Bryan Reynolds' June hot streak is no surprise to anyone paying attention

Over the past month or so, Bryan Reynolds has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. This surge is part of a larger pattern over the Pirates outfielder’s career. When the weather gets hot, so does Bryan Reynolds.

Entering play on June 26, Reynolds has a career-high 30-game on-base streak and a 15-game hitting streak. Since May 23, he is hitting .370 with a 1.132 OPS. With first Konnor Griffin and Oneil Cruz, and now Spencer Horwitz hitting the IL, the offensive boost couldn’t have come at a better time. The Pirates have maintained a .500 win percentage (the exact mark they had at the beginning of the streak) as Reynolds contributed two wins, according to Baseball Reference’s Win Probability Added stat.

Bryan Reynolds’ red-hot June isn’t a surprise, but it is a relief for the Pirates

This is par for the course for Reynolds. When the calendar turns to June, he seems to find his form. Over his career, Reynolds has raised his batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage at least 50 points from May to June. Since his debut in 2019, Reynolds is a top-10 player in OPS and batting average among players with at least 250 games played in June. He has the fourth-best batting average on balls in play.

Even with a mild groin injury, Reynolds has been as advertised this June. Over the span of his 15-game hit streak, he has nearly doubled his home run total, slugging five round-trippers to bring his season mark to 11. Ironically, even with a .329 average, this has been one of Reynolds’ worst Junes; in 2021, he hit .376 and slugged .645 for the month.

Unfortunately for the Pirates, Reynolds typically struggles to keep up this pace. As hot as he tends to be in June, he often collapses in July. His career OPS dives to .685, by far his worst month. With the Pirates trying to determine whether to be buyers or sellers at the deadline, such a decline could be as significant to Pittsburgh’s season as his outstanding June.

In a way, this is exactly what you would want from one of the highest-paid players on the team. As Bryan Reynolds goes, so go the Pirates.

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