Nick Castellanos is the Leader of the Cincinnati Reds Offense

The 2021 baseball season started off with great pitching performances and not a whole lot of offense, but that’s been changing, and the hitters have emerged. One of these is Cincinnati Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos.

Castellanos has had a great first half of the season, and earned not only his first All Star Game appearance, but was voted in as a starter on the National League team. He leads the NL with a .331 average, and has 18 homers and 59 RBIs. He also leads the league with 196 total bases, and leads the majors with 29 doubles. Castellanos’ best season was in 2017 with the Detroit Tigers, when he hit 26 homers and drove in 101 runs; he led the American League with 10 triples that year. He’s on a pace to set career highs in home runs, RBIs and doubles, and is a leading contender for the batting title.

The Reds are in 2nd place in the NL Central, and have won eight of 10. They trail 1st place Milwaukee by four games in the Central after taking three of four from the Brewers in Milwaukee. Castellanos hit a three run homer in one of those victories:

The Reds and Brewers played a four game set in Milwaukee just before the All Star Break, and the Reds will play three more against Milwaukee in Cincinnati immediately after the break.