Joey Votto claps back at FanGraphs' author Dan Szymborski

Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs has not ingratiated himself with the Cincinnati Reds and their fans of late. First, he was the only one who didn't put Jonathan India atop his ballot for the Rookie of the Year vote last year, which effectively robbed the Reds second baseman of receiving the honor unanimously.

Now Szymborski is doubting that Joey Votto can rebound from his poor start to the 2022. In his latest work titled 'Is this the end of Joey Votto', Symborski seems skeptical that the former NL MVP will return to any semblance of what we saw from the Reds first baseman in 2021.

Joey Votto decided to take to social media account as only he can and responded to Dan Szymborski's story with two simple sentences. "Five months to go. Enjoy the show." If you ask me, we're about to see Votto go on a tear similar to what we saw last summer.

Is Joey Votto about to lead the Reds on a winning streak?

While it's true that Joey Votto has not gotten off on the right foot, history would tell you that it's not out of the ordinary for the Cincinnati Reds first baseman to struggle out of the gate. Historically, in the months of March and April, Votto has produced an OPS of just .868, his lowest of any month on the calendar.

Votto is hitting just .122/.278/.135 with only one extra base hit. Votto has been tampering with his swing and his bat. While Votto is currently worth -0.9 bWAR, I don't expect that to last for very long.

The one thing that may be affecting Votto more than anything else this season is the lack of protection in the lineup. Nick Castellanos, Jesse Winker, and Eugenio Suárez are gone. Plus, Jonathan India, Tyler Stephenson, and Jose Barrero have all missed time while on the Injured List. Brandon Drury and Kyle Farmer are typically batting behind Votto in the lineup.

One thing I won't do is bet against Joey Votto. Just when you think he's done, the six-time All-Star finds a way to go on a tear and leave you looking like a fool. Reds fans are hopeful the Votto begins his own revenge tour, a la Tommy Pham, and they hope it begins tonight in Milwaukee.