These Reds one-hit wonders disappeared as quickly as Nick Martini

Reds fans have seen this before. A player endears himself to the home crowd at Great American Ball Park on Opening Day or does so during spring training, potentially goes on to have an outstanding few weeks in the big leagues, but then crashes and burns once the rest of the league gets a peak at his weaknesses. Has that already happened to Nick Martini?

Martini was the hero during the Reds' Opening Day victory over the Washington Nationals. Martini opened his 2024 season with a two-home run performance and was the toast of town after going 4-for-8 during the first three games of the season. Martini had a 1.931 OPS and seven RBI.

But ever since the Nats left town, Martini has fallen on hard times. In his previous 11 plate appearances, Martini is just 1-for-10 with a walk, a single, and six strikeouts. Is Martini just another one-hit wonder, or will the 33-year-old get his groove back?

These Reds one-hit wonders disappeared as quickly as Nick Martini

Last season, it was Jason Vosler. With Joey Votto sidelined due to his shoulder surgery, the Reds needed someone to fill in at first base. Vosler went 5-for-15 in his first five games with the Reds and posted an 1.133 slugging percentage with all five hits going for extra bases. But after that, Vosler went just 5-for-47 (.106) and was sent back to the minor leagues before the end of April.

In 2022, Aramis Garcia got Reds Country excited. The backup catcher performed so well during spring training that he earned a spot on the Opening Day roster. During his first month with the Reds, Garcia hit .250/.300/.393, which is quite respectable for a backup catcher. But over the remainder of the season, Garcia posted a .441 OPS, appearing in only one game after July 7th.

While not necessarily a player who starred on Opening Day, Aristides Aquino certainly qualifies as a one-hit wonder. Much like Martini last season, Aquino made a late-season run with the Reds in 2019 when he took the entire MLB world by storm with his performance during the month of August that season.

In August of 2019, Aquino hit .320/.391/.767 with 14 home runs and 33 RBI. From September 1, 2019 until he was non-tendered by the Reds in 2022, Aquino hit just .192/.266/.376 with 27 homers and 75 RBI. What a fall from grace that was, huh?

The hope among the Cincinnati faithful is that Martini follows in the footsteps of Brandon Drury, rather the the aforementioned trio of one-hit wonders. Drury led the Reds in homers during the 2022 season before being traded to the San Diego Padres. Since 2022, Drury has posted a .798 OPS and secured a two-year deal from the Los Angeles Angels. Maybe Martini can follow that example and get back into the good graces of the Reds fanbase.

More Reds News from Blog Red Machine