Buster Olney’s utterly disrespectful Twitter poll omits Reds outfielders

If you follow Buster Olney on Twitter, please let him know that Reds Country is a little peeved at his latest poll. The longtime ESPN insider asked via Twitter, “Who is your early NL MVP?” That’s a fair question, right? Well, apparently, in Olney’s universe, the Cincinnati Reds don’t exist.

Both Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker were omitted from Olney’s Twitter poll. Olney gave fans the choice between Ronald Acuna Jr., Kris Bryant, and Jacob deGrom. While all three of those players are having great campaigns thus far in 2021, to leave off Winker and/ or Castellanos is flat-out disrespectful.

Buster Olney’s Twitter poll is completely disrespectful of the Reds outfielders.

Now, this should be nothing new for Reds fans, as for a long time the national media tends to forget that baseball’s first franchise exists. But with the offensive onslaught being displayed night after night by the duo of Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos, you’d figure that an insider like Buster Olney would at least mention one of the two Cincinnati outfielders in his poll.

The stats alone show that not having Castellanos or Winker in the poll is utter insanity. Both Castellanos and Winker have a higher batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS than both Bryant and Acuna Jr.

Need more stats? Okay, Jesse Winker is tied with Ronald Acuna Jr. for the league lead in home runs. Oh yeah, he’s also launched three home runs in a game twice this season. Acuna Jr. has two multi-homer games on the season, but has failed to record a three-home run game even once this season, much less two.

While Winker does trail Bryant in RBIs this season, let’s not forget that the Cincinnati Reds have been batting their left fielder atop the lineup for a good part of the season, and it appears that David Bell has just now found a suitable leadoff hitter in rookie second baseman Jonathan India. If India keeps getting on base, Winker’s RBI numbers will skyrocket.

To be perfectly honest, Buster Olney’s Twitter poll should’ve given fans the option of Jesse Winker, Nick Castellanos, or Jacob deGrom. The New York Mets right-hander is 5-2 on the season with a 0.62 ERA and 3.2 WAR. Castellanos is sitting a 2.5 WAR and Winker has 2.1 WAR.

The Cincinnati Reds have two of the best players in the National League, but apparently ESPN’s Buster Olney disagrees. That’s okay, I’m sure that Winker and Castellanos will let their bats do the talking. As for Reds Country, I’m sure they’ll let their displeasure be heard.