Spencer Steer is doing the dirty work that keeps the Reds rolling

Big strikeouts and even bigger bat flips are the things that get fans' juices going, but when it comes down to actually building a team that can win over a 162-game marathon, a club needs that hard-nosed type of player who does the little things. The Cincinnati Reds have one of those guys, and his name is Spencer Steer.

Steer did just that during last week's series opener against the Detroit Tigers when he stepped into the box against future Hall of Famer Kenley Jansen. The Reds were trailing 8-7, down to their final out, and Steer was down in the count 0-2 against the two-time Hoffman Award winner. One more strike, and Cincinnati takes the loss. Instead, Steer battled back to even the count and then flicked a single into shallow right-center.

It was an impressive at-bat, especially considering the circumstances, but it meant much more. The next batter was Nathaniel Lowe, who jacked a walk-off dinger to complete the comeback. Not everybody is capable of grinding out an at-bat as Steer did, and its impact was gigantic.

Spencer Steer is an important glue guy for the Reds

The guys with the "grinder" or "glue guy" labels attached are oftentimes overlooked. Their value is typically tied to a specialized skillset or a sort of selflessness that many don't possess.

The positives in that statement apply to Steer. He moved out of his comfort zone and into a utility role, bouncing between first base and the outfield corners, to accommodate Eugenio Suarez's big bat and Sal Stewart's sky-high potential. If that wasn't enough, he also pushed to be Matt McLain's backup at second base during spring training.

Throw in the fact that he's a sparkplug on the field and a leader in the clubhouse, and he's always making those around him better.

On the season, Steer's posted a .226/.305/.429 line. That's good for a 98 wRC+, which is remarkably consistent with the 97 wRC+ he posted last season and the 98 mark he recorded in 2024. With 100 marking "league average," it's fair to say that Steer has been ever-so-slightly below average at the dish in 2026.

But the underlying metrics tell a different story. Steer's 17.2% barrel rate is a 93rd percentile mark. His 39.7% launch angle sweet spot percentage, a measure of how often a batter hits a ball at an angle that is conducive to doing damage, ranks in the 84th percentile. Those two factors give Steer a .238 expected batting average, a .486 expected slugging percentage, and a .351 xwOBA, which is an extremely solid mark.

Expected stats, especially now that we're starting to get larger samples, are excellent predictors of future performance. That means Steer's due to go on a tear, and will then continue to produce at an above-level throughout the rest of the 2026 campaign.

Mix that in with the gritty at-bats with the game on the line, the selflessness in the field, the versatility, and the leadership, and you have some sort of unstoppable force fueling the Reds. That's exactly one of the reasons why you can expect them to keep rolling as 2026 unfolds.

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