5 Reds players who are putting up eye-catching numbers this spring

Hunter Greene leads the Reds in free passes & strikeouts

Hunter Greene has been tinkering with adding that third offering, so let's not overreact to the Reds starting pitcher leading the team in walks. However, it's definitely something to keep an eye once the regular season begins.

Greene's nine free passes are more than twice as many as the No. 2 player on that list, Graham Ashcraft. Working in Greene's favor, unsurprisingly, is the fact that he also leads the team in strikeouts.

If Greene is able to fully commit to a third pitch, he'll begin to see results. As a starter, you cannot just rely on the a two-pitch mix and survive more than three innings. The hitters at this level are just too good. If Greene's high number of walks are linked to his developing curveball, so be it. If it's a sign of things to come in 2024, Reds fans will become quite anxious.

The Reds Opening Day starter has given up the most HRs

Unfortunately, Frankie Montas has struggled to keep the ball in the yard this spring. Montas leads all Reds pitchers in home runs surrendered. To be fair, outside of Montas' brief 1.1 innings of work with the New York Yankees in 2023, the right-hander hadn't pitched in a major league game since 2022.

Outside of the 2020 season with the Oakland Athletics, Montas has generally done a good job of keeping the ball in the ballpark. That season saw Montas' home run to fly ball ratio approach almost 18%. His career average, according to FanGraphs, is just 12.6%.

But pitching for the Reds with half your games in the bandbox that is Great American Ball Park will see plenty of round-trippers for the opposition. Reds fans are hoping that Montas can keep the big flies to a minimum in 2024.

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