Cincinnati Reds vs Colorado Rockies Starting Lineup — Friday, Jul 17, 2026

Cincinnati’s lineup is almost entirely seeing Gabriel Hughes for the first time. Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, JJ Bleday, Spencer Steer, Eugenio Suárez, Tyler Stephenson, TJ Friedl, Edwin Arroyo, and Ke’Bryan Hayes all have no MLB history vs Hughes. That leaves the Reds with no established batter-vs-pitcher track record to lean on in this matchup.

Colorado has several hitters with at least some prior exposure to Brady Singer, led by Willi Castro, who is 5-for-21 in 24 PA with a .238 average and .857 OPS. Mickey Moniak has the best small-sample line at 2-for-3 with a .667 average and 1.667 OPS, while Hunter Goodman is 1-for-3 with a .333 average and 1.333 OPS. Tyler Freeman is 2-for-5 in 6 PA with a .400 average and .733 OPS, while Jake McCarthy is hitless at 0-for-5 in 6 PA with a .000 OPS and Ezequiel Tovar is hitless at 0-for-5 with a .000 OPS; TJ Rumfield, Kyle Karros, and Troy Johnston have no MLB history vs Singer.

The Rockies clearly bring more familiarity into this game, with multiple hitters owning prior plate appearances against Singer. Cincinnati, by contrast, is going in almost completely fresh against Hughes.