Spencer

Steer

Steer’s home run was a two-run shot off Michael King in the fourth inning, his 10th of the season. He has a decent chance at eclipsing his career high of 23, set back in 2023. The steady accumulator has hit between 20 and 23 homers in each of the past three seasons, and now he has the best barrel rate of his career. The Reds are set to return to Great American Ballpark for a six-game homestand that begins Friday.

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.

Steer’s two-homer game gives him nine home runs on the season. He hit a solo shot off Noah Cameron in the fifth inning, which was the only hit allowed by the Royals’ starter. Steer also hit a solo blast off Matt Strahm in the eighth inning. He’s hitting .277 with 23 RBI and an .812 OPS.

No surprise with crafty southpaw Martín Pérez toeing the rubber for Atlanta. Lowe will open this contest on the bench with Sal Stewart getting a turn at DH and Spencer Steer at first base. The 30-year-old veteran has been on a tear with three homers in his five games. He’s gone deep nine times over his last 30 games while hitting .293 (29-for-99) during that span. There are times where Cincinnati will keep him on the bench, mostly against left-handed starters, but Lowe has shown enough over-the-fence pop that he needs to be rostered in deeper fantasy leagues as a viable corner infield option.

This isn’t a big surprise, as Suárez was just activated off the injured list Friday after missing 25 games with his oblique strain. He’ll get the second half of the twin-billing off with JJ Bleday in the lineup as the designated hitter. Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson are also out of action with Nathaniel Lowe and P.J. Higgins getting the starts in their absence.

Steer finds himself in the prominent lineup spot for the second consecutive contest after spending Sunday’s series finale against the Astros there. The versatile 28-year-old is hitting .269 (14-for-52) with three homers, seven RBI and one steal over his last 15 games. The move towards the top of Cincinnati’s lineup boosts his fantasy appeal in deeper formats, if the move becomes permanent.

Lowe has been swinging a hot bat for the Reds, slashing .273/.333/.636 with six homers and 11 RBI over 60 plate appearances in his last 16 games. He’ll get a breather in this one though. Sal Stewart will serve as the team’s designated hitter while Spencer Steer covers first base and Ke’Bryan Hayes draws a start at the hot corner.

Steer drew a walk in the first inning and scored the first run of the game on a base hit. He added another run for the Reds in the second with a solo homer off George Klassen, his second of the season. The 28-year-old needed that one as he came into Saturday’s contest with a .531 OPS over his first 51 plate appearances.

McLain takes a seat after an ice-cold 14-game stretch to open the season where he’s batted .218 (12-for-55) with zero homers, three RBI and two steals. The 26-year-old was the talk of spring training when he blasted seven homers in 18 games and looked like he was on the verge of putting everything together. Emerging star rookie Sal Stewart is at second base and batting cleanup in his place with Spencer Steer bumped up to the second spot in the order.

Steer homered off left-hander MacKenzie Gore and doubled ahead of Tyler Stephenson’s tiebreaking homer in the ninth. Based on his performance the last couple of years, Steer wouldn’t seem to belong in the Reds’ primary lineup against right-handers, but it’s been awfully hard convincing Terry Francona of that, even though he has more options at his disposal than usual right now. If Steer remains an everyday guy, he could offer a little mixed league value, mostly because he’s in one of the league’s best situations for hitters.