensive player in the NL.

Next: Reds option Rookie Davis down to Louisville

Votto may not continue to play at that high of a level much longer than this season.  He shows time and again that he is the best offensive player in the NL by a wide margin as the Reds’ everyday first baseman.  Hopefully, he can just be himself, while everyone else watches his unusually effective skill set.