Basically!
The best of former Cincinnati Reds 1st round pick Drew Stubbs was pretty incredible, if you’ll recall. He swiped a total of 100 bags across the 2010-2012 seasons, put up a 20/30 year with his patented Light Tower Power in 2010 alone, and was a plus defender at one of the most important positions in the field.
Stubbs had precisely the kind of tools that produced highlights, though that’s not to say he had all five tools desired in a big league baseball player. He swung and missed a lot, his 205 K in 2011 the most of anyone in the majors that year. He owned a pretty patient approach at the plate – his 8.7% walk rate with the club helped fuel his on-base ability much more than his .241 average during his stint in Cincinnati – but as his arbitration years neared and his production stalled, Stubbs was shipped to Cleveland in the huge three-team deal that brought Shin-Soo Choo in to replace him as Cincinnati’s CF.
The best of the 2024 Reds, offensively, has been pretty incredible. Their 199 steals are second only to Washington’s 209, though their team’s overall baserunning has been valued as the best in the game. Their 8.3% walk rate puts them in the Top 10 among teams across the game, and in Elly De La Cruz they’ve got a guy with his own distinct brand of Light Tower Power – when he’s not busy leading all of Major League Baseball with 201 Ks (to date).
Stubbs’ best season was in 2010, his first full season with the Reds. He, like the rest of the 2011 club, regressed significantly after their breakthrough 2010 campaign. The 2024 Reds, meanwhile, came in with high expectations after so many of their own rookies burst out during the latter half of 2023, leading them to an improbable ‘winning’ season and setting the bar of expectations much higher. In so many ways, the 2024 season has ended up just like 2011 – blase, mundane, moribund, and disappointing.
During his time with the Reds, Stubbs ended up posting an overall line of .241/.312/.386 (.698 OPS), good for an 86 OPS+, .309 wOBA, and 89 wRC+. Of the 114 MLB players who logged at least 1500 PA from 2010-2012, only Michael Bourn (31.9) was more valued for his BsR by FanGraphs than Stubbs (25.6).
As of the morning of September 16th, the 2024 Reds own an overall line of .233/.306/.394 (.700 OPS), good for a 91 OPS+, .306 wOBA, and 90 wRC+. Per FanGraphs BsR, as I mentioned earlier, no team has been more valuable on the bases in 2024 than the Cincinnati Reds.
On the non-pitching front, the 2024 Cincinnati Reds have effectively been one big Drew Stubbs. Here’s to them finding a way to be one big Eric Davis in 2025.