Cincinnati Reds: Three players who will benefit from postponed games

2. This is not the version of Eugenio Suárez we saw last year.

Boy, if anyone needs some time away from the game, it’s Eugenio Suárez. It appears as though David Bell felt the same way, as during Friday’s game versus the Pirates, Geno was absent from the starting lineup and replaced by Kyle Farmer. If the Cincinnati Reds hope to make any noise this season and compete for a playoff spot, Suárez has to get going.

An All-Star two seasons ago and second in the league in homers in 2019, Suárez has fallen off the map through the first few weeks of the 2020 season. Geno is slashing a horrendous .123/.278/.525 and has just eight hits and two home runs on the season. This is not the same player who broke the National League record for home runs (49) by a third baseman last season.

As bad as Suárez’s season numbers are, there’s a glimmer of hope that he’s starting to come out of the slump. Over the past seven games, Suárez is hitting a few points better than his overall season average and his on-base percentage is up to .333. However, Eugenio Suárez has struck out 11 times in his last  24 at-bats. That’s a 45% strikeout-rate. Yikes!

Don’t expect Suárez to stay mired in this slump. The Reds third baseman is too talented. If the Reds resume play on Monday, Geno will have had three consecutive days away from the game. Perhaps he’s working overtime with the coaching, trying to get his swing right. Cincinnati needs Suárez to be that bat in the middle of the lineup who produces runs.