Look: Three Odd and Interesting Cincinnati Reds Early Season Stats

The Cincinnati Reds have locked up a winning record for the month of April and have racked up some fun and interesting stats along the way. I'm not sure what these mean in the big picture of the season, but they are fascinating.

The first one that stands out to me is a strikeout stat. The other day the Reds lost to the Rangers after striking out 15 times. This led plenty of folks to saying that is a detrimental day and something they must stop doing. For what it’s worth, the Reds are actually 3-1 in games where they strikeout 15 or more times. 

We can even expand it to games where the Reds strikeout 13 times, or more. When you do that, the Reds are 5-2 in those games. Maybe it’s not proof of anything, but you can at least debate someone who says “if you strikeout, you lose,” because the Reds are actually winning.

The second stat that intrigues me is something that happened Monday night in San Diego. Elly De La Cruz threw a ball to first base at 106.9 MPH according to Statcast. Now, this ball went over first baseman Jeimer Candelario’s outstretched glove, so it did more harm than good, but it just shows how freakish De La Cruz is as an athlete. Much has been made about his bat power and speed, but his arm strength is another 70-grade tool, as he showed Monday night.

Lastly the Reds pitching staff is currently fifth in MLB in WAR, according to FanGraphs. Let that sink in for a minute. Coming into this season, the Reds biggest question, according to most people, was can they pitch? They didn’t do it very well last year and cited injuries as the biggest reason as to why. It would appear they are correct as a mostly-healthy pitching staff is absolutely shoving.

WAR is a cumulative stat and it factors in many things. It doesn’t just come down to which staff has the best ERA or which staff has the most strikeouts, and it doesn’t fluctuate wildly during short periods of time. This could be a surprising number to keep an eye on for this team as the performances on the mound look greatly improved so far this season.