Matt

McLain

The walk against Jason Adam in the eighth was well earned. McLain challenged three pitches in the at-bat and got all of them overturned. It was actually rather stunning to see a player with a career strikeout rate of 28 percent and three times as many strikeouts as walks express such confident knowledge of the strike zone.

The pair of home runs give McLain eight on the season. The 26-year-old second baseman has three home runs over his last two games. While this could be the beginning of a power streak for McLain, who also has seven stolen bases, his overall deficiencies at the plate (.206 batting average) make him difficult to roster for fantasy managers.

Arroyo has started just three of five games since being called up from Triple-A Louisville earlier this week, going 2-for-10 with one run scored during that span. The 22-year-old top prospect’s path to regular at-bats is partially obstructed by Cincinnati’s overflow of veteran infielders, but he should see enough time at second base to make an impact in deeper mixed leagues. Matt McLain is at shortstop with Spencer Steer getting into the lineup at second base on Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

Francona added that De La Cruz has been diagnosed with a Grade 1-2 hamstring strain that will require a multi-week absence. The 24-year-old fantasy superstar, who was hitting .280/.346/.509 with 40 runs scored, 12 homers, 37 RBI and 10 steals through 58 games, hit the injured list prior to Monday’s series opener against the Royals and figures to be out until at least mid-to-late June in a best-case scenario. Matt McLain figures to get some looks at shortstop with top prospect Edwin Arroyo likely to factor into the equation between both shortstop and second base.

There was an argument for giving the 22-year-old Arroyo a try before Elly De La Cruz got hurt, and now he will get a look with De La Cruz sidelined for at least 10 days. He will be making his major league debut after hitting .323/.383/.562 with 11 homers and nine steals in 53 games for Louisville. If he thrives, then he could stick around and play second base after De La Cruz returns (maybe Matt McLain will finally get that crash course in center). That makes him worth a speculative pickup in a great situation for hitters in Cincinnati.

It’s the third time in six games — all against right-handers — that McLain has sat. He actually hit leadoff for three games in a row starting last week, but has hit .074 in his past 27 plate appearances. Spencer Steer is getting reps at second base in McLain’s absence.

McLain is leading off for the second straight contest after going 1-for-4 with a stolen base during Monday’s series opener. The 26-year-old second baseman has shown some signs of life recently after an ice-cold stretch at the outset of the season. Cincinnati doesn’t have a clearly superior alternative, which means McLain is probably going to get an extended run as the club’s top-of-the-order option, which is a boost for his fantasy appeal.

That makes back-to-back games with multiple hits and a homer for McLain, who snuck one over the left field porch against Peyton Pallette in an eighth-inning add on that the Reds turned out to very much need. McLain has raised his season line from .205/.310/.311 to .223/.330/.369 in the last two games. He’s still not running as much as we’d like, but fantasy managers can feel free to hope this turns into a JJ Bleday-esque hot streak.

McLain badly needed a game like this -- even after it he’s hitting just .189/.250/.297 in May. It’s his second homer of the month and he hasn’t stolen a single base in that timespan. Maybe this can get him going, but he’s definitely not playing like someone the Reds are going to be penciling in for the majority of the season if he doesn’t get it going.

McLain helps the Reds break through on the scoreboard in the fifth inning with a two-run single to give Cincinnati the lead. The 26-year-old second baseman has not been able to capitalize on a hot spring, slashing .207/.311/.314 with three homers, 15 runs scored, 12 RBI, and five steals across 162 plate appearances.