Matt McLain's struggles are testing Reds fans' patience all over again

Cincinnati Reds infielder Matt McLain was the hottest hitter on the planet during spring training. After a brutal performance last year saw him post a meager .220/.300/.343 slash line, McLain arrived in Goodyear this spring and looked like an entirely different player.

McLain led all Major League players in several offensive categories this spring — including batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, and home runs — giving rise to the notion that he could return to the player he was during his rookie year in 2023.

Matt McLain's sluggish start to 2026 has Reds fans concerned

But through the first week of the 2026 regular season, the results have failed to translate and Reds fans are not happy. McLain is 4-for-21 with a double and eight strikeouts through the team's first six games of the year. He's drawn five walks, which has bumped his on-base percentage up to .370, but this is not the same player who was crushing baseballs all over the state of Arizona just a few weeks ago.

Overreactions during the months of March and April are common among fans. They haven't seen their favorite team play for the past six months, and with high hopes entering the season, you're bound to see and hear a handful of hot takes.

But McLain's performance last season is the biggest driver of discontentment among Reds fans at the moment. He missed all of the 2024 season after undergoing shoulder surgery, and after a red-hot start in 2025 — he hit three home runs during the first four games — he looked like a shell of the player that fans remembered from 2023.

That same player has shown up to begin this season, and fans are beginning to wonder if the 2023 version of McLain will ever return. McLain went 4-for-10 during the series against the Boston Red Sox, but 0-for-14 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Worse yet, he struck out six times in that series.

Terry Francona slotted McLain into the No. 2 spot in the batting order, but that may not last much longer. If McLain fails to get out of the funk he's currently in, don't be surprised to see the Reds' skipper try someone else ahead of Elly De La Cruz in the lineup.

McLain is far from the only Reds' hitter who's struggling at the beginning of the season, but after his scorching hot showing during spring training, fans expected a more consistent approach from the 26-year-old. McLain struck out just seven times during 18 Cactus League games, but has eight punch outs through the team's first six regular season games this season. That can't continue.