3 Reds who should be in the starting lineup every day for the remainder of the 2022 season

3. Reds shortstop Jose Barrero should be in the lineup every day.

The Cincinnati Reds are not playing for the postseason during the month of September, so giving Jose Barrero as many at-bats as possible over the final few weeks of the season is crucial to his development.

Yes, Barrero has struck out and struck out a lot. Why? That's a great question. But while it can be frustrating to watch as a fan, you have to imagine that the 24-year-old is just as frustrated at himself. According to FanGraphs, Barrero is going down on strikes almost once every two at-bats.

Last season in the minor leagues, Barrero's strikeout-rate was sitting just around 22%, which isn't bad at all for a player who was slugging .539 and had 49 extra-base hits in 85 games. But after returning from surgery to repair a hamate fracture this past spring, Barrero seems like a shell of himself. At Triple-A Louisville, Barrero hit just .209 with a wRC+ of only 66.

Whether the surgery has caused the downturn in production or not is not for us to say, but a player with a near 50% strikeout-rate is not going to remain in the big leagues for very long. Barrero needs to be in the everyday lineup over the last several weeks to see if the highly-touted shortstop can return to form.

Jose Barrero will have to focus on retooling his approach during the offseason. With Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz breathing down his neck, Barrero will not be given a very long leash heading into next season. Barrero needs a solid showing during the month of September to solidify his spot as the starting shortstop heading into 2023.