Matt McLain Fantasy Stats

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain (illness) is back at second base and is batting second in the team's exhibition game on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer. McLain caught a bug going around the team's clubhouse and was held out of Monday's exhibition game. The 26-year-old former 17th overall pick in 2021 out of UCLA has major bounce-back potential for fantasy managers in 2026 near the top of a powerful Reds lineup. McLain turned heads as a rookie in 2023 with a .290/.357/.507 slash line with 16 homers, 50 RBI, and 14 stolen bases, but he missed all of 2024 due to injuries and returned as a disappointment last year. He hit .220/.300/.343 in 2025 with 15 homers, 50 RBI, and 18 steals in 147 games played. McLain has mashed this spring, going 27-for-51 (.529) with seven homers and 16 RBI in 17 Cactus League games. He's an excellent choice as a starting second baseman in fantasy after some of the high-end names at the position come off the board.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain (illness) will not play in the team's exhibition game on Monday night against the Milwaukee Brewers because he caught a bug that has been going around the Reds' clubhouse, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer. McLain is doing pre-game work, though, and he's expected to play in Tuesday's final exhibition game before Opening Day on Thursday. The 26-year-old former first-rounder out of UCLA is a sleeper second baseman in fantasy baseball this year who is projected to hit second in a hitter-friendly home environment in Cincy. McLain burst onto the scene in 2023 in his rookie season and hit .290 with 16 home runs, 50 RBI, and 14 stolen bases in 89 games. He didn't play at all in 2024 due to injury before disappointing with a .220/.300/.343 slash line, 15 homers, 50 RBI, and 18 steals in 147 games in 2025. McLain has torn the cover off the baseball in spring training, going 27-for-51 (.529) with seven home runs, 16 RBI, 18 runs scored, and two steals in 17 Cactus League games played.

After missing the entire 2024 season with a shoulder injury, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain managed to log 577 plate appearances in 2025. However, the 26-year-old had his struggles at the plate, slashing .220/.300/.343 with 15 home runs, 50 RBI, 73 runs scored, and 18 stolen bases. McLain struck out in 28.9% of his plate appearances while also recording a middling 7.7% barrel rate. Now nearly two years removed from his shoulder troubles, McLain is starting to show signs of a breakout. He has dominated Cactus League action to a .529/.571/1.020 slash line with seven home runs across 56 plate appearances. If McLain can get back to the 10.8% barrel rate he posted as a rookie in 2023, he could emerge as a legitimately high-end power/speed threat relative to his peers at second base. McLain's impressive spring should have him rising up draft boards, and he has the type of high-upside profile that could be worth gambling on for fantasy managers.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain will bat second in the lineup this season, per manager Terry Francona. The 26-year-old is scorching hot this spring, hitting .553 (21-for-38) with six home runs, a pair of steals, and a 5:4 BB:K. The former first-rounder showed a strong blend of contact, power, and speed potential in his debut back in 2023, but missed all of 2024 with a shoulder injury and was not nearly as productive in his 2025 return to the diamond (77 wRC+). Perhaps 2026 will look more like 2023, and if so, the right-handed hitter could end up being a value in fantasy drafts. He's the ninth-ranked second baseman at RotoBaller and is ranked No. 150 overall, while his ADP is closer to pick No. 200 over the last couple of weeks. McLain will hit in front of some big bats, including Elly De La Cruz, Eugenio Suarez, and Sal Stewart, adding to his fantasy appeal.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain has been tearing the cover off the baseball this spring. Easily the most productive player in the Cactus League, McLain owns a .543/.600/1.057 slash line with five home runs, 12 RBI, a 12.5% walk rate, a 10.0% strikeout rate, and 314 wRC+ through 147 spring contests. While it's dangerous to put much stock into spring training stats, these results offer fantasy managers plenty of reasons to be optimistic about McLain in 2026. He's due for a much-needed bounce-back year after posting 77 wRC+ with 15 homers and 18 steals in 2025. McLain has a very firm grasp on the starting second base job, so it's not like this stretch of hot performances will impact his role for the upcoming season. Still, it should offer more confidence to the Reds' coaching staff, fans, and fantasy managers. As it stands, McLain projects as the Reds' No. 2 hitter and ranks ninth among second basemen in RotoBaller's latest fantasy baseball rankings.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain is seeing the baseball as well as any hitter early in spring training. The 26-year-old former first-rounder went 2-for-2 with two home runs, six RBI, three runs scored, and two walks in Monday's Cactus League game against the Chicago Cubs. McLain enters Tuesday's action with a .571 batting average (8-for-14) with three homers, nine RBI, seven runs scored, three walks, and only one strikeout in five games played. Injuries have been a big part of McLain's story so far in his big-league career, and he struggled to a .220/.300/.343 slash line, .643 OPS, 15 homers, 50 RBI, 73 runs, and 18 stolen bases in 147 games in his second year in the Show in 2025. McLain had an .864 OPS and 127 OPS+ as a rookie in 2023, though, and is looking like a nice late-round sleeper target at the second base position in 2026.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain has added 12 pounds in the offseason as he has focused on getting stronger. The former 17th overall pick has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his two-year MLB career and is eyeing a "fresh start." McLain made his debut in 2023 but missed the entire 2024 campaign due to a rib and shoulder injury. In 2025, McLain appeared in a career-high 147 games but struggled at the plate, posting a .220/.300/.343 line with 18 doubles, 15 home runs, and 18 stolen bases. Under the hood, he generated a low .290 xwOBA. This was a stark drop from the promising .290/.357/.507 line he held during his debut campaign in 2023. Managers should keep a close eye on his status during camp, as the young infielder does possess five-category upside when on the field.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain is out of the starting lineup ahead of Saturday's game against the Athletics. This appears to be a routine rest day for McLain who has started in each of the last 12 games. Over the last two weeks, McLain is slashing .289/.400/.605 with three home runs and six RBI. He's swinging a hot bat at the right time as the fantasy playoffs begin. However, he'll take a seat on Saturday as Gavin Lux takes over at second base against right-hander Luis Severino. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double, and an additional run scored during Thursday's 7-1 win over the White Sox. McLain has gotten off to a slow start in 2025, slashing .182/.308/.341, but the 25-year-old seems to be turning a corner. In his last nine games, McLain is 8-for-32 with a pair of home runs, six runs scored, and four stolen bases. He's now up to six home runs on the season. McLain missed all of 2024 with a shoulder injury, and he may have needed some additional time to get back into the swing of things. In 2023, during his rookie season, he slashed .290/.357/.507 in 403 plate appearances, so the production is in there, it's just taking more time for fantasy managers than they had hoped for when drafting him. McLain is a strong buy-low candidate, and those who have held on, hopefully, this recent stretch can show a sign of better things to come.

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Matt McLain has been dropped to eighth in the batting order for Tuesday's contest against the visiting Chicago White Sox and left-handed opener Brandon Eisert at Great American Ball Park. McLain is moving to the bottom of Cincy's lineup after hitting either leadoff or second in all 31 of his starts this year. It's because the 25-year-old former 17th overall pick in 2021 out of UCLA is hitting just .165/.299/.298 with five home runs, 15 RBI, 20 runs and 10 stolen bases in his 121 at-bats in 2025. McLain is valuable in most fantasy leagues for his power/speed combination in a strong Reds offense, but managers may want to bench him until he can string together some good games at the plate. He's gone 7-for-39 (.179) with a homer, five RBI, five steals and 15 strikeouts in 11 games played so far in May. Santiago Espinal moves into the two-hole on Tuesday with McLain dropping down.