Dominant late-inning relief leads to Reds' climb in latest power rankings

The Cincinnati Reds generated some hype after they acquired Eugenio Suarez over the offseason. Fans were excited to see him return to a club he spent seven seasons with. 

And while he has delivered, another player has stepped up tremendously to lead the offense. Sal Stewart is having a fantastic start to the season, leading the club in batting average, home runs, runs batted in, and OBP.

On top of that, despite Hunter Greene landing on the IL at the beginning of the season and Nick Lodolo hitting the IL in April, pitching has been strong. Chase Burns has been great, and Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson are also looking the part with a 2-1 record from the two of them.  

MORE: If Reds are impatient, they'll trade promising youngster for quick fix, writes ESPN

Dominant late-inning relief leads to Reds' climb in latest power rankings

It's not just starting pitching that is doing well. The relief corps is also doing its job, and doing it better than most. Emilio Pagan has six saves, while Tony Santillan has a save of his own while having seven holds so far. 

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter previously ranked them No. 12 last week, but with how the bullpen is looking, he now has them as a top-five team.

"The Reds have a half-game lead atop the NL Central standings, which is saying something considering all five teams in the division have a winning record. They have the best bullpen in baseball with a 2.31 ERA and 10 saves in 13 chances, and that has helped prop up a rotation that is without Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo."

The Reds will need to keep this up if they want to stay atop the NL Central. It is the only division across MLB where all five teams have a winning record, and they are all within 1.5-games of each other.

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