3 Reds players who need to have a better month in May

If you're being honest, the Cincinnati Reds record of 12-16 is better than you thought it was going to be. That's especially true considering the gauntlet of talented teams the Reds faced to begin the season.

The Reds had seven games against the league-leading Pittsburgh Pirates, and also played against the likes of Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, both of whom are leading their respective divisions.

But despite playing above expectations, Cincinnati's win-loss record is below .500. If the Reds are to have a winning month in May, a few players are going to need to turn things around. Which three Reds players need to have a better month of May?

1. Reds LHP Nick Lodolo needs to have a better month in May.

Now, it's not time to hit the panic button, but after seeing Nick Lodolo missing his spots in the previous few outings, it is cause of concern. The former first-round pick has struggled over his last three starts, and the Reds need better from Lodolo going forward.

Lodolo has made six starts on the season and currently owns a 6.16 ERA. David Bell removed Lodolo after barely throwing over 70 pitches in his last start. Lodolo did not allow a walk in that game, but the long ball did him in.

Lodolo has surrendered eight home runs already this season after allowing just 13 round trippers all of last season. It's a safe bet that Lodolo will break that, quite possibly before the end of May.

This team's success hinges on the performances of the starting pitchers. Graham Ashcraft has pitched well, while Hunter Greene has had his ups and downs. But Nick Lodolo hasn't looked right the past few times he's toed the rubber. His last three starts have seen Lodolo allow 17 runs on 26 hits. The southpaw needs to be better in May.

3. Reds SS Jose Barrero needs to have a better month in May.

This may be a bit unfair, because Jose Barrero has been hitting the ball better of late. But with Matt McLain setting Triple-A on fire with his red-hot start, Barrero needs to impress early and often during the month of May.

It's unlikely that many Reds fans expected Barrero to perform even as well as he has to this point. Were it not for the high-level of baseball that McLain was playing right now, one could make the argument to be more patient with Barrero.

But the fact of the matter is that Cincinnati is going to have to find a way to get McLain up to the big leagues, perhaps as soon as this week. The former first-round pick has been receiving more reps at shortstop recently, and it feels like only a matter of time before McLain is called up.

The only person who can hope to slow that momentum down is Jose Barrero. And it's nothing that he'd be doing to McLain, but rather performing at an extremely high level. Laying off breaking balls and striking out less than 30-percent of the time aren't going to cut it.

The Cincinnati Reds will need to see the version of Barrero that he showed before his call-up in 2021. That year, Barrero slashed .303/.380/.539 in the minor leagues while racking up 19 home runs and a wRC+ of 147 in 85 games according to FanGraphs.