1 surprising stat that has Reds fans concerned about Jonathan India's sophomore slump

I can certainly understand why the Cincinnati faithful are raising concerns about Jonathan India's performance thus far in 2022. After all, after what we saw in 2021, I think most Reds fans expected India to be an All-Star in his second major league season.

That's been far from the case. The reigning National League Rookie of the Year has gotten off to a horrendous start in his second season. India is hitting just .204/.268/.283 and has only two home runs this year.

While the numbers are not good, there's reason to believe that India will eventually turn things around. For starters, India was shelved for over a month with a hamstring injury. India has played in just 30 games this season.

Reds 2B Jonathan India's sophomore slump isn't concerning just yet.

Jonathan India played just seven games before going on the IL with a hamstring injury. After taking a little over a week off, the Cincinnati Reds second baseman returned, and after just three games, INdia was back on the IL.

India was out of action for six weeks. And while he was certainly working with the team, running through drills, and taking batting practice, none of that ultimately prepares you for facing live competition.

India returned to the Cincinnati lineup in mid-June and in the 19 games since he's been back with his teammates, the 25-year-old has slashed just .145/.244/.246 with 21 strikeouts in 69 at-bats. There's no way to sugarcoat it, that's not good at all.

But I would caution fans to be patient. While I know that's a trait that we don't like to use, let's not forget that Jonathan India really didn't get rolling until June last season.

Jonathan India's walk-rate is something to keep an eye on.

It's easy to forget that after India began the 2021 season by hitting .325/.383/.400 in his first 12 games, his bat basically disappeared in the 30 games that followed. India slashed .186/.311/.326 during that stretch between mid-April and the end of May. Nick Senzel was seeing time at second base in place of India.

But once he was installed as the Cincinnati Reds leadoff hitter in early-June, India hit .274/.382/.480 with 17 home runs and 46 RBIs. That said, there is one major area of concern that India must address over the second half of the season.

According to FanGraphs, India's walk-rate was 11.5% during that span in 2021 and his strikeout-rate was 23.0%. This season, India's strikeout-rate is slightly higher (25.0%), but his walk-rate (3.3%) is abysmal. That will be a statistic that fans should keep an eye on the season progresses.

Who knows why there's such a difference in that stat. Perhaps India is pressing and trying too hard to replicate his success from last season. Whatever it is, patience at the plate was key to India's Rookie of the Year performance in 2021, and he needs to recapture that over the remainder of the 2022 season.