3 Reds players who've disappointed through the first 20 games, and 2 who've exceeded expectations

Reds pitcher Alex Young has exceeded expectations through the first 20 games.

Only one player on the Cincinnati Reds has a higher bWAR this season than Alex Young, and that's Graham Ashcraft. I'm not really sure if that's more of a reflection on the poor play of the Reds to begin the 2023 season or more of a compliment for how well Young has played to begin the season.

In this instance, I'm going to take the latter and praise what we've seen from Young this season. Young has been Cincinnati's best reliever, and it's really not close. Young has allowed just one run in more than eight innings pitched and struck out 11 batters while walking just two.

An argument can certainly be made for Alexis Diaz as well, with 12 punch outs in 5.1 innings pitched and a 0.75 WHIP. But Young was thought to be little more than a left-handed specialist. It turns out that he can handle right-handed hitters too.

In fact, Young has actually been better against right-handed hitters this season that he has against left-handed hitters. Against right-handed batters, Young is holding the opposition to an OPS of .471 while left-handed batters have posted an OPS of .610.

The Cincinnati Reds have more than made good on the offseason signing to brink Alex Young into the fold. Young was signed to a minor-league deal this past winter, but now that he's on the 40-man roster, the 29-year-old is under team control through 2026.