Spencer Steer should be batting behind Jonathan India in the Reds lineup

David Bell's Opening Day lineup was, well, interesting. It came as no surprise that Jonathan India was in the leadoff spot, and it wasn't overly shocking to see Tyler Stephenson batting cleanup.

But the rest of the Cincinnati Reds lineup looked like Bell was just throwing darts at a board. Of course, without Joey Votto in the lineup, the batting order is sure to look a little out of whack. Bell likes to play the matchups, so with the right-hander Mitch Keller, three of the first five batters were left-handed hitters.

But on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be sending left-hander Rich Hill to the mound. Of course, India will likely be leading off once again for the Reds, but perhaps Bell should rethink where he puts Spencer Steer in the lineup.

Spencer Steer should be batting behind Jonathan India in the Reds lineup.

On Opening Day, David Bell actually had Spencer Steer batting seventh. One of Steer's greatest attributes is getting on base, so batting him ahead of the free swinging Will Benson and Jose Barrero does not seem like the wisest move.

Steer should be batting second behind Jonathan India. Both have a similar batting profile, but India is a bit faster. This Reds lineup is short on power bats. There's no Nick Castellanos or Eugenio Suarez that can change the game with one swing of the bat.

Cincinnati's two best power hitters are arguably Jake Fraley and Wil Myers. With that in mind, putting India and Steer ahead of the two sluggers might be the best way for the Reds to manufacture runs in 2023.

Steer showed off some power of his own on Opening Day with a solo shot that cleared the wall in left-center field. Steer had two homers after getting called up to the big leagues for the final month of the 2022 season, but had 23 home runs in the minors, a .515 slugging percentage, and wRC+ of 127 according to FanGraphs.

Spencer Steer is not the type of player you want languishing near the bottom of the batting order, but rather, near the top. With a southpaw taking the mound on Saturday, look for Steer to be batting higher than seventh in the lineup. Hopefully, that will carry over to Sunday's game as well despite the fact that right-hander Vince Velasquez is scheduled to pitch for the Buccos.